Partial Knee Replacement vs Injections and Physical Therapy
Injections and physio are first-line. UKA wins once arthritis is structural and conservative care has stopped working.
Injections (cortisone, hyaluronic acid) and physiotherapy are always tried first and often work well for years in earlier arthritis. They reduce pain, strengthen supporting muscles and delay surgery — sometimes indefinitely.
They stop being effective once cartilage damage is structural: bone-on-bone X-rays, deformity that cannot be corrected, pain at rest and disturbed sleep. At that point injections give shorter and shorter relief and physiotherapy cannot rebuild the joint.
UKA is the right next step at that point. Continuing to inject a structurally failed joint delays definitive treatment, weakens surrounding tissues over time and prolongs avoidable pain.
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