Helping You Stay Active and Keep Moving
Arthritis and sports-related injuries can affect people of all ages—not just professional athletes. Whether you’re dealing with knee arthritis, a shoulder injury, tendon pain or another musculoskeletal condition, persistent pain can make it difficult to exercise, work, participate in hobbies or simply move comfortably.
At ECPC Pain Specialists, we evaluate the source of your pain and offer individualized treatment options designed to help reduce pain and improve function.
Understanding Arthritis
Arthritis describes a group of conditions that affect the joints.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form. It develops as the tissues within a joint change and break down over time and commonly affects the knees, hips, hands, neck and lower back.
Arthritis may cause:
- Joint pain
- Stiffness
- Swelling
- Reduced range of motion
- Grinding or clicking sensations
- Joint instability
- Difficulty walking or performing everyday activities
Arthritis affects everyone differently. Some people have relatively mild symptoms, while others experience significant pain and limitations in their daily lives.
Sports & Activity-Related Injuries
Sports injuries aren’t limited to competitive athletes. Anyone who participates in physical activity—or performs repetitive movements at work or home—can develop a musculoskeletal injury.
Sports injuries can generally be divided into two categories:
Acute injuries happen suddenly, such as after a fall, collision, twist or other traumatic event.
Overuse injuries develop gradually when a body part is exposed to repetitive stress over time.
Common problems may include:
- Tendinitis
- Bursitis
- Muscle strains
- Joint injuries
- Ligament injuries
- Overuse injuries
- Persistent pain after an injury
When an Injury Doesn’t Heal the Way You Expected
Many injuries improve with time, rest, rehabilitation and appropriate activity modification.
But sometimes pain persists after the original injury has healed.
You may continue to experience pain because of:
- Inflammation
- Joint degeneration
- Nerve irritation
- Scar tissue
- Altered movement patterns
- An underlying joint or spine condition
When pain becomes persistent, identifying the actual source of the pain is an important step toward choosing appropriate treatment.
Treatment Options
Treatment depends on the specific joint or body part involved and the underlying cause of your pain.
Depending on your diagnosis, treatment may include:
- Physical therapy
- Activity modification
- Medication management
- Joint injections
- Bursitis injections
- Trigger-point injections
- Genicular nerve blocks for certain types of knee pain
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
- Prolotherapy
- Peripheral nerve stimulation
- Other interventional treatmentsOur physicians will discuss the potential benefits, risks and alternatives of each treatment with you.
Knee Arthritis
Knee arthritis is a particularly common source of chronic pain and can make walking, exercising, climbing stairs and getting up from a chair difficult.
For appropriately selected patients, ECPC offers several nonsurgical treatment options, including genicular nerve blocks and other interventional approaches.
The right treatment depends on the severity and source of your knee pain.
Our Goal: Help You Get Moving Again
At ECPC Pain Specialists, our focus is not simply on reducing a pain score. We want to understand what you are unable to do because of your pain and help develop a plan that supports your ability to return to the activities that are important to you.
Whether your goal is returning to exercise, playing with your children or grandchildren, getting back on the golf course, walking without pain or simply getting through your day more comfortably, we’ll work with you to identify appropriate options.
Take the Next Step
Don’t let persistent arthritis or an old sports injury keep you from the activities you enjoy.
Contact ECPC Pain Specialists to schedule an evaluation and learn more about your treatment options.