HOUSTON – Knee pain can be debilitating and turn an active person into someone who can barely walk. But now there's a new procedure that can bring relief without surgery or medication.
For years Sharon Basham-Dominguez lived with agonizing knee pain. She accepted it as part of life, until one day it got so bad she couldn't spend time with family.
"I couldn't do it. And some days I just, I have to lay there. I apologize to the grandkids that gran-gran can't do anything today with you but maybe tomorrow will be a better day," she said.
But Basham-Dominguez's doctor, neurologist Vernon Williams, is about to eliminate her pain with a device called iOvera. It applies nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, to the affected knee.
"(It will be applied) right on top of the nerve, and reduce the temperature of that nerve, so that it's unable to send pain signals," Williams said.
So after years of suffering, Basham-Dominguez might finally get some relief.
"(The treatment) dramatically improves pain and function without surgery and without medication," Williams said.
Only numbing medicine was required where Williams inserted the device into Basham-Dominguez's knee. After using ultrasound to identify the problem areas, he began the procedure.
It took only a few minutes per area. Basham-Dominguez only felt a slight pin prick where Williams inserted the needle. After he froze both knees, Basham-Dominguez's pain was almost completely gone.
"To not have the pain, it's been so long, so many years of living in constant pain, so I'm a little overwhelmed at feeling, I guess you call it, normal. It's been so long since I've been normal. So my knees feel great," she said.
Williams said the procedure can help reduce the pain temporarily but it's not a cure. You need to find out what's causing the pain and address the underlying issue as well. The procedure is fairly new and it's not yet covered by insurance, so expect to pay around $1,000 per treatment.