The Best Guide to Knee Pain Treatment and Management
Description: Have aching knees? Here are some of the best knee pain treatments and therapies that will help alleviate your knee pain and discomfort to get you moving again
Teaser: Learn tips to strike the right treatment balance and find relief for your knee pain
Getting you feeling better and back to your regular daily activities with reliable knee pain treatment is our number one priority. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive guide for those times when you aren’t feeling quite like yourself because of knee pain. Whether you are experiencing short term acute symptoms, or you have a long-term chronic condition.
Whether you’re just coming around to the fact that something needs to be done about your knee pain (welcome!) or you are a maven at managing your pain, this guide has best practices that can work for you on your journey to knee pain relief.
How to treat a sore knee with lifestyle remedies
Knee pain treatment will vary depending on whether your knee pain is chronic or acute – in other words, whether your pain is ongoing and long-lasting or if it is the result of an injury or trauma that will heal within a short period of time.
For knee pain treatment in the case of acute knee pain or an arthritis flare, practice RICE, or:
Rest
Rest is necessary for tissue repair. Continued weight bearing and movement can aggravate an already affected knee. Get comfortable and get ready to stay sitting or lying down for the first few days after you have injured your knee.
Ice
Cold can be helpful in reducing acute pain and inflammation in the first few days after an injury. Apply an ice pack or bag of ice to your knee throughout the day. Never apply an ice pack directly to your skin. Instead, wrap it in a thin towel and then place it on your knee.
Compression
Compression can help reduce swelling. Consider carefully wrapping your knee with an elastic bandage. A word of caution, be sure not to wrap the bandage too tight or apply excessive compression, as this can interfere with blood circulation. That would be no good.
Elevation
Elevation also helps reduce swelling. Elevate your knee while resting.
For knee pain treatment in the case of chronic knee pain, there are a number of therapies for knee pain that can show positive results if you adopt them as lifestyle changes over a period of time.
Here are our top four tips for knee pain management that can help to get you back on your feet and starting to enjoy movement once more:
- Exercise and stretching
Move more and sit less throughout the day for knee pain management. If you have knee pain, keeping active will promote mobility and function, as well as boost your mood. A plus for facing any challenge. Depending on the condition, the US Center for Disease Control recommends 150 minutes of activity per week, in order to maintain and promote joint health.1 Exercises for knee pain can be very effective at alleviating pain over time.
- Maintain a healthy weight
Keeping fit and trim lessens the burden placed on your joints, especially your knees.2Be sure to eat a balanced diet and stay physically active in order to maintain a healthy weight; which could help you before you need to resort to knee pain treatment.
- Hot and cold therapy
Alternating hot and cold therapy can reduce stiffness and increase mobility in knee joints. Healthcare professional recommend taking a warm shower in the morning and going to sleep with a warm blanket or heating pad at night as a knee pain treatment that refreshes your spirit, as well as your joints. Cold therapy is also soothing to inflamed knees. Wrap a gel ice pack in a towel and apply it to your knee several times a day.3
- Diet changes
Diet impacts your body and how you feel, so it’s logical that the potential of eating certain foods to affect levels of inflammation throughout your body is being explored. Less inflammation should mean less joint and knee pain and therefore better knee pain management. Some research focuses on foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids playing a role in reducing inflammation. Omega-3-rich foods include virgin olive oil4, turmeric5, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseed, and oily fish. Ginger has also been heavily studied6 as to whether it has an anti-inflammatory effect in laboratory studies.
How to treat a sore knee with medication
For fast-acting knee pain relief, sometimes going the medication route is the best option. Lifestyle remedies tend to take time until they take effect. But sometimes you need that burst of knee pain relief so you can get back to going about your business.
A word of caution is in order, however. Just because your knee pain may feel better after taking medication, this doesn’t mean your injury or underlying condition has disappeared. You should still exercise good judgment when undertaking physical activities with a now less-sore-but-still-injured knee.
