High school and college athletes and others leading active lifestyles have a high risk of knee pain because of injuries, fractures, strains, sprains, meniscus tears, tendinitis, and other factors. Knee injuries can lead to a severe loss of mobility, preventing you from performing your daily activities. Our orthopedic specialists diagnose and treat the root cause of knee injuries using advanced techniques. They provide the best non-invasive care, regenerative medicine, and arthroscopic knee surgery The Woodlands has to offer.
Non-Surgical Treatments
RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation)
- Rest: Avoid activities that strain your knee muscles and joints, such as running or climbing.
- Ice: Apply ice packs on your knees for 30 minutes every couple of hours to reduce swelling.
- Compression: Wrap your knees in a compression bandage to improve recovery and healing.
- Elevation: Elevate your legs above your heart’s level to facilitate blood circulation towards your injured knees, which will improve your recovery.
Anti-Inflammatory Medications
Our physicians may recommend non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium, to reduce swelling and inflammation. You may also receive injections of corticosteroids to reduce joint inflammation at the injured site.
Physical Therapy/ Exercises
Our physicians may refer you to a physical therapist or recommend specific exercises to improve your flexibility and range of motion. The best way to recover from knee injuries is to gradually strengthen your leg muscles to offset joint pain and improve mobility.
Orthobiologics (PRP & Stem Cell)
Orthobiologics refers to the injection of autologous, regenerative medicine, such as PRP therapy and stem cell therapy. These techniques involve harvesting growth factors and other essential components from your body and injecting them into the injured/ damaged knee joints. The procedures are extremely safe, involving no downtime or complications because they’re based on materials drawn from your body.
PRP, short for platelet-rich plasma, is drawn from your blood and contains a high concentration of growth factors. Stem cells are drawn from your bone marrow. When injected into the injured sites, PRP and stem cells encourage your body to heal itself and facilitate natural tissue regeneration, thereby reversing the damage caused by knee injuries and arthritis.
Surgical Treatments
Knee Arthroscopy
Knee arthroscopy is a minimally invasive technique our physicians use for performing knee surgery in The Woodlands. The arthroscopy technique allows us to perform surgeries using two to three small, keyhole-sized incisions, as opposed to large incisions. The surgeon inserts a small camera through the incision to produce visuals of the damaged knee joints on a monitor, and the surgical tools are inserted and navigated through the other small incision. This technique involves minimal downtime and negligible risk of complications.
Open Surgery Techniques
Open surgery involves making a large incision on the knees to pull back the skin and directly access the damaged knee joints. This technique is generally reserved for severe knee injuries when large incisions and direct access are essential. The specific steps involved in your open surgery depend on your conditions — the surgeon may remove excess bone spurs from the knee joints, replace damaged joints with artificial joints, place implants, or use other techniques.
ACL & Meniscus Repair
ACL and meniscus tears are the most common knee injuries among high school and college athletes. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) runs in the middle of the knee and prevents the shinbone (tibia) from sliding in front of the thigh bone (femur). The meniscus is a piece of cartilage that cushions the thigh bone and shinbone. As such, if your ACL or meniscus are damaged, you experience severe knee pains, necessitating an ACL and meniscus repair.
Your ACL and meniscus repair can be performed using open surgery techniques or minimally invasive, arthroscopic techniques. During your knee surgery in The Woodlands, the damaged meniscus tissues are trimmed away, and the torn pieces are sutured together, restoring the meniscus. Unfortunately, the ACL can’t be sutured as easily, so the surgeon may need to place tissue grafts to facilitate natural regeneration and healing. The specific steps of the procedure depend on your condition.
Partial Knee Repair
Partial knee repair or replacement is a surgical technique wherein one part of the damaged knee, either the medial part or the lateral part, is repaired or replaced. The surgeon removes the damaged knee tissues and bones from the knee joint, especially when you have partial arthritis on only one part of the knee. After removing the damaged knee parts, the surgeon places a metallic or plastic prosthetic implant to restore mobility.
Cartilage Restoration
Cartilage restoration is a surgical technique wherein the patient’s damaged knee is resurfaced or realigned. The cartilage is a smooth, cushion-like substance that covers the ends of bones to help them glide against each other smoothly without friction. If the cartilage is damaged, the adjacent bones will grind against each other, leading to friction, damage, and knee pain. If you have damaged cartilages, the surgeon may transplant excess cartilage from one area of the knee to the other.
Schedule an Appointment
Movement Orthopaedic Institute is the premier provider of sports medicine and knee surgery in The Woodlands. Our physicians use advanced diagnostic tools and techniques, such as X-rays, MRIs, and ultrasound scans, to visualize your injured knees, trace the root cause of your problems, and curate personalized treatment plans. We always start our treatments with non-invasive care (physical therapy, rest, medications, injections, etc.) and only progress to surgery when all other solutions fail. Please schedule an appointment to explore your knee injury treatment options.
