• Careers
  • Education
  • Research
Ochsner Health Ochsner Health
  • About
  • Find A Doctor (current)
  • Find A Location
  • Specialties & Treatments
MyOchsner Logo
Login | Signup
Submit Search
Close Search
  •   Home
  • In To Your Health...
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
  • I need to...
  • Find A Doctor
  • Find A Location
  • Find A Specialty
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Pay A Bill
  • Explore
  • About Ochsner
  • Careers
  • Patients & Visitors
  • "To Your Health" Blog
  • Health Resources
  • Medical Professionals
  • Education
  • Philanthropy
  • Community Outreach
  • Research
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Schedule an Appointment
  • Call: 1-866-624-7637
  • Online: Login to MyOchsner
  • Personalize your content
  • patient Edit Persona Persona Chooser
To Your Health

View Newsletter Editions
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
Thinkstockphotos 516656993 Knee Pain

COOLIEF and Chronic Joint Pain Relief

Updated: Sep 4, 2020 | Originally Published: Jul 2, 2015 |
By Maged Guirguis, MD
Share Facebook Logo Twitter Logo Pinterest Logo Email Logo

Chronic knee, hip and shoulder joint pain are some of the most common diseases associated with advanced age. Nearly 20 million U.S. adults suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee and symptomatic osteoarthritis of the hip affects over 4% of adults over the age of 55. Roughly 700,000 chronic joint pain cases progress to total joint replacement each year.

A large demographic of chronic joint pain patients are not candidates for invasive procedures due to their body type, age and other diseases. These patients are mainly managed medically or with alternative therapies such as arthroscopic debridement or injections with less than optimal relief. However, COOLIEF is a relatively recent procedure that has been shown to offer long-lasting relief for some patients. 

What Is COOLIEF?

COOLIEF, or Cooled Radiofrequency Treatment, is a minimally invasive and non-surgical outpatient procedure covered by all major insurance carriers to target and treat the nerves causing chronic joint or back pain. This advanced procedure uses cooled radio frequency energy to safely target the sensory nerves causing pain.

How Does It Work?

COOLIEF circulates water through the device while heating tissues to create a treatment area that is large enough to ablate the pain nerves. This combination targets the pain-causing nerves without excessive heating, leading to pain relief for prolonged periods.

Do Patients With Joint Pain Benefit From COOLIEF?

Studies have demonstrated that cooled radio frequency treatment can relieve chronic back pain in patients for up to 24 months. Recent studies of Knee pain should extend pain relief over 12 months before repeating the procedure. After which this technology became the first and only radio frequency treatment to be cleared by FDA specifically to relieve knee arthritis pain. Multiple studies are still ongoing showing prolonged relief for HIP and shoulder pain

Is COOLIEF Right For Me?

Patients with chronic joint pain who are not candidates for surgery or for whom surgery has failed to help with pain relief should speak with their physician, who can properly assess their condition. COOLIEF must be administered by a trained physician. Patients should ask their physician to determine if the procedure is right for them.

What Should I Expect After The Procedure?

Patients may experience some discomfort at the radio frequency site for a very short period, but this discomfort can be treated with common over-the-counter medication. Unlike surgery, there is no incision.

How Soon Can I Go Home After Treatment?

Patients should be able to return home on the same day shortly after the treatment. They can expect to return to work or their normal activities in less than 48 hours with improved physical function and reduced use of pain medications.

Don’t Let Pain Control You. Schedule an appointment with our pain management experts today.

Tags
coolief
pain

You may also be interested in:

Man headache pain management
Conditions & Treatment
Sep 4, 2020

Back Pain: Signs You Need to See a Doctor

If you experience numbness, tingling, heavy feet, or pain only at night there may be cause for concern.
Thinkstockphotos 494389787 Sm
Conditions & Treatment
Aug 1, 2016

Alternatives to Opioids for Chronic Pain

Different methods are being examined when dealing with chronic pain since opioids are no longer considered an effect treatment method.
Man grabbing his pack in pain
Conditions & Treatment
Sep 4, 2020

Are You Suffering from Chronic Back Pain?

Chronic back pain is an all too common problem, and it can have physical, psychological, social and economic effects. Dr. Kelly Paulk shares some non-opioid back pain treatments.

Comments about the blog? Send us an email!

Ochsner Health Ochsner Health

Schedule An Appointment: 1-866-624-7637

Follow us: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Pinterest

Healthy living tips, delivered weekly to your inbox.

Patients & Visitors

  • Billing & Financial Services
  • Insurance Information
  • International Patients
  • Request Medical Records
  • Share Your Story
  • Read Patient Stories

Medical Professionals

  • Transfer a Patient
  • Refer a Patient

Health Resources

  • To Your Health Blog
  • Golden Opportunity
  • Hello Health Seminars
  • Ochsner Magazine

Job Seekers

  • Career Paths
  • Benefits
  • Open Positions

Employees

  • Webmail
  • OHSLink
  • Workday

Employers

  • Corporate Wellness
  • Medicare Advantage Plans

Community Outreach

  • Classes & Events
  • Programs
  • Community Health Needs Assessment
  • Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy

Education

  • Graduate Medical Education
  • Clinical Medical Education
  • Continuing Medical Education
  • Medical Library
  • Publishing Services
  • Medical Illustrations

Research

  • Clinical Trials
  • Applied Health Services Research
  • Clinical Research & Trials
  • Nursing Research
  • Translational Research

Giving

  • Donate
  • Volunteer

About Ochsner

  • Mission & Vision
  • History
  • Annual Report
  • Outcomes & Honors
  • News & Media
  • Alumni
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Contact Us

Shop

  • O Bar
  • Optical Shop
  • Ochsner Fitness Center
  • Brent House Hotel

© Ochsner Health  | Notice of Privacy Practices | Terms of Use | Vendor Information

Ochsner accepts all major insurances.

Ochsner is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, founded on providing the best patient care, research, and education.

We are one of the country’s largest non-university based academic medical centers.

Ochsner is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Community Needs Health Assessment

EpicMobile Tablet | EpicMobile Phone

Healthy Living Tips, Delivered Right To Your Inbox

* indicates required


Must Reads
Food and Fitness
Men’s Health
Parenting
Women’s Health

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:


Get Weekly Health Tips

Select the weekly newsletters you'd like to receive.

Please select at least one category to continue.

Curious about our newsletters?

View details for each edition

Let us know where to send your weekly newsletters.

To Your Health- Food and Fitness:
To Your Health- General:
To Your Health- Men’s Health:
To Your Health- Parenting:
To Your Health- Women’s Health:

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:

You're all set!

We’ll send newsletters full of healthy living tips right to your inbox every week.

Ochsner Health System
ESC to Close

Begin Typing to Search

Select the drop-down to filter Search by Blog Articles or Sitewide