Which Doctor do I See for Knee Pain Injections?

A lot of different types of doctors can treat knee pain. In fact, pain specialists and doctors can come from any field of medicine — anesthesiologists, primary care physicians, physiatrists, cardiologists, podiatrists, and so many more. Since knee pain doctors can come from any field of medicine, selecting the right knee pain specialist can be difficult.

Generally speaking, knee pain doctors can be divided into three groups — palliative specialists, interventional pain specialists, and chronic pain specialists. The following is a brief description of these different types of knee pain doctors.

• Palliative Specialists: These are doctors who deal with chronic knee pain occurring because of terminal illnesses and serious issues like cancer. They handle the psychological and emotional aspects of the treatment as well.
• Interventional Pain Specialists: These doctors are specially trained to diagnose the root cause of your knee pain and treat it using the latest minimally invasive and non-surgical procedures, including knee pain injections.
• Chronic Pain Specialists: These doctors largely rely on opioid management to deal with knee pain. They don’t treat knee pain but just give you narcotics to deal with the pain temporarily.

So which doctor do I see for knee pain injections?

Well, palliative specialists aren’t suitable for chronic knee pain, chronic pain specialists should be avoided completely because narcotics don’t treat knee pain and can also lead to addiction. You should rely solely on interventional pain specialists — they’re the only ones who can treat knee pain for an extended period.

In addition to the type of doctor, you should also be careful about the type of treatments for knee pain. Some doctors may recommend surgeries for knee pain — you should avoid them because they’re risky and there are much better alternatives available. Some doctors may recommend narcotics — you should avoid them as well because they only mask the pain, they don’t treat the root cause.

Minimally invasive and non-surgical treatments for knee pain are ideal because they cause minimal pain or discomfort, are safe, and they generally conclude within an hour with no downtime. In this article, we discuss which doctor do I see for knee pain injections and we describe the best treatments for knee pain.

Treatments for Knee Pain (Injections)

During your consultation with the interventional pain specialist, the doctor will diagnose the root cause of your chronic knee pain using a combination of physical tests, imaging tests, and lab tests. Once they’ve identified the root cause of knee pain, they’ll recommend physical therapy and RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and curate a treatment plan.

Most interventional pain specialists start with chronic knee pain injections because they’re the least invasive procedures and they successfully treat most cases of knee pain. The following is a description of the best knee pain injections.

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids are epidural steroid injections that reduce inflammation and joint pain caused by various diseases. During the procedure, the interventional pain specialist will draw the steroid into the injection along with some anesthetic fluid and deliver it to affected tissues to reduce the inflammation. After the knee pain injection, a sterile bandage is applied to the injected area. This procedure is completely safe and there are no long-term side effects though you may experience temporary hyperpigmentation of the skin, local bleeding, or soreness.

Hyaluronic Acid Injection

The human knee joint contains a viscous fluid known as hyaluronic acid. This fluid provides the lubrication necessary for the cartilage-covered knee joint and bones to slide against each other during movement without friction. However, if you’re suffering from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, your body may not produce enough hyaluronic acid, which can lead to chronic knee pain. Hyaluronic Acid Injection, also known as Viscosupplementation, is a procedure in which the hyaluronic acid is injected into the knee joint to supplement the naturally-occurring fluid and facilitate smooth movement. This fluid serves as a shock absorber to facilitate smooth knee joint movement. This procedure is done in the doctor’s office and generally involves 3 to 5 knee pain injections in a week.