Cooled RF Procedure For Patients With Chronic Knee, Hip & Shoulder Arthritis

Here at the London Pain Clinic, our world-class Pain Doctors are pleased to announce that we are now offering this first clinically-proven Cooled RF Ablation Treatment for Chronic Pain. Known as COOLIEF RF, this cutting-edge non-surgical, minimally-invasive, non-narcotic solution form of therapeutics is engineered to empower patients to manage their long-term pain (including osteoarthritis). Moreover, it is an excellent solution for chronic pain sufferers who do not want joint surgery/replacement.

How COOLIEF Radiofrequency Works to Stop Your Chronic Pain

Cooled radiofrequency procedures work by deactivating the sensory nerves that are responsible for sending pain signals to your brain. This is achieved when your Pain Specialist:

• Uses imaging guidance (ultrasound or fluoroscopy) to insert a probe/needle close to the nerves/nerve branches causing your pain
• Once this is carried out, the RF energy is then activated
• This heats the nerve tissue
• This results in a lesion in the nerve tissue which halts the transmission of pain signals to your brain

Technology Behind the ‘Cooled’ RF Technique

One of the main features of using water-cooled technology, is the water circulation through the probe of the COOLIEF RF machine. This serves to stop the top of the probe from overheating, and as such, safely generates a larger, spherical lesion which distally projects 45% or more beyond the probe’s tip, thus enabling your Pain Doctor to reach the target nerve from any angle. To that end, these aspects increase the likelihood of successful ablation and a greater outcome.

Pain Conditions Treated With COOLIEF Radiofrequency

Cool RF treatment with our Pain Consultants is mainly directed at long-term pain in the:

• Knee: (it is particularly effective for OA (osteoarthritis) pain
• Hip: (in this case, the procedure is employed to manage OA pain through targeting particular nerve branches
• Shoulder: (whilst studies indicate that effectiveness in this region is less robust than for the hip and knee, some research has nonetheless, concluded that this form of treatment is promising for the shoulder) [1]

Long-Term Hip Pain

Statistics show that approximately “7% of men and 10% of women over the age of 45 suffer from chronic hip joint pain, primarily caused by degeneration of the articular cartilage due to

injury or disease. When rest, anti-inflammatory drugs or physical therapy fail to address the pain of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip, the only remaining solution is total hip replacement for over 400,000 patients a year who progress to this invasive surgical intervention” [1,2].

Information on COOLIEF Radiofrequency For Your Chronic Hip Pain

Having a hip replacement is extremely expensive (and people can wait for years and suffer more pain and joint degeneration if they are reliant on the NHS). Moreover, there is a massive percentage of chronic joint pain patients who are not candidates for invasive procedure. This is due to:

• Body mass index (BMI)
• Age
• Other co-morbidities, or
• Not wanting the trauma and potential risks of having major surgery [1]

Benefits of COOLIEF RF For Your Hip Pain

As our Pain Specialists explain:

• This technique is only minimally invasive
• It is conducted as an outpatient procedure
• COOLIEF radiofrequency can provide “long-lasting pain relief, often lasting 6 to 12 months or longer (up to 2 years in some cases)” [1]
• This form of therapeutics can cut down the patient’s reliance on opioids and other types of pain medication
• It can also empower hip pain sufferers so they can “potentially delay joint replacement surgery” [1]
• Further, it can “serves as an option for those who are not surgical candidates” [1]

• Generally speaking, this cool RF procedure is undertaken in less than 90 minutes
• The majority of patients can return home on the same day
• Recovery is speedy, and most patients can get back to their normal activities within several days

Candidacy

When you have a consultation with one of our Pain Specialists, after they have reviewed your medical history and asked various pertinent questions, they will then conduct what is known as “a diagnostic nerve block” injection. Then, as long as you experience significant pain relief from this temporary block injection, you will be classed as a suitable candidate for the ablation procedure [1].

Information on COOLIEF Radiofrequency For Your Chronic Knee Pain

Here at the London Pain Clinic, our Pain Consultants also provide minimally-invasive, non-surgical, non-narcotic, coolief radiofrequency, as a state-of-the-art solution for patients with long-term knee pain. And as this cooled ablation radiotherapy treatment can be performed in an outpatient setting at our convinent London Harley Street Pain Clinic, participants “have the potential to return to an enhanced quality of life much sooner than with surgery — and with a reduced need for narcotics” [2].

Note: please see the benefits and candidacy information in the section “For Your Hip Pain.”

Information on COOLIEF Radiofrequency For Your Chronic Shoulder Pain

“Shoulder pain is the third most common cause of musculoskeletal consultation in primary care. Self-reported prevalence of shoulder pain is estimated to be up to 26% in adults. A condition often stemming from multiple factors and underlying pathology, shoulder pain can occur at any age and be aggravated by many common daily activities including manual labour, physical activity, and general repetitive movement. Struggling with recurring, chronic shoulder pain can leave patients frustrated and seeking relief” [2]

Within the NHS, at the present time, physicians and consultants who treat patients with continuous chronic shoulder pain have restricted treatment choices (outside of invasive surgical procedure). So to that end, countless treatment-seeking patients may not be suitable candidates for shoulder surgery, or they may be unwilling to proceed this way. But fortunately, there is an option that negates the latter and the almost endless NHS waiting lists. This is COOLIEF* Cooled Radiofrequency (RF), the leading-edge minimally invasive form of therapeutics that empowers Pain Doctors to provide patients with a revolutionary option to invasive shoulder pain surgery.

Note: please see the benefits and candidacy information in the section “For Your Hip Pain.”

Clinical Research Evidence

“Clinical studies of COOLIEF Cooled RF addressing other sources of pain have demonstrated up to 24 months of pain relief with improved physical function and a reduction in pain medication usage” [2].

Booking an Online or In-Person First Consultation With a Pain Doctor

If you are keen to get your life back on track by negating your hip, knee, shoulder, or other area of pain, contact us to make your first appointment. During this time, you can talk about your type of pain, and find out more about our multifaceted Holistic Personalised Treatment Plans. These include the cutting-edge COOLIEF Cooled RF treatment that (if you are an approved candidate at your in-person appointment), you should be able to get started on it within days.

References

[1]. Shane A, Bailey S; Authors. Radiofrequency Ablation for Chronic Knee, Hip, and Shoulder Pain: CADTH Health Technology Review [Internet]. Ottawa (ON): Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health; 2023 Oct.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK598215/

[2]. Avanos Coolief (2025). “A non-surgical, non-narcotic procedure for chronic hip joint pain.”

[3]. MedTech Insights: U.S. Market for Joint Replacement and Reconstruction, June 2011.

[4]. Stelzer W. MD, Use of Radiofrequency Lateral Branch Neurotomy for the Treatment of Sacroiliac Joint-Mediated Low Back Pain: A Large Case Series. Pain Medicine,2013 Jan (1)29-35.

[5]. Malik, A. et al. Percutaneous Radiofrequency Lesioning of Sensory Branches of the Obturator and Femoral Nerves for the Treatment of Non-Operable Hip Pain. Pain Physician. 2003;6:499-502

[6]. Rivera, F. et al. Percutaneous Radiofrequency Denervation in Patients With Contraindications forTotal Hip Arthroplasty. Orthopedics, 2012 35:3, e302-e305