Osteoarthritis affects more than 30 million Americans. A common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis involves many joints throughout the body. If it affects the knee joint, patients suffer pain, stiffness and swelling, severely limiting their mobility and quality of life.

Many patients try anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen, injections of various gels or steroids and even opioids. These modalities may work for some, but many patients may need arthroscopies to "clean out" the joint – or have total knee replacements.

Despite all these interventions, some individuals may still have pain. Aultman Pain Management performs a procedure that can reduce the pain by blocking the sensory nerves (genicular nerves) that supply the knee to reduce the pain before, after and even in lieu of surgery for those non-surgical patients.

During this procedure, a trial injection of local anesthetic solution is injected under fluoroscopic guidance to affect the genicular nerves supplying the involved knee. If successful, the patient may be a candidate for a cooled radiofrequency ablation to make the pain relief last longer. For several years, patients at Aultman Pain Management have been getting lasting results where other treatment options have failed.

Established in 1984, Aultman Pain Management was Stark County’s first dedicated pain management unit. The multidisciplinary team combines the talents of board-certified physicians, physician assistants, clinical psychologists, advanced practice and registered nurses, physical and occupational therapists, dietitians, social workers and pharmacists to reduce pain, provide various methods of pain control, restore patients’ abilities to live an active lifestyle, assist in managing stress, depression and anger and aid the patients’ families in the awareness of pain management. The center is located at Aultman Massillon. To learn more, call 330-834-4145.