There are a number of medication options for knee pain relief. They are:
- Oral medications, for example paracetamol, ibuprofen or diclofenac
- Topical medications, like Voltaren Emulgels, which target pain with the NSAID diclofenac
- TENS: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a safe, easy to use, drug-free method of managing pain. A very low-level electrical current is applied to areas of the body using soft gel pads that stick to the skin. The low-level electrical current stimulates nerves in the body that help to reduce pain.
Voltaren Emulgels for knee pain relief
Voltaren Emulgel 12 Hour 2.32% can provide all-day relief from pain and swelling (inflammation) in joints, including being used as a pain reliever for knee pain. The pain and swelling can be caused by overuse of joints during physical activity such as walking, exercise or gardening. You can use Voltaren Emulgels for knee pain caused by muscle strains.
How does Voltaren work to relieve knee pain
Voltaren Emulgel is an over-the-counter NSAID that contains diclofenac. Diclofenac works by reducing ingredients in your body that cause inflammation. By easing inflammation, Voltaren works as an effective knee pain treatment to speed up recovery.
Voltaren Emulgel is applied to skin over the sore area and therefore is targeted to the point of pain. Voltaren Emulgel creates a reservoir of diclofenac when applied regularly, which gives the painful area a source of the active ingredient throughout the day for lasting relief of pain and inflammation. The Emulgel technology used in this product helps the gel to penetrate deeply into the skin to enhance delivery of the active ingredient, diclofenac, to the site of pain and swelling.
The Emulgel technology is a unique combination of a gel and cream providing both a cooling and soothing effect when applied to the skin. Alongside this Voltaren Emulgel has a clinically proven triple effect, it relieves pain, reduces inflammation, and speeds recovery, making it an effective pain reliever for knee pain.
How to use Voltaren Emulgel to relieve knee pain
Voltaren Emulgel provides a triple effect, relieving pain, reducing swelling, and speeding recovery time. Using Voltaren Emulgels for knee pain couldn’t be simpler. Here’s how to use Voltaren Emulgel:
1. Open your tube of Voltaren Emulgel: [CCAT: MARKETS TO LOCALISE BASED ON CAP AVAILABLE]
| Easy Open Cap |
| Tamper evident tabs located on each side of the flip-top cap will break when the cap is opened for the first time. Before first use check if the tamper evident tabs are not broken. |
Just flip the cap lid. Use a finger, thumb, side of your hand or even edge of a table against the underside of the cap lid to open the flip-top cap. Easy peasy! |
- Squeeze out a small amount ranging in size from a cherry to a walnut, depending on the size of the affected area.
- Gently rub into the skin above where you are experiencing body pain
- Apply Voltaren Emulgel as often as the label says
- Regain your joy of movement. Feel better
Use up to 14 days for soft tissue injuries, like sprains or strains, unless indicated otherwise by your doctor. As soon as your pain subsides, stop using Voltaren Emulgels. If your pain and swelling do not improve within 7 days, or if it gets worse, please consult your doctor.
Do not apply to skin with conditions such as cuts, open wounds, or on skin that has a rash or eczema. Discontinue the treatment if a skin rash develops after applying the product.
Voltaren Emulgels should not be used with air-tight or water-tight (occlusive) dressings, however, non-sealed breathable bandages can be used. For further details regarding precautions of using Voltaren Emulgels or other products, please read the label.
How much Voltaren Emulgel to apply to relieve knee pain
How much Voltaren Emulgel to apply depends on the treatment area, this could be between a cherry size to a walnut size amount of Emulgel. This equates to between 2g and 4g of Voltaren Emulgel.
When to see a doctor
Perhaps the most important part of knee pain management is knowing when not to treat your pain yourself at home. You should seek medical advice if you experience the following knee pain symptoms7:
- Inability to bear weight on your knee
- Instability in your knee or feeling like your knee is about to give way
- Notable knee swelling
- Inability to fully extend or flex your knee
- Clear deformity in your leg or knee
- Redness, pain and swelling in your knee accompanied by fever
- Severe knee pain resulting from an injury