Top 3 Takeaways
- You’re Not Alone — Millions Struggle with Knee Osteoarthritis
Nearly 1 in 4 adults over 40 experience knee pain, swelling, and stiffness that affects daily life. - Conventional Treatments Offer Only Temporary Relief
Pills, creams, injections, and physical therapy can help short term — but they don’t address the root inflammation causing the pain. - GAE Is a Breakthrough Non-Surgical Option
Genicular Artery Embolization (GAE) reduces knee inflammation, relieves pain, and restores movement — all without the risks or long recovery of surgery.
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Has knee osteoarthritis derailed your plans for an active, healthy, independent lifestyle? If so, you’re not alone. According to the World Health Organization, the rate of osteoarthritis, a painful, debilitating degenerative joint condition, has increased nearly 113% worldwide from 1990 to the present day, with the knee being the most affected joint. Research shows that worldwide, 22.9% of those age 40 and older are affected by knee osteoarthritis. But why does it seem like the nonsurgical solutions for your pain, swelling, and stiffness seem so inadequate, and the surgical options so drastic?
If this is your experience, again, you’re not alone. Consider the frustration of this patient, who has suffered from chronic knee pain for years.
A Limited Life with Knee Osteoarthritis
A clinical list of the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis—pain, stiffness, swelling, and trouble moving the knee—may be accurate, but it doesn’t convey the impact on a patient’s daily life or their mental health. While this is only one’s person’s experience, it is a classic example of what the patients we seeoften go through.
Every morning, I wake up hoping my knee will feel better, but it’s the same sharp ache that greets me. The doctors call it osteoarthritis, but no one can tell me why it hurts more on some days than others. I’ve had scans, X-rays, MRIs—each doctor sees something different. I’m tired of hearing that it’s just “wear and tear.”
While this can be confusing for patients, X-rays and MRIs produce different findings that illustrate the changes osteoarthritis produces in the joint. For example, an X-ray can show bone spurs (osteophytes), fragments of bone in the joint, or joint space narrowing that indicates loss of cartilage. An MRI, however, can visualize soft tissue damage to the cartilage, tendons, and ligaments that an X-ray cannot show, as well as any fluid accumulation or inflammation of the joint lining (synovitis). It can be difficult for a patient to understand which findings are responsible for what they’re feeling, however, especially when their level of pain and disability varies from day to day.
I’ve tried everything: pain pills, creams, injections. They work for a while, but then the pain comes roaring back. Climbing stairs is torture. Even walking to the mailbox feels risky. Everyone says, “Keep moving,” but when I do, my knee swells. When I rest, it stiffens. How do you win?
What frustrates me most is the confusion. One doctor says I need surgery. Another says I’m too young. I just want someone to agree—or at least explain. Physical therapy helps, but it’s expensive, and my insurance won’t cover enough sessions. I end up doing the exercises wrong at home.
Knee osteoarthritis is typically treated with conservative care first(medication, physical therapy, and joint injections) to restore mobility and control pain, because knee replacement surgery is a major procedure that may not be appropriate for every patient, whether due to age or underlying medical conditions such as diabetes. As in this patient’s case, the relief tends to be temporary. In addition, this strategy can lead to dealing with an array of specialists who each have different opinions and whose ability to help can be limited by what the patient’s health insurance coverage provides. When a patient feels uncertain of their treatment path or is unwilling or unable to have surgery, their confusion can lead to despair.
It’s not just the pain—it’s losing independence. I can’t go for walks with my friends. I cancel plans because I’m scared I’ll limp too much. I feel old before my time. The hardest part is losing hope. I keep thinking, maybe this is it. Maybe I’ll never walk normally again.
Most who are suffering from knee osteoarthritis, and even many medical providers, do not realize that there is another option short of surgery that can restore knee function and reduce pain—genicular artery embolization (GAE). This minimally invasive outpatient procedure relieves inflammation and prevents further destruction of the joint without the risk and extensive rehabilitation required in a full knee replacement. At AVA Vascular, expert interventional radiologist Dr. Nik Patel is able to provide GAE to restore quality of life and return hope to patients who have run out of options for relief.
Am I a Candidate for Knee Pain Relief?
If injections, medication, and physical therapy are no longer working to control the symptoms of your knee osteoarthritis, now is the time to learn more about GAE, before you lose more time to pain, stiffness, and disability. To get started, fill out this simple screening form today.
GAE is a minimally invasive procedure that targets and blocks the tiny arteries fueling inflammation in your knee. This helps relieve chronic pain and restore mobility — no surgery required.
Unlike knee replacement, GAE doesn’t require large incisions, anesthesia, or long recovery time. Most patients return to normal activity within days instead of months.
If you’ve tried pain meds, injections, and therapy without lasting relief — and want to avoid surgery — you may be a candidate for GAE. Dr. Nik Patel at AVA Vascular can determine if it’s right for you.
