How to Manage Your Knee Pain While at Work

Knee pain can make the daily grind feel particularly burdensome. Fortunately, you can be proactive about managing — and, ideally, minimizing — that pain with these strategies.

The knee is the biggest joint in the body and it plays a huge role in our mobility. It’s no surprise, then, that knee problems can cause issues in daily living. That’s particularly true if you have a job that requires you to be on your feet.

Fortunately, if you have knee pain you’re struggling to manage while at work, we can help. Karl Siebuhr, MD, and our team offer treatments ranging from platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy to knee replacement.

At our Reconstructive Orthopaedics of Central Florida office in Ocala, Florida, we work with you to figure out what's causing your knee pain. Then, Dr. Siebuhr develops a treatment plan to target that issue and alleviate your discomfort.

We tailor the plan based on your knee and how the pain started.

If it’s related to a workplace injury

After an accident on the jobsite caused your knee pain, we can partner with you to get the care you deserve. As state-approved specialists in workers’ compensation claims, we know how to use your employer’s coverage to address your injury.

Their policy should cover diagnostic imaging, for example, to figure out what’s going on inside your knee. From there, Dr. Siebuhr creates a plan to help your knee heal.

We can work with you to get physical therapy covered if you would benefit from that type of treatment, for example. Or if you have a problem that will likely cause lifelong pain, Dr. Siebuhr can explore knee replacement surgery with you — and help you get it covered by workers’ comp.

If it’s related to a chronic condition

Sometimes, knee pain is caused by an old injury that never healed or a chronic disease like arthritis. If your knee pain has lasted more than a few months, your body likely won’t be able to repair whatever’s going on by itself.

We can help, though. With regenerative medicine treatment like PRP therapy, we can use your body’s own healing agents to stimulate regeneration in your knee.

Dr. Siebuhr works with you to find treatment(s) to minimize — and ideally eliminate — your knee pain. If more conservative options like PRP therapy don’t help, he scales up treatment. Dr. Siebuhr can help you explore your options all the way up to and including total knee replacement.

Adjustments you can make at work

No matter what caused your knee pain, some changes might help it feel its best throughout the work day. Those include:

Choosing supportive, comfortable shoes
Wearing a brace
Elevating your knee when you can
Applying an ice pack on your break
Avoiding impact (e.g., using the stairs instead of jumping off a ledge)

When you’re home, doing targeted stretching and strengthening exercises might also help to ease your knee pain over time.

These are small tweaks you can make, but persistent knee pain usually requires more involved care. To talk with Dr. Siebuhr so he can develop a personalized treatment plan for your knee, call our office or request an appointment online.