9 At-Home Treatments for Arthritis Knee Pain

At-home treatment for arthritis knee pain can help you to manage common symptoms of pain, swelling, stiffness, and tenderness. They include lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise. Weight loss to ease pressure on joints is a common strategy.

Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid (RA) arthritis are the most common types to cause inflammation in the joints, though there are more than 100 types. Knee arthritis can be painful and affect your ability to walk or climb steps, with quality-of-life impacts at home and time lost from work. A healthcare provider can help to diagnose and treat your pain.

1. Physical Activity

Exercise is a first-line intervention for people dealing with knee pain due to arthritis. It helps to strengthen muscles at the knee and reduce stress on the joint, while helping to reduce pain.

Benefits of exercise that are related to arthritis include:

• Strengthening the muscles around the joints
• Maintaining your bone strength
• Giving you more energy
• Helping you keep a healthy weight
• Making it easier to sleep at night
• Improving your balance
• Enhancing your life quality

A 2019 review of studies evaluated the effects of exercise, physical function, quality of life as it pertained to overall health, co-comorbid conditions (coexisting diseases), and OA structural disease progression in people with OA of the knees or hips. The study suggests exercise:

• Decreases pain
• Improves physical function
• Boosts health-related quality of life

The study also found that in some cases, improvements continued for up to six months following the end of an exercise program. The report’s authors recommend physical activity (aerobic training, stretching, tai chi) for people living with OA, regardless of type or how minimal the effort.

Low-Impact and Low Intensity Exercise

Recommendations from the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) include several types of exercise, including walking, biking, swimming, and other low-impact activities. Aquatic exercise workouts may deliver short-term benefits but research results are mixed.

Low-intensity exercise, where your heart rate is not raised, may help to improve flexibility, balance, and muscle strength. It's generally considered safe: Two studies reviewed in the EULAR research found a minimal risk of harm with exercise as part of an arthritis treatment plan.

Strengthening Exercises

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, you can reduce stress on your knee joints by regularly working out the muscles around the knees. This includes exercises that work the hip muscles, glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps muscles. Examples include lifting weights, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and working with resistance bands.

Many benefits can be gained from strengthening exercises, including:

• Increased muscle strength
• Reduced risk for injuries
• Improved function and movement
• Delayed onset of arthritic damage

You shouldn’t feel any pain as you do your strengthening exercises. Talk to your healthcare provider or a physical therapist if you find yourself experiencing pain while exercising your muscles and joints.

Stretching

Stretching exercises can help people diagnosed with arthritis to manage knee pain. That's according to a 2024 review of 17 studies, in which authors recommend mixed types of exercise for the most effective approach to physical symptoms.

There are many benefits, including:

• Improved range of motion
• Decreased muscle tension
• Reduced risk for muscle or soft tissue injury
• Improved synovial fluid—the fluid found in the cavities of synovial joints

Harvard Medical School recommends stretching exercises before and after aerobic or strength training exercises.

Tai Chi

Research on tai chi has demonstrated benefits for people experiencing OA pain and stiffness. A 2021 review of studies that included 986 people found tai chi led to improved knee function, balance, and overall physical and mental health.

The best way to learn tai chi, a practice in traditional Chinese medicine, is with an instructor. Look for a class at your local fitness center or ask your healthcare provider or physical therapist for a recommendation.

You may want to watch a class first before you commit. You should also check with your healthcare provider to see if tai chi is safe for you to do, as you would with any type of exercise program.

2. Diet

As you try to tackle your knee pain, don’t overlook the importance of a healthy, well-balanced diet. Attention to your diet can help you to keep your weight under control and reduce inflammation and pain.

Weight Management

Maintaining a healthy weight can be beneficial to your knee joints. This is because there is reduced stress on your knees. And according to the American College of Rheumatology and the Arthritis Foundation, losing 5% or more of your body weight can have positive effects on your knee function and treatment outcomes if you are overweight.

A 2018 article published Frontiers in Medicine explained how being overweight also can cause the body to activate and sustain inflammation. This type of inflammation can worsen an autoimmune disease like RA. More inflammation means more knee joint pain.

Additional benefits to weight management can include:

• Reduced disease activity: Losing weight can reduce the overall severity of the disease, especially in inflammatory arthritis.
• Increased potential for remission: Remission, as it relates to inflammatory arthritis like RA, means little or no disease activity. The Arthritis Foundation reports on several studies showing that being overweight reduces the chance of achieving minimal disease activity or remission in people who have rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis.
• Slowed cartilage degeneration in RA: Weight loss can significantly lower cartilage deterioration and the more weight you lose, the less effect OA will have on you. Cartilage is the tissue that cushions the joints.

A healthy weight can also reduce your risk for a variety of serious health conditions, like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

While there is no recommended diet for OA, RA, and other types of inflammatory arthritis, an anti-inflammatory diet may reduce joint pain and inflammation caused by these conditions.

Any diet that is rich in whole foods and low in processed foods and saturated fats, is better for your overall health. A study from Michigan State University confirms that whole-food, plant-based diets could significantly improve function and pain in people with OA.

Many anti-inflammatory diets follow a whole-foods, plant-based diet structure that is free of refined and processed foods. One example of an anti-inflammatory diet is the Mediterranean diet, with an emphasis on whole foods and fresh produce while avoiding processed foods.

3. Over-the-Counter Medications

The main over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers are acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. These can help you to manage the pain and inflammation associated with knee arthritis.

While you can take OTC pain relievers to manage your knee symptoms, you should take these medications with caution and only if your healthcare provider has included them in your knee arthritis treatment plan.

