PHOENIX (Aug. 27, 2024) – Banner – University Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Institute and Banner Sports Medicine Scottsdale is offering an innovative new treatment for people suffering from chronic joint pain in the knees, hands and wrists.
In the United States, there are nearly one million knee replacement surgeries each year, and that number is expected to increase to 4 million by 2030. Yet despite the best advancements in knee replacement surgery, up to 20% of patients still have residual pain. A clinical trial was just published showing long-lasting pain relief and quick return of function with surgical knee denervation.
Dr. Josh Hustedt, an orthopedic surgeon at Banner Health, has pioneered the revolutionary new procedure called joint denervation. Banner Health is now one of only a few centers in the world to offer the procedure developed by Dr. Hustedt.
In the procedure, doctors target the nerves that are transmitting pain signals from the joint to the brain. These nerves are cut and transferred to surrounding muscle. The transferred nerves grow into and innervate the surrounding muscle, transforming from ‘sensory’ nerves to ‘motor’ nerves. This change in nerve function causes an associated change in the brain’s response and shuts off the pain signal permanently. The procedure doesn’t change the fact that the patient has arthritis, but it makes it so the patient can’t feel the pain anymore. The nerves that provide function are left intact, providing pain relief but with retained function.
Christina Lipska, 63 from Phoenix, never thought her knee pain would go away. Lipska is a caregiver and says she’s suffered from arthritis in her left knee for over 25 years and decided to have a total knee replacement to fix the pain July 2020. But for years after, the pain lingered. Unfortunately, her doctor told her that her pain simply needed to be better managed.
Two years after that knee replacement, the pain became unbearable. She went to Banner for help, and learned she was a candidate for joint denervation. Lipska had the procedure by Dr. Hustedt in May, and she says her pain has significantly improved.
“I love that the Banner team came up with an alternative to my pain and is doing something about it,” Lipska said. “I truly was losing my mind. This is a world of difference.”
Joint denervation can provide pain relief for patients who have had a joint replacement, but still have pain. It is also ideal for patients who are at high risk for joint replacement procedures due to weight, diabetes, smoking, or other medical conditions.
“Traditionally, joint pain was treated by removing and replacing the worn-out parts. But we needed to find a way to reduce that pain, without resorting to complex joint replacement. Joint denervation does just that,” said Dr. Hustedt. “It is also minimally-invasive because we are targeting the nervous system, so it’s much easier on the patient – and less risky. Most importantly, it gives patients the power and control back in their lives to move past pain that has, in many cases, lingered for so long.”
Joint denervation is available to patients of all ages. For more information about joint denervation, please visit https://www.bannerhealth.com/services/orthopedics/hand-wrist/joint-denervation.
Banner Health is one of the largest, secular nonprofit health care systems in the country. In addition to 33 hospitals, Banner also operates an academic medicine division, Banner – University Medicine, and Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, a partnership with one of the world’s leading cancer programs, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Banner’s array of services includes a health insurance division, employed physician groups, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care locations, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies, stand-alone imaging centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation, behavioral health services, a research division and a nursing registry. To make health care easier, 100% of Banner-employed doctors are available for virtual visits and patients may also reserve spots at Banner Urgent Care locations and can book appointments online with many Banner-employed doctors. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health also has locations in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com.
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