Hello @dementmt, I see that you recently joined Connect and would like to welcome you. I also have osteoarthritis in my knees. My right knee is worse with bone on bone and advanced degenerative arthritis. I cortisone shot worked for me for a short time until I knelt down on some concrete to fix something. Now I'm back with the knee pain. My orthopedic doctors at Mayo told me there is no guarantee that a knee replacement will get rid of the pain and may make it worse in some cases. They suggested physical therapy and range of motion exercises before I received the cortisone shot. While the physical therapy did help with the range of motion and helped with the joint stiffness, it didn't do much for the pain in the knee. I still do the exercises and stretches that I learned in physical therapy because it's important to build up the muscles and tendons that support the knee or it will get worse.

I'm planning to talk with the ortho doctors again to see what other options I have. I know their are gel or Synvisc shots for the knee to treat the pain but I'm not sure how long they last or if that should be tried next. Some people get temporary relief from the knee pain using over the counter topicals like BioFreeze and other similar products.

@dementmt have you discussed any treatments with your doctor or an orthopedic doctor?

John