# What are your options before surgery? *Non-surgical joint treatment Chandler | Options Before Surgery* > Non-surgical joint treatment Chandler: learn what to try before surgery and when to ask about medicine, therapy, or an operation. This page explains what you can try before deciding about joint surgery. The right choice depends on why the joint hurts and what your health allows. You don’t need a long list of remedies; you’ll do better with a few steps that fit the joint and your usual day. Start with something you can repeat. ## What can I try at home first? Gentle movement is often a sound start when there hasn’t been a new injury, and walking, cycling, pool work, or light strength work can keep you active. Don’t begin with so much that the joint aches for days. Add a little only when the soreness settles by the next morning. Extra body weight can strain a knee or hip, yet simply being told to lose weight won’t tell you how. Food costs, other health problems, and safe ways to move all matter. A well-fitted cane or brace may make walking easier. Pick work you can keep doing, then judge it by the next morning. ## When should I ask about medicine or surgery? Some creams and pills can reduce swelling and ease soreness, but pills may trouble your stomach, kidneys, or heart, so ask a doctor or pharmacist who knows your health. Physical therapy can teach safe movement and set a useful amount of exercise, and it shouldn’t feel like punishment. Ask about surgery when soreness keeps you awake, walking becomes much harder, or the exercise, medicine, or therapy plan hasn’t helped. An X-ray matters, but it can’t make the choice alone because your health, exam, and daily needs matter as well. You aren’t failing by asking. ## Sources 1. OARSI 2019 designates arthritis education plus structured land-based exercise (with or without dietary weight management) as CORE treatments for knee OA, and education plus structured land-based exercise as core for hip and polyarticular OA. Topical NSAIDs are strongly recommended for knee OA (Level 1A). Intra-articular corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid are Level 1B/2 for knee OA depending on comorbidity and are NOT recommended for hip or polyarticular OA. Oral NSAIDs are not recommended for people with cardiovascular comorbidity or frailty, and oral and transdermal opioids are strongly not recommended (Level 5). Bannuru RR, Osani MC, Vaysbrot EE, et al. — [OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31278997/). *Osteoarthritis and Cartilage*, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2019.06.011. 2. The 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline makes STRONG recommendations for exercise, weight loss in people with knee and/or hip OA who are overweight or obese, self-efficacy and self-management programs, tai chi, cane use, tibiofemoral bracing for tibiofemoral knee OA, topical NSAIDs for knee OA, oral NSAIDs, and intra-articular glucocorticoid injections for knee OA. Radiofrequency ablation for knee OA, acupuncture, thermal modalities, acetaminophen, duloxetine and tramadol are only CONDITIONAL recommendations. Kolasinski SL, Neogi T, Hochberg MC, et al. — [2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31908163/). *Arthritis & Rheumatology*, 2020. DOI: 10.1002/art.41142. 3. The Cochrane review of land-based therapeutic exercise for knee osteoarthritis extracted data from 54 randomised trials, assessing pain, physical function and quality of life immediately after treatment and the sustained effect at 2-6 months and beyond 6 months. Only 19 of the included studies (20%) met all three low-risk-of-bias criteria the authors applied. Fransen M, McConnell S, Harmer AR, et al. — [Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25569281/). *Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews*, 2015. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004376.pub3. 4. In the IDEA trial, 454 overweight and obese adults aged 55+ with pain and radiographic knee OA were randomised to intensive diet plus exercise, diet alone, or exercise alone for 18 months. Mean weight loss was 10.6kg (11.4%) with diet plus exercise, 8.9kg (9.5%) with diet alone and 1.8kg (2.0%) with exercise alone; knee compressive force and IL-6 were lower in the diet groups than the exercise-only group. Messier SP, Mihalko SL, Legault C, et al. — [Effects of intensive diet and exercise on knee joint loads, inflammation, and clinical outcomes among overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis: the IDEA randomized clinical trial.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24065013/). *JAMA*, 2013. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2013.277669. 5. In 156 patients with knee osteoarthritis randomised in the US Military Health System, physical therapy produced a mean WOMAC total score of 37.0 at one year versus 55.8 for a single intra-articular glucocorticoid injection (mean between-group difference 18.8 points favouring physical therapy, 95% CI 5.0 to 32.6, on a 0-240 scale where higher is worse). Secondary outcomes moved in the same direction. Deyle GD, Allen CS, Allison SC, et al. — [Physical Therapy versus Glucocorticoid Injection for Osteoarthritis of the Knee.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32268027/). *New England Journal of Medicine*, 2020. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1905877. 6. FDA states directly that regenerative medicine therapies - including stem cells, stromal vascular fraction, umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid, Wharton's jelly, ortho-biologics and exosomes - have NOT been approved for the treatment of any orthopedic condition, naming osteoarthritis, tendonitis, disc disease, tennis elbow, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain and shoulder pain. FDA further states that being charged for these products, or being offered them outside an FDA-overseen clinical trial, means a patient is likely being deceived and offered a product illegally, and that a product's presence on clinicaltrials.gov or a firm's FDA registration does not mean the product is legally marketed. Reported harms include blindness, tumor formation, neurological events and life-threatening bacterial infections. US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research — [Important Patient and Consumer Information About Regenerative Medicine Therapies](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/consumers-biologics/important-patient-and-consumer-information-about-regenerative-medicine-therapies). *FDA.gov*, 2021. 7. The RESTORE trial randomised 288 community-based participants aged 50+ with symptomatic medial knee OA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2 or 3) to three weekly intra-articular injections of leukocyte-poor PRP or saline placebo, with participants, injectors and assessors all blinded. 93% completed the 12-month follow-up. PRP did not produce a clinically meaningful improvement in knee pain over placebo, and did not slow medial tibial cartilage volume loss on MRI. Bennell KL, Paterson KL, Metcalf BR, et al. — [Effect of Intra-articular Platelet-Rich Plasma vs Placebo Injection on Pain and Medial Tibial Cartilage Volume in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: The RESTORE Randomized Clinical Trial.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34812863/). *JAMA*, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.19415. ## What if the soreness doesn’t settle? QC Kinetix offers consultations with medical providers, the trained health workers who review your history and examine the sore joint. After the exam, the office may discuss regenerative treatments, meaning preparations made from a person’s blood, fat, or marrow, or from donated tissue, that are placed in the joint. Ask what the treatment involves, what it costs, and what may happen if it doesn’t help. You’ll have time to weigh the answers. Book a free consultation: --- Help for the joint that keeps bothering you. Why joints get sore, what may help, and when to have one checked in Chandler. Clear help with sore joints, home care and treatment questions in Chandler. This website is operated by the owners of the QC Kinetix Phoenix-area clinics; its Chandler referral is therefore first-party, while the clinical statements remain paired with sources that readers can inspect for themselves. © 2026 Chandler Joint Practice. General joint-care education only; an examining clinician should guide decisions about your diagnosis, exercise plan or procedure.