Knee Pain Treatment
The knee absorbs force with every step, squat, and stair — so pain here quickly limits daily life. Knee pain can come from arthritis, tendon and ligament injuries, cartilage (meniscus) damage, or tracking problems in the kneecap. Mountain View Pain Center treats knee pain non-surgically with coordinated pain management, physical therapy, chiropractic care, and acupuncture, helping many patients avoid or delay surgery.
Common Causes of Knee Pain
Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of chronic knee pain in adults, as cartilage gradually wears and the joint becomes stiff and swollen. Patellofemoral pain syndrome ("runner's knee") causes pain around the kneecap with stairs, squatting, or sitting. Meniscus tears may follow twisting injuries or develop gradually with age. Tendinopathies of the patellar and quadriceps tendons follow overuse. Ligament sprains (MCL, ACL) follow sports and accident injuries. In adolescents, Osgood-Schlatter disease causes pain below the kneecap at the growth plate.
Common Symptoms
Aching or sharp pain with activity, stiffness after sitting or in the morning, swelling, clicking or grinding, instability or "giving way," and pain localized to the front, sides, or back of the knee depending on the structure involved.
How We Evaluate Knee Pain
We take a history focused on how the pain began and what aggravates it, then examine gait, alignment, range of motion, stability, and strength through the hip and ankle as well — mechanics above and below the knee often drive knee pain. Imaging is used when the exam suggests structural injury or when arthritis staging would change treatment.
How We Treat Knee Pain
- Pain management — image-guided injections can reduce inflammation and pain to enable rehab
- Physical therapy — strengthening the quadriceps, hips, and core, restoring mobility, and retraining movement patterns is the foundation of non-surgical knee care
- Chiropractic care — addresses joint mechanics and associated low back, hip, and ankle contributors
- Acupuncture — an evidence-informed adjunct for pain relief, particularly in knee osteoarthritis
Request Your Appointment — clinics across Colorado and Arizona, or call (720) 749-5599.
Do You Need Knee Surgery?
Often, no — and the evidence on this is unusually clear. For degenerative meniscus tears in middle age, rigorous randomised trials have found that structured exercise therapy matches arthroscopic surgery on pain and function. For knee osteoarthritis, guideline-recommended first-line care is exercise, load management and weight support, not the operating table.
That does not mean surgery is never right. A locked knee, a traumatic tear in a younger patient, or end-stage arthritis that has stopped responding to everything else are all genuine surgical conversations. What it means is that surgery should be the conclusion of a process, not the opening move.
The knee also takes a particular beating in Colorado and Arizona — hiking, skiing, pickleball and golf are hard on it in different ways, and the pattern of your pain usually tells us which activity is driving it. Our evaluation covers osteoarthritis, patellofemoral (kneecap) pain, meniscus problems, patellar and quadriceps tendinopathy, ligament sprains and post-injury instability, and referred pain from the hip or low back — because a knee that hurts without a clear knee finding is often not a knee problem at all.
Where We Treat Knee Pain
Mountain View Pain Center runs 22 clinics, and every one of them has pain management, physical therapy, chiropractic care and acupuncture in the same building — so if knee pain needs more than one kind of care, you do not get handed off to another practice.
Colorado: Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Lakewood, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Northglenn, Lafayette, Greeley, Fort Collins.
Arizona: Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale, Peoria.
No referral is needed in either state. Find your nearest clinic on the full clinic map, or call Colorado (720) 749-5599 or Arizona (602) 325-2024.
Knee Pain FAQs
When is knee pain serious?
Seek prompt care for a knee that is significantly swollen, unstable, can't bear weight, or locked. For most gradual-onset knee pain, evaluation is warranted when pain persists beyond a few weeks or limits activity.
Can knee arthritis be treated without surgery?
Yes. Exercise therapy, weight management, activity modification, and injections control symptoms well for many patients. Surgery is typically considered when conservative care no longer maintains acceptable function.
Why does my knee hurt going down stairs?
Descending stairs loads the kneecap joint several times body weight, so patellofemoral problems and arthritis often show up there first. Strengthening the quadriceps and hips usually improves it.
Do meniscus tears always need surgery?
No. Degenerative meniscus tears frequently do as well with structured physical therapy as with surgery. Acute tears causing locking, or tears in young athletes, are more often surgical.
Do I need a referral to schedule?
Most patients can schedule directly without a referral. Some insurance plans require one for coverage — we verify your benefits before your first visit, so call (720) 749-5599 and we'll handle the details.
References
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons — OrthoInfo: Arthritis of the Knee
- NIAMS (NIH): Osteoarthritis
- MedlinePlus (NIH): Knee Pain
Last updated: July 23, 2026.