A technological overview of cooled radiofrequency ablation and its effectiveness in the management of chronic knee pain

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful and sometimes debilitating condition affecting an estimated 14 million people in the USA alone. Management of knee OA begins with conservative medical treatments and progresses to total knee arthroplasty. Managing pain until a patient is eligible for arthroplasty remains a key part of the treatment algorithm for knee OA. Cooled radiofrequency ablation has shown clinical effectiveness in managing knee OA pain, with a majority of patients experiencing upwards of 12 months of analgesic effect. Herein is presented an overview of the technology of cooled radiofrequency ablation and a summary of current clinical trials demonstrating the treatments effectiveness.