Expert knee pain relief through non-invasive solutions that are revolutionizing the way we address knee discomfort.
Knee replacement surgery is a daunting prospect for many of the 32.5 million adults in the U.S. who have osteoarthritis (OA), the most common type of arthritis. Over time, cartilage in the knee joint breaks down and the bones change, causing pain, swelling, and stiffness, reducing mobility and making common tasks more difficult.
While knee replacement can give patients better mobility, initial recovery takes six to eight weeks and often continues for a full year. Some patients can’t commit to surgery due to family obligations or cannot have it because of other health conditions. Additionally, some patients may experience continued pain even after a knee replacement.
But patients who can’t have or don’t want knee replacement, or who have had prior surgery, don’t have to suffer with pain. JRA offers two procedures to help reduce pain: genicular artery embolization (GAE) and genicular nerve ablation (GNA). We regularly treat patients with disabling knee OA with these minimally invasive, outpatient procedures.
How Does Geniculate Artery Embolization Work?
To understand how geniculate artery embolization works, we need to understand that osteoarthritis and pain is shown by recent research to be much more complicated than previously thought. Pain development with osteoarthritis involves a feedback loop where pain is the result of low-level inflammation. The inflammation releases chemicals into the blood, which results in the formation of new blood vessels in the knee. The development of new blood vessels results in greater pain/inflammation and starts the cycle again. Studies have shown that the degree of new blood vessel formation has been directly linked to severity of pain.
Geniculate artery embolization works by using microscopic beads to block the formation of new blood vessels and break the feedback loop that leads to inflammation and pain. Research demonstrates significant improvement in pain after geniculate artery embolization, which continues to improve over at least 2 years. This allows patients to minimize the amount of pain medications and joint injections they need while optimizing quality of life.
Advantages of GAE:
- It is effective, as is shown by the significant improvement in pain with durable improvement for at least 2 years.
- It is safe. There are no major adverse events and few minor adverse events.
- It is minimally invasive, which typically means a short recovery period when compared to surgical procedures.
- It can be provided on an outpatient basis, and you will go home to recover following geniculate artery embolization.
- It can be performed under moderate sedation.
- It is well-tolerated by patients.
What is Genicular Nerve Ablation?
During a genicular nerve ablation procedure, the genicular nerves in the knee are ablated (burned) using heat generated by a radiofrequency current. The ablation breaks up the pain signal from the knee nerves, providing relief. This procedure is often simply referred to as a knee ablation.
A single genicular nerve ablation can provide upward of six months of pain relief and can be repeated as necessary for patients who respond well to the treatment.
Prior to a genicular nerve ablation, a diagnostic procedure, called a genicular nerve block, is performed to determine if the ablation would be effective.
During the block procedure, an anesthetic (numbing) medication is injected into the genicular nerves. If this injection successfully provides adequate pain relief, the patient is generally considered a good candidate for the ablation, which can provide much longer-term pain relief.
Genicular nerves eventually grow back, which means the associated pain may also return. The genicular nerve ablation procedure can safely be repeated as necessary to keep the pain away. Most patients have substantial pain relief for at least 6 months, with many patients still benefiting from pain relief for over a year.
GAE and GNA Recovery
Both procedures are outpatient, so you will go home the same day!
GAE patients will feel relief, in most cases, within two weeks, as the inflammation in the lining of the knee is reduced, relieving the knee pain associated with osteoarthritis.
GNA may provide relief within a few hours or it may take a couple of weeks for the steriod to take effect.
You don’t have to live with osteoarthritic knee pain. JRA’s interventional radiologists can help you get pain relief, without open surgery, general anesthesia, or scarring. Let us help you bounce back to an active lifestyle!
