Treatment

Once your first visit has identified what’s causing your pain, the goal is to treat it as conservatively as possible. The process starts with listening — the details you shared about your pain are the clues that shape what comes next. 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.

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.