Be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle, in addition to any instructions your healthcare provider has given you. NSAIDs can irritate the stomach lining and lead to an ulcer and other stomach issues. NSAIDs can also increase blood pressure and raise your risk for heart disease.

Chronic use of NSAIDs can lead to kidney damage. Excessive use of acetaminophen can lead to liver injury.

4. Supplements

Some people use supplements to manage knee pain from all types of arthritis. More research on their benefits is needed, but there's some evidence of benefit from:

• Vitamin E, vitamin C, selenium, and other antioxidants
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin K
• Omega-3 fatty acids (though some experts do not recommend their use)

Copper and iron may have negative effects. The following supplements also have some science backing behind them, suggesting they may be effective in managing symptoms of knee pain.

Ginger

Ginger has been found to have anti-inflammatory properties that can help decrease pain and inflammation. In a study reported in 2016, researchers found both ginger and echinacea supplements were effective in reducing pain and inflammation after knee surgery.

Ginger can alter the effects of blood thinners, so make sure you check with your healthcare provider before you start taking it.

Boswellia

Also known as Indian frankincense, boswellia has been used to reduce pain and improve knee joint function. A 2020 review of seven studies found benefits for people living with OA symptoms but more research is needed.

Turmeric/Curcumin

Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric, a spice that has been around for thousands of years in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. It has anti-inflammatory properties and can help to reduce inflammation and pain throughout the body.

A 2019 study suggests that curcumin has similar effectiveness to diclofenac, a prescription NSAID, in managing knee OA. Curcumin does not have the same side effects and adverse effects as NSAIDs. However, in high doses, it can increase the risk of bruising, bleeding, nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal upset, and kidney stones.

5. Topical Treatments

Topical treatments like pain relief creams and essential oils are additional options for helping you manage knee arthritis at home.

OTC Topical Remedies

Topical pain relievers are treatments that are applied to the skin. They work to dull pain. Because they don’t reach the entire body, topical pain relievers have fewer side effects compared to oral drug therapies.

There are different options for OTC topical pain relievers, including creams, sprays, and gels to help manage knee pain from arthritis. Some of these contain the same ingredients that NSAIDs contain. Lidocaine patches and creams can also be helpful and are found in over-the-counter formulations. Others contain capsaicin, the compound found in chill peppers that makes them hot.

Both topical NSAIDs and capsaicin are recommended by the 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guidelines for managing OA of the knee.

Essential Oils

There is some evidence to suggest that certain essential oils can be used to treat knee arthritis. For example, a 2016 review found that turmeric extract reduced the symptoms of knee arthritis, although more research is needed.

Another study reported in 2016 found people with RA who received 30 minutes of aromatherapy massage regularly to an arthritic knee had diminished pain after two weeks. Different essential oils—such as eucalyptus, frankincense, lavender, ginger, and more—can help manage knee pain. They can be mixed to produce maximum effects.

Essential oils can be inhaled through a diffuser, added to a warm bath, or mixed with carrier oils (like olive oil or coconut oil) for a massage to a sore, stiff, and painful knee.

6. Heat and Cold Therapy

Heat and cold can be effective for managing knee pain. Heat can relax the muscles to improve pain and function and promote joint lubrication, which can reduce stiffness. You can use a hot water bottle or a heating pad. For cold therapy, an ice pack, wrapped in a towel, can help reduce pain, inflammation, and swelling.

Some people can get the most out of knee pain relief when they alternate heat and cold therapy. You can experiment with both to figure out what best works for you to manage your knee pain, swelling, and stiffness.

7. Knee Supports

Knee braces and compression sleeves can both be helpful for decreasing pain and improving function in people with knee arthritis. You can purchase a knee brace or sleeve at a drugstore.

You can also talk to your healthcare provider about a more customized option. Your healthcare provider can help you to find a brace that is right for you, depending on the severity and location of knee symptoms—whether pain and symptoms are located in the inner or outer part of the knee or the kneecap.

8. Mind-Body Practices

Studies have shown that mind-body practices like yoga and regular meditation can help to ease arthritis symptoms. One study reported in 2018 in Frontiers in Psychiatry looked at yoga therapy for managing knee OA. Here, the researchers found improvements in muscle strength, flexibility, and functional mobility.

Yoga is also a great way to stretch knee joints and calm your mind at the same time. It is a mind-body practice that combines physical stretching, breathing, and meditation or relaxation. It can help with pain relief and in improving muscle strength and mobility of the joints.

Meditation is a practice where a person uses a technique—like mindfulness or focusing on a particular thought or activity—to train their brain to be attentive and aware to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm mindset. 

Make sure you talk to your healthcare provider before you start a yoga program to manage knee arthritis to determine what types of yoga poses might be safe for you to do.

9. Acupuncture

There are mixed reviews on the benefits of acupuncture in treating arthritis knee pain. A 2022 review of treatment guidelines issued by professional organizations and medical associations found support for acupuncture was inconsistent.

On the other hand, a 2021 study of 100 people divided them into groups that received either physical therapy or acupuncture treatment for six weeks. Both groups saw symptom improvement in equal measure, in terms of pain, function and quality of life. It's not really a practice you can do at home, but you can talk to your healthcare provider about acupuncture options.

Summary

You can treat many symptoms and causes of knee arthritis at home, through lifestyle changes or short-term interventions like applying heat or cold.

Some symptoms and causes will require medical care. If you experience severe pain, swelling, bruising, or signs of infection like a fever, talk with your healthcare provider. The sooner you are checked out and start treatment, the sooner you can prevent further damage or illness.