Madison Bone and Joint Pain Help: Is Surgery The Only Option for Chronic Knee Pain?

Have you been told surgery is the best choice for relief from your knee pain? Although everyone is different, and every case of chronic degenerative knee pain is unique, surgery may not be your only option. It also might not be the best or safest one.

Surgery for chronic knee pain isn’t without risks. Surgery involves the possibility of complications such as hematoma, infection, phlebitis or damage to arteries. Knee surgery requires anesthesia—another potential source of complications. Of course, there are no guarantees surgery will result in the desired outcome, either. 

Most complications related to the common types of surgery for chronic degenerative knee pain are not serious and resolve fairly quickly. But for many individuals, avoiding the potential risks, discomfort and inconvenience surgery can involve is the best choice. 

So how can you get relief from knee pain and increase your mobility safely? The first step is to seek help from a practitioner who is committed to therapeutic support for chronic knee pain through gentle, natural therapies that are proven effective. A practitioner who is trained in functional medicine will take this type of approach. If you’ve already seen a variety of healthcare professionals for your knee pain with little to no improvement, the last thing you may want to do is try yet another practitioner. But functional medicineis a very different type of healthcare than anything you’re likely to have encountered. 

The traditional approach to a painful part of the body is to focus on the localized area of complaint. Yet care that focuses exclusively on the knee offers only partial support. Chronic degenerative knee pain is about more than the knee. As an example, consider that pain is actually felt in the brain, not the knee—despite what you may believe your body is telling you. Pain is your body’s way of letting you know there is a problem in the body. In order to alleviate that pain, it’s necessary to address the brain’s involvement in it. 

Functional medicine is a type of health care that takes into account how the body and brain are connected, as well as all of the body’s systems and organs. The goal is to determine exactly what is going on for the patient in very specific terms. What areas of the brain are involved in your knee pain? Do other aches, pains or symptoms relate to the ‘knee problem,’ and if so how? 

Thorough evaluation enables a functional wellness practitioner to identify the root causes of a patient’s condition. It is then possible to develop a customized therapeutic plan of support that facilitates and restores function, corrects imbalances, and helps the body heal itself. 

The therapeutic programs functional medicine practitionersdevelop for patients suffering with chronic degenerative knee pain are usually multi-modal. They may involve advanced technology such as laser therapy, nutritional support and more. If you’d like to find out how a different approach to chronic knee pain can make a real difference without surgery, contact a functional medicine practitioner for an evaluation.