What Are the Treatments for Acute Arthritis in the Knee?

In most cases, acute arthritis in the knee can be treated and managed effectively utilizing a wide range of conservative treatment options. Mild to moderate forms of knee arthritis generally respond well to these treatment options; severe knee arthritis generally requires more invasive types of treatment.

Activity Modification

• Avoid activities that exacerbate knee arthritis pain. Activity modification normally entails swapping high-impact activities like jogging for low-impact activities like cycling.

Rest

• Resting a painful, arthritic knee joint can be an effective pain relieving strategy. Avoiding any unnecessary knee joint movement and allowing the joint to rest generally brings about significant pain relief.

Pain Medication

• Use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, to treat acute arthritis knee pain. These medications work by reducing inflammation in the knee joint, which leads to pain reduction.

Physical Therapy

• Ask your doctor to prescribe physical therapy, which normally includes stretching, joint strengthening exercises, and aqua therapy. This can be an effective treatment option for reducing acute knee arthritis pain.

Joint Injections

• Joint injections can be helpful in treating acute arthritis knee pain flare-ups. These injections typically involve placing small amounts of cortisone, an anti-inflammatory agent, directly into the knee joint. The cortisone helps reduce pain by reducing inflammation in the knee.