What can my wife do to alleviate her constant knee pain?

My husband had a similar situation, bad knees, not a surgical canidste. He visited a pain clinic associated with Mayo clinic and they performed an ablation of targeted nerves in his knees. It was simple, and so far effective way to end the pain. This was done 3 months ago and should last up to two years. His doctor said if this didn’t work, there were other treatments available. Visit a pain clinic, she shouldnt have to suffer. Yes, losing weight is probably the best answer for long term relief, but she needs a wuick fix in the meantime.

I am disabled and suffer from the knee problem but cannot have surgery - I'd never make it. At night I wear Lidocaine 5% patches for 12 hours which greatly relieves the pain level. There are also knee "sleeves" which are pulled up over the knees but hard to find big enough for heavy people. That holds the knee in place and supports it and it will ease the pain. I do not advocate those braces with wire or metal - too stiff and too bulky and not as good as a sleeve. Also do gentle knee/leg exercises daily to build the muscles. Take Tylenol or some other pain medications. There is not much you can do. There are different types of shots - inquire and go from there. Good luck.

Look up the procedure Coolief for a doctor in your area. Freezes/burns (or something) the nerves at the knee. They do a test run on it by injecting something into the nerves and you time how long there was relief. If you got relief, they move forward with the Coolief procedure. Sedated because the needles are rather large, but you wake up and go home same day. My mom said pain not 100% gone, but very much improved. I noticed she seldom took the usual ibuprofen (she can't take anything stronger than that) and it lasted about 6 months. She's going to do it again.

Seek out another orthopedic specialist.

I use an ‘uploader’. It is by doctors’ prescription. It supports the knee and keeps the bones from constant grinding. It also gives me a sense of security that I will keep my balance and not fall.