Chronic knee and hip joint pain is one of the most common diseases of advanced age. With up to 20 million adults in the U.S. suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee, symptomatic osteoarthritis of the hip affects 4.4% of adults older than 55 years of age. Close to 700,000 cases progress to total joint replacement each year.
However, 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.
What is COOLIEF?
COOLIEF (Cooled Radiofrequency Treatment) is a new 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 radiofrequency energy to safely target the sensory nerves causing pain.
How does COOLIEF work?
COOLIEF circulates water through the device while heating nervous tissue 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.
Do patients with joint pain benefit from COOLIEF?
Studies have demonstrated that cooled RF treatment can relieve chronic back pain patients for up to 24 months. Although there are not many published studies for joint pain, multiple case reports and emerging studies had shown relief for more than 6 months up to 18-24 months.
How would I know if COOLIEF is right for me?
Patients with chronic joint pain who are not candidate for surgery or whom surgery failed to help with their pain relief should begin with speaking to their physician who can properly assess their condition. COOLIEF must be administered by a COOLIEF-trained physician. Patients should ask their physician to determine if the procedure is right for them.
What should patients expect after the procedure?
Patients may experience some discomfort at the radiofrequency site for a short period, but this discomfort can be treated with common over-the-counter medication. Unlike surgery, there is no incision.
How soon can patients go home after the treatment?
Patients should be able to return home same day shortly after the treatment.
When can patients return to their normal activities?
Within few days patient would be able to return back to work and their normal everyday activities with improved physical function and reduced use of pain medications.
