Knee Conditions & Treatments
Expert diagnosis and personalized treatment from board-certified knee specialists. Get relief with minimally invasive options and complimentary MRI reviews.
Experiencing Knee Pain?
Get expert relief — we'll call you to schedule
Common Knee Conditions We Treat
Our specialists diagnose and treat a comprehensive range of knee conditions using advanced diagnostic tools and personalized treatment plans.
Treatments for Knee Pain & Injury
From conservative treatments to advanced minimally invasive procedures, we offer comprehensive care options for knee conditions.
Common Knee Symptoms
With the knee, location does most of the diagnostic work. Pain at the front, around or under the kneecap, that flares on stairs - especially going down - and after long sitting points to the patellofemoral joint. Pain along the inner or outer joint line, worse with twisting or squatting, implicates the meniscus or that compartment's cartilage. Pain and tightness behind the knee often trace to a Baker's cyst or hamstring tendons.
Mechanical behavior matters as much as location. A knee that locks and must be wiggled straight suggests a meniscus fragment or loose body caught in the joint. A knee that gives way on pivots suggests ligament insufficiency. Swelling tells time: a joint that balloons within an hour or two of an injury usually means bleeding inside - classically an ACL tear - while swelling that appears overnight after activity is more typical of arthritis or meniscus irritation.
Grinding without pain is common and usually innocent; grinding with swelling and ache is cartilage asking for attention.
When to See an Orthopedist for Knee Pain
Three knee stories should shorten the wait for evaluation. First: an injury with a pop, immediate swelling, and difficulty bearing weight - that combination has a high rate of structural damage and deserves examination while the story is fresh. Second: true locking, where the knee mechanically jams short of straight, because a displaced meniscus fragment can damage cartilage while it stays wedged. Third: repeated giving-way episodes, since every instability event risks new meniscus and cartilage injury on top of the original problem.
Outside injuries, see a specialist when knee pain has limited stairs, kneeling, or walking distance for more than a few weeks despite rest and over-the-counter measures, when swelling keeps returning, or when the knee is losing motion. A hot, red, exquisitely tender knee with fever is a same-day problem - joint infection is not a watch-and-wait diagnosis.
How We Treat Knee Conditions
Knee care starts by naming the pain generator, because the knee has several: examination localizes the structure, standing X-rays grade each compartment under load, and MRI is added when the story suggests meniscus, ligament, or cartilage injury that plain films cannot show.
Treatment is matched to the tissue. Patellofemoral pain responds to quadriceps and hip strengthening and activity retraining. Degenerative meniscus tears and early arthritis are managed first with load modification, strengthening, and injections - corticosteroid for flares, hyaluronic acid for selected arthritic knees. Mechanical problems get mechanical answers: arthroscopy for locked knees, repairable meniscus tears, and loose bodies, and ligament reconstruction for instability.
We are equally clear about what surgery does not fix: arthroscopy does not help a generally arthritic knee, and we say so. When arthritis is advanced and daily life has narrowed, partial or total knee replacement is discussed as a quality-of-life decision made with you.
Ready to Get Started?
Take the first step toward relief. Book a consultation, get a free MRI review, or request a second opinion from our board-certified specialists.
Frequently Asked Questions About Knee Conditions
Why does my knee hurt going down stairs but not up?
Descending stairs loads the kneecap against the thigh bone with several times body weight while the quadriceps works as a brake - the exact mechanics that aggravate patellofemoral pain and cartilage wear behind the kneecap. Pain concentrated on stairs and after long sitting points there rather than to the meniscus or ligaments.
Do meniscus tears always need surgery?
No. Degenerative tears in middle-aged and older knees frequently settle with strengthening and load management, and operating on them alongside arthritis often disappoints. Surgery earns its place for tears that lock or catch the knee, for repairable tears in younger patients, and for mechanical symptoms that persist despite proper conservative care.
Is running bad for my knees?
For most knees, no - runners as a group do not show higher knee arthritis rates than non-runners, and cartilage responds to sensible load. What harms knees is load that outruns preparation: sudden mileage jumps, ignoring swelling, and training through mechanical symptoms. A swollen or unstable knee deserves diagnosis before more miles.
What is the difference between cortisone and gel injections for the knee?
Cortisone is an anti-inflammatory - it calms a flared, swollen knee and helps most when inflammation is driving the pain. Hyaluronic acid ('gel') aims instead at lubrication in arthritic knees and suits selected patients whose symptoms are activity-related rather than inflammatory. They answer different questions, which is why the examination comes before the choice.
How do I know it is time for a knee replacement?
The X-ray alone never books the operation - timing rests on function: pain that limits walking distance, stairs, sleep, and the activities that matter to you despite genuine conservative care. When arthritis is advanced and those boxes are ticked, replacement is a quality-of-life decision made with you, not a deadline imposed by an image.