# Options for staying active *Options for Staying Active — Arthritis Treatment Gilbert* > Arthritis pain relief explained plainly, from home care and medicines to regenerative treatments and arthritis treatment without surgery. This page explains the choices for easing joint soreness. ## What can I try before surgery? Start with basic care. Keep moving, but cut back when a task sharply raises soreness. Build strength around the joint. Heat, cold, a brace or a cane may help. Medicine can help too, but it must fit your health and prescriptions. These steps aren't fancy. They may still help you walk, sleep or work more easily. Start with the simplest choice that helps. ## What should I know about pain medicine? A cream rubbed on the joint may affect less of your body than a pill. Pills can help, but they may trouble your kidneys, heart or stomach. Don't assume regular use is safe because the bottle looks familiar. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to check the dose and your other medicines. Decide what relief means to you, such as better sleep or an easier walk. If the medicine doesn't help, ask about another choice. ## What does QC Kinetix offer? QC Kinetix offers regenerative treatments for joint soreness. These are non-surgical shots made with material taken from your body. Its medical providers are the clinicians who'll examine you and perform the care. They can discuss platelet-rich plasma (PRP), concentrated PRP and other biologic therapies made from living tissue. During PRP, they'll draw some of your blood, spin it to gather the platelet-rich part and place that prepared plasma into your sore joint during that visit. Concentrated PRP has more platelets in the prepared plasma. Orthobiologics is a broad name for treatments made from blood, marrow, fat or donated tissue. It doesn't name one treatment. Joint preservation means trying to keep the joint useful and perhaps delay knee or hip surgery. That could mean less soreness or easier walking, but results differ. Your first talk costs nothing. Ask exactly what would be used. ## How do I choose without being sold? Ask what could improve after treatment. Ask how long care takes, how recovery may feel and what you'll pay. Find out when the clinician would stop or change treatment. A straight answer won't hide the limits. Knee or hip surgery alternatives may be worth discussing when basic care hasn't brought enough arthritis pain relief. You need the limits as clearly as the possible benefit. ## Sources 1. The 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline makes STRONG recommendations for exercise, weight loss in people with overweight or obesity, self-efficacy and self-management programmes, tai chi, cane use, hand orthoses for first-CMC joint OA, tibiofemoral bracing, topical NSAIDs for the knee, oral NSAIDs and intra-articular glucocorticoid injections for the knee; acupuncture, thermal modalities, radiofrequency ablation, acetaminophen, duloxetine and tramadol are only conditional. Kolasinski SL, 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 Rheumatol*, 2020. DOI: 10.1002/art.41142. 2. OARSI designates arthritis education plus structured land-based exercise (with dietary weight management for the knee) as CORE treatments for knee, hip and polyarticular OA. Topical NSAIDs are Level 1A for knee OA. Intra-articular corticosteroids, intra-articular hyaluronic acid and aquatic exercise are Level 1B/2 for the KNEE only and are NOT recommended for hip or polyarticular OA. Acetaminophen is conditionally not recommended, and no oral NSAID is recommended for people with cardiovascular comorbidity or frailty. Bannuru RR, et al. — [OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31278997/). *Osteoarthritis Cartilage*, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2019.06.011. 3. The Cochrane review of land-based therapeutic exercise for knee osteoarthritis extracted data from 54 studies, with high-quality evidence from 44 trials (3,537 participants) that exercise reduces pain immediately after treatment, and further high-quality evidence that it improves physical function. Benefit attenuates but persists for at least two to six months after the programme ends. Fransen M, et al. — [Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25569281/). *Cochrane Database Syst Rev*, 2015. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004376.pub3. 