Knee Pain Caused by Osteoarthritis 

Physician’s Assistant in Orthopedics and Sports Medicine helps patients get back to a healthy lifestyle. 

Knee pain is one of the most common ailments that brings patients into our office each day–more specifically, osteoarthritis of the knee. My name is Lindsay Baldwin and I have been a physician assistant at Newman Regional Health Orthopedics and Sports Medicine for almost 15 years. Our goal is to help relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis so that you can live a healthy and active lifestyle while doing activities that you enjoy.  

Osteoarthritis in the knee usually develops over time from wear-and-tear and degeneration. It can be very debilitating as the arthritis progresses and becomes more painful. The cartilage starts to diminish and decreases the protective space between the bones in the joint.  

There are many different treatment options when a patient has knee pain caused by arthritis. We usually try a stepwise approach based on the severity of symptoms and findings on x-ray. X-rays are taken in our office and reviewed with the patient at the visit. 

For a patient that has mild pain and early stages of knee arthritis, we may start with conservative treatment measures such as creams, pain relievers, anti-inflammatories or physical therapy.  

If these measures do not relieve a patient’s symptoms, then the next step is typically intra-articular (joint) injections. These may include corticosteroid injections or viscosupplementation. Corticosteroids help relieve the swelling and symptoms of pain associated with arthritis. Viscosupplementation helps lubricate the joint and preserve the cartilage left in the knee.

Last resort, if all other options have failed, is generally knee replacement surgery. To be a candidate for a knee replacement, a patient must be in good general health overall, be a non-smoker, and have a body-mass index below 40. This will give him or her the best advantages to have a favorable surgical outcome.  

At Newman Regional Health Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, we partner with incredible surgeons from OrthoKS out of Lawrence. We have Dr. Huston who comes once a week to perform joint replacements. We also have Dr. Willis who just joined our practice and is here full-time in Emporia performing not only joint replacement surgeries, but also general orthopedic surgeries as well.  

We are grateful to have such skilled and professional surgeons at our hospital. We would be happy to see you for any orthopedic issue to determine the best individualized plan of care for you!