New treatment helping those with knee pain

[huge285]

New treatment helping those with knee pain





by Brandy Aguilar, Special projects

azfamily.com


Posted on August 16, 2012 at 7:53 PM

Updated Thursday, Aug 16 at 8:00 PM


PHOENIX -- Cutting edge technology that literally takes less than two minutes could be the answer to helping millions of people suffering with knee pain.
“Knee pain is definitely a big problem throughout the United States,” said Dr. Neil Thakkar with Novocur Pain Management Clinic.
Osteoarthritis is a form of knee pain affecting millions. Something Annie Fain knows all about.

“Every lotion, potion, cream I've tried and nothing works,” Fain said.
Fain doesn't want surgery. So she turned to Thakkar. He’ll perform a new minimal invasive treatment on her left knee using radio frequency ablation.

“We're blocking the genicular nerves of the knee,” Thakker said. “And the genicular nerves provide or send sensory information from the knee joint up to the brain and basically that tells the knee you’re in pain.”
“What we first do is use our X-ray machine to image the knee and using this pointer I identify the nerves,” Thakker continued. “I place the radiofrequency needles through the numbed up parts of the skin.”
Once everything is set into place and Thakker knows which nerves to burn the procedure begins.

“This machine will do all the sensory testing, motor testing, as well as the actually burning of the nerves,” Thakker said. “I inject a little bit of numbing medicine into each needle and the burning process goes to 80 Celsius for 90 seconds.
That's right, 90 seconds. Thakker said Fain will hopefully be pain-free for the next six to 18 months.

“It would let me walk around without being on a walker or cane or grocery cart,” Fain said. “It would kind of put me back to my old self.”
Fain hopes to be back at work tomorrow. Some insurance companies including Medicare will cover this treatment.

To see if you’re a candidate, call 480-855-6686 or log onto

[PFEPerformance]

Soooo...maybe I'm missing something...and I understand not wanting to be in Chronic pain........BUUUUTTTTTT..... isn't the pain a "symptom" that should not be ignored? If you block the nerves that let you know you are in pain and then continue to do activities OR do something that does further and/or new damage ----- aren't you causing a huge issue?

[Provo82]

Soooo...maybe I'm missing something...and I understand not wanting to be in Chronic pain........BUUUUTTTTTT..... isn't the pain a "symptom" that should not be ignored? If you block the nerves that let you know you are in pain and then continue to do activities OR do something that does further and/or new damage ----- aren't you causing a huge issue?

thats the thought that crossed my mind. maybe for a relatively inactive individual this makes sense but for a bodybuilder who is gonna think his knees are fine that go abuses the heck out of them on the hack squat might not be the best scenerio. still would like to know more

[Baldiewonkanobi]

I dunno. For some reason I think the pain is the condition's voice calling out to me for remedy, not a muzzle.

My knee pain comes from arthritis and torn (repaired 3 times) Meniscus. I saw the MRI. Bone on freakin bone. Synvisc shots returned the absent synovial fluid (shock absorber) in my knees and gave immediate relief. Since the shots I use oral synovial fluid daily in the form of Biotec (any brand will do) Hyaluronic Acid. I have zero knee pain and have been squating away for past 10 years.

Baldie

[lartinos]

That picture is pretty scary looking, frankenstein type stuff.

[LSMUSCL81]

i need NO false sense of security!....if its aching i need to back off for a bit

[GAMEOVER]

Soooo...maybe I'm missing something...and I understand not wanting to be in Chronic pain........BUUUUTTTTTT..... isn't the pain a "symptom" that should not be ignored? If you block the nerves that let you know you are in pain and then continue to do activities OR do something that does further and/or new damage ----- aren't you causing a huge issue?

My sentiments exactly. The pain sensation that she's feeling is the result of nerve endings firing because theres an inflammatory response going on within her knee joint. The pain that she's feeling is causing her to put less GRF through that knee. Burning the nerves are only gunna inhibit the bodies normal guarding response. Any how she's basically gunna fuck herself up even more due to chain reactive ground forces. Prob have arthritic hips in a couple years as a result of this procedure. This is procedure is straight up dumb ass!

[GAMEOVER]

Baldies method of treatment is a far better solution than this procedure in my opinion.

[Bryan Hildebrand]

huge difference from an athlete experiencing sudden pain vs grandma who has osteoarthritic joint issues that nothing but a knee replacement would fix.

[Baldiewonkanobi]

huge difference from an athlete experiencing sudden pain vs grandma who has osteoarthritic joint issues that nothing but a knee replacement would fix.

Bryan I must be somewhere in between then. I was that grandpa (23 years a grandpa now) who was told I need two knee replacements. Soft yellow osteo arthritis bone on bone. Now the arthritis did not go away...I just have knees full of comforting fluid.

Oh...and one thing the surgeon did during the Meniscus surgeries (he was the staff Ortho for the Oakland Raiders) was to drill about 50 small holes thru the yellow soft tissue hoping that the trauma would promote healthyhard white cacification.

Baldie

[Bryan Hildebrand]

I know many many people who have been helped with by Synvisc. its an awesome but expensive option. some insurances dont cover it and would prefer to spend more money giving you coverage for a joint replacement. proof is in the pudding... or synovial fluid...!