Knee osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability that’s projected to increase significantly in the future. It can make the movements your job requires increasingly uncomfortable, from walking across an office to climbing ladders, lifting equipment, or spending an entire shift on your feet.
For some people, changing how they work helps. However, persistent knee arthritis pain can continue despite medications, physical therapy, injections, and other conservative treatments.
At Vascular Surgery Associates, LLC, we offer genicular artery embolization (GAE), a minimally invasive, nonsurgical treatment that targets a source of osteoarthritis-related knee inflammation.
Workplace knee pain doesn’t look the same for everyone. For example, a desk job might seem relatively knee-friendly, but sitting for hours can leave an arthritic knee stiff and painful when you stand. Walking between offices, using stairs, or commuting can also become difficult.
Other jobs put even greater physical demands on the knees:
If you work in healthcare or hospitality, you might spend most of an eight- or 12-hour shift standing and walking.
These workers often repeatedly climb, squat, kneel, carry loads, and work on uneven surfaces.
Both retail and wholesale environments require prolonged standing with lifting, bending, and walking. Drivers and equipment operators may sit with their knees bent for extended periods and repeatedly climb in and out of vehicles.
Farm workers, gardeners, and other outdoor workers place considerable strain on their knees through kneeling, lifting, and working on difficult terrain.
When osteoarthritis causes pain and stiffness, these ordinary job requirements can become exhausting. You might start avoiding certain tasks, taking more breaks, or relying heavily on your stronger leg. Pain can also linger after work and interfere with exercise, sleep, and activities at home.
Knee osteoarthritis involves much more than worn cartilage. The condition can also cause ongoing inflammation in the tissues lining the joint.
As that inflammatory process continues, abnormal small blood vessels can develop around affected areas of the knee. These vessels help support inflammation and are associated with the nerve activity that contributes to chronic pain.
During the GAE procedure, we guide a very small catheter through one of your large blood vessels and into selected genicular arteries supplying your knee.
We then deliver tiny particles to the abnormal vessels associated with inflammation, reducing their blood supply while preserving normal circulation.
GAE doesn’t replace the knee joint or repair damaged cartilage. Instead, it aims to reduce the inflammatory process contributing to your pain.
Knee replacement can transform life for people with advanced osteoarthritis, but not everyone needs or wants major joint surgery.
You might have moderate arthritis that causes significant symptoms but doesn’t yet warrant knee replacement. Medical conditions might make surgery less suitable, or you may want to delay joint replacement for as long as reasonably possible.
Work can also influence that decision. Joint replacement requires surgery followed by a substantial rehabilitation period. People with physically demanding jobs may need considerably longer before they can safely return to their normal duties.
GAE requires no large surgical incision and doesn’t remove or replace any part of the knee. Patients typically go home the same day, and recovery involves far less downtime than knee replacement surgery.
GAE aims to decrease knee pain and improve function, so its effects can translate into practical workplace benefits. If treatment successfully reduces your symptoms, you’ll find it easier to:
The Society of Interventional Radiology supports GAE as a minimally invasive option for appropriately selected patients whose symptoms persist despite conservative treatment.
Chronic knee pain can affect far more than your ability to walk comfortably. When your livelihood depends on what your knees allow you to do each day, finding effective relief is essential.
At Vascular Surgery Associates, LLC, we assess your symptoms, medical history, and knee osteoarthritis to determine whether genicular artery embolization may be appropriate.
GAE isn’t suitable for every type of knee pain. Ligament injuries, fractures, infections, and other conditions require different treatments, so it's important to determine what is causing your symptoms.
Call Vascular Surgery Associates, LLC, or complete the online form to learn whether nonsurgical GAE could help you manage knee arthritis pain and stay more comfortable at work.
