Harvard Health Ad Watch: A new treatment for knee arthritis

The TV ad promises pain relief for knee osteoarthritis, the source of most of the 600,000 knee replacement surgeries performed in the US each year. A man in a bowling alley winces with pain. He nearly falls as he rolls a ball into the gutter. (Did I mention the arrow sticking out of his knee?) “Knee acting up again?” asks his buddy, clearly concerned. When pain pills don’t seem to help, his buddy suggests a procedure called Coolief for knee osteoarthritis. “I had it done six months ago,” says the bowling buddy. “And the best part is that it lasts up to one year.” What is Coolief? Coolief is a procedure, not a pill. A doctor inserts electrodes through the skin, placing them near nerves in several locations around the knee. Electric current applied through the electrodes delivers heat to the nerve. This impairs its ability to send pain signals to the brain. Standard nerve blocks use a similar method to block pain signals. But Coolief doesn’t just heat up the electrodes, it cools them down – a technique called “cooled radiofrequency ablation.” The idea is to deliver more energy where it’s supposed to go with less collateral damage. The procedure is considered minimally invasive. However, it requires several injections and x-ray guidance to be sure of the proper location. By comparison, a cortisone shot in the knee to relieve pain is usually only one injection, and x-ray guidance is rarely needed. Does Coolief work? A number of studies have tried to answer...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Arthritis Bones and joints Osteoarthritis Pain Management Tests and procedures Source Type: blogs