Your Arthritis Treatment Options

Effective arthritis treatment starts without surgery. It begins with listening — the details of your pain are the clues that shape your treatment plan. Often, relatively simple, low-risk steps make a real difference:

• Ease the load on your joint. Let your bigger muscles do the heavy lifting when carrying items, and consider your weight — even modest weight loss meaningfully reduces joint stress.
• Ice or heat. Heat loosens up a joint before activity; ice relieves pain afterward.
• Exercise. The right activity strengthens the muscles around a joint, reducing the stress it carries — Dr. Grimsley will help you figure out what’s appropriate for you specifically.
• Walking aids. Crutches, walkers, braces, or tape can all take pressure off an affected joint.
• Physical or occupational therapy. Research consistently shows regular PT leads to better function and less pain.
• Medication. Mild pain often responds to over-the-counter options like Tylenol, Advil, or Aleve. For more significant pain, stronger options exist — including Tramadol or other narcotic medications — though these are used selectively and under close supervision, since long-term reliance on them can make pain control more difficult if surgery is needed later.
• Injections. Corticosteroid injections deliver anti-inflammatory medication directly to the joint; viscosupplementation (a lubricating “joint gel” made from hyaluronic acid) can offer meaningful relief with minimal discomfort.
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP). PRP uses concentrated platelets from your own blood, injected into the joint to help stimulate the body’s natural healing response. It’s a relatively new treatment — the evidence so far suggests it’s safe and may help some patients with early-stage arthritis, though it isn’t right for everyone. Dr. Grimsley can talk through whether it’s a reasonable option in your specific case.

If pain persists after conservative treatment, surgery may be the right next step. Dr. Grimsley may recommend:

• Arthroscopy. A minimally invasive, outpatient procedure using a small camera and specialized tools to repair soft tissue, damaged cartilage, or loose fragments in the joint. Recovery is typically short, and it can meaningfully reduce pain and improve motion — though it’s worth knowing there’s no strong evidence it prevents further joint deterioration over the long run.
• Partial joint replacement (joint resurfacing). Replaces only the damaged part of the joint, preserving as much healthy tissue as possible — often meaning a faster, more comfortable recovery, though further surgery may eventually be needed if arthritis develops elsewhere in the joint. In the knee, this is called a unicompartmental replacement (treating just one section of the knee); in the hip, it’s a hemiarthroplasty (replacing the ball of the joint while leaving the socket intact) — though partial replacement is far more commonly appropriate for knees than hips.
• Total joint replacement (TJR). All joint surfaces are replaced with a prosthetic that mimics natural movement. It’s one of the most reliably successful procedures in orthopedics, with strong outcomes for pain relief, mobility, and quality of life. A minimally invasive version uses shorter incisions and spares more muscle, but it isn’t right for everyone — it tends to work best for active, healthy-weight patients under 50, and carries a somewhat higher complication rate than the traditional approach.
• Joint revision. Most implants last 20 years or longer, but a worn, loosened, or infected implant occasionally needs to be replaced. Revision surgery is more technically demanding than an initial replacement and should be performed by a surgeon — like Dr. Grimsley — with advanced training specifically in this procedure.