4. In the 454-person IDEA randomized trial, 18 months of intensive diet plus exercise produced 10.6 kg (11.4%) mean weight loss and less pain and better function than either diet alone or exercise alone in overweight and obese adults aged 55 and older with painful radiographic knee OA. The exercise-only group lost 1.8 kg (2.0%). Messier SP, 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 a two-year double-blind randomized trial of 140 patients with symptomatic knee OA and ultrasonic synovitis, intra-articular triamcinolone 40 mg every 12 weeks produced significantly greater cartilage volume loss than saline (index compartment cartilage thickness change -0.21 mm vs -0.10 mm; between-group difference -0.11 mm, 95% CI -0.20 to -0.03) with NO significant difference in pain. McAlindon TE, et al. — [Effect of Intra-articular Triamcinolone vs Saline on Knee Cartilage Volume and Pain in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28510679/). *JAMA*, 2017. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2017.5283. 6. A BMJ systematic review and meta-analysis of 169 trials (21,163 participants) found that in the pre-specified main analysis of 24 large placebo-controlled trials (8,997 participants), viscosupplementation reduced pain by only SMD -0.08 (95% CI -0.15 to -0.02) - about 2.0 mm on a 100 mm scale - with the confidence interval excluding the minimal clinically important difference of -0.37. Trial sequential analysis indicated conclusive evidence of clinical equivalence to placebo since 2009. Pereira TV, et al. — [Viscosupplementation for knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36333100/). *BMJ*, 2022. DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2022-069722. 7. The RESTORE randomized clinical trial (n=288) compared three weekly intra-articular injections of leukocyte-poor PRP with saline placebo in symptomatic mild-to-moderate medial knee OA. At 12 months the mean change in knee pain was -2.1 versus -1.8 points (difference -0.4, 95% CI -0.9 to 0.2, P=.17) and the mean change in medial tibial cartilage volume was -1.4% versus -1.2% (P=.81). Twenty-nine of 31 prespecified secondary outcomes showed no significant between-group difference. Bennell KL, 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. 8. FDA states verbatim that stem cell products, stromal vascular fraction (adipose-derived), umbilical cord blood, Wharton's jelly, amniotic fluid and exosome products have NOT been approved 'for the treatment of any orthopedic condition, such as osteoarthritis, tendonitis, disc disease, tennis elbow, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain, or shoulder pain.' The only FDA-approved stem cell products in the United States are blood-forming (hematopoietic progenitor) cells derived from umbilical cord blood, approved only for disorders of blood production, and there are currently NO FDA-approved exosome products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration — [Consumer Alert on Regenerative Medicine Products Including Stem Cells and Exosomes](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/consumers-biologics/consumer-alert-regenerative-medicine-products-including-stem-cells-and-exosomes). *FDA (Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research)*, 2020. 9. A second randomized controlled trial (58 patients, Kellgren-Lawrence grades 1-4) compared a single ultrasound-guided injection of leukocyte-rich PRP with microfragmented adipose tissue harvested by lipoaspiration, with the KOOS pain subscore at 6 months as the primary outcome - a direct head-to-head of the two most-marketed orthobiologic options. Baria M, et al. — [Platelet-Rich Plasma Versus Microfragmented Adipose Tissue for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36147791/). *Orthop J Sports Med*, 2022. DOI: 10.1177/23259671221120678. 10. A two-year randomized placebo-controlled trial in 146 participants with symptomatic knee OA raised serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D by a mean 16.1 ng/mL with cholecalciferol 2000 IU/day, testing whether vitamin D supplementation reduces symptom and structural progression of knee osteoarthritis. McAlindon T, et al. — [Effect of vitamin D supplementation on progression of knee pain and cartilage volume loss in patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23299607/). *JAMA*, 2013. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2012.164487. ## What should you bring to the visit? Bring a short note about soreness, swelling and daily limits. Include your medicines and the questions you want answered. Ask what would be placed in your joint, what it costs and how recovery may feel. The Chandler location is at 1100 S. Dobson Rd., Suite 210. Call (602) 837-PAIN to speak with the clinic team. Book a free consultation: --- Clear answers for sore joints. Arthritis treatment Gilbert readers can use for straight answers about soreness, simple relief, red flags and nearby non-surgical options. Plain answers about joint soreness, daily movement and nearby care for Gilbert readers. This Gilbert site is operated by the owners of the QC Kinetix Phoenix-area clinics. © 2026 Gilbert Joint Motion. This material provides general education only; make personal medical decisions with a qualified clinician.