Knee pain can have many causes, including injury, trauma, natural wear and chronic conditions like arthritis. Common causes include:

• Osteoarthritis, which wears down cartilage in your joints and causes pain
• Post-traumatic arthritis that develops after an injury or accident
• Inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis
• Obesity or being overweight

There are many treatments for knee pain. They depend on what’s causing your pain. Your treatment may involve non-surgical treatment, like medications, devices like Iovera, knee braces or injections. Or you may need surgery or rehabilitation and physical therapy.

Partial and total knee replacement surgeries both involve removing damaged cartilage and bone. In a partial knee replacement, only the damaged part of your knee is replaced. During a total knee replacement, which is more common, your surgeon replaces the entire joint.

A partial knee replacement helps relieve arthritis in 1 or 2 of the 3 compartments that make up your knee joint. Your surgeon will carefully target the part of your knee that has been damaged and remove only the diseased area, leaving the surrounding healthy cartilage, bone and ligaments alone.

During a total knee replacement surgery, your orthopedic surgeon replaces your diseased or damaged knee joint with an artificial joint called an implant. There are different implant design options and fixation methods. Your surgeon will determine which type is best for you based on lifestyle, individual demands, bone quality and knee deformity. Once the knee is replaced, the implant moves similar to a healthy joint.

Robotic arm–assisted surgery, including Mako robotic-assisted procedures, are considered less invasive. Some research reports this technique relieves pain, restores mobility and can help you return to an active lifestyle faster. 

During a robotic arm-assisted knee replacement surgery, your orthopedic surgeon first uses a CT scan to create 3D images to plan the procedure. Your doctor will then guide the robotic arm to remove damaged bone and cartilage and insert a total or partial knee implant.

A robotic arm doesn’t perform your surgery on its own and can’t make decisions or move without your surgeon. It’s simply a tool that helps your doctor plan and perform the procedure with precision and accuracy regarding implant placement of your new knee.

Augmented reality (AR) joint replacement surgery is an innovative technology that allows your surgeon to see helpful data, like bone angles or implant placement, while they look at your actual knee. This helps your surgeon make smaller incisions and place your implant more precisely — meaning less pain, less blood loss and quicker healing for you.

Similar to robotic arm-assisted surgery, the AR system doesn’t perform surgery on its own. Your surgeon still performs the procedure.

Thanks to advances in many aspects of knee replacement procedures, like Mako robotic arm-assisted surgery, some research reports better results with less scarring and downtime after a knee replacement.

Less-invasive knee replacement procedures shorten the amount of time it takes to heal and rehabilitate your knee. Often, you’ll be able to go home the day of your surgery.

Preparing for surgery with specific exercises months ahead is important. Shortly after your surgery, your nurses and rehabilitation team will mobilize you with simple exercises to get your muscles and joints moving. Your care team will help you achieve a list of specific goals you’ll need to reach before heading home from the hospital. These include getting in and out of bed without help, walking up and down steps and performing exercises with the help of a cane or walker.

Knee replacements are successful at reducing pain, increasing mobility and improving quality of life. Research shows that more than 90% of people who have knee replacement surgery have far less pain and maintain good function for decades.