Villanueva Institute of Pain and Spine
Arthritis Treatment in Burbank, CA
Arthritis can make everyday movement harder. A painful knee can make stairs difficult, a stiff hip can make standing up uncomfortable, a sore shoulder can limit reaching, and spinal arthritis can make walking or standing for long periods more challenging.
Some people live with arthritis pain for years before seeking care. They may change how they exercise, walk less, avoid certain activities, or plan their day around joint pain. Arthritis is common, but the right treatment still depends on where the pain is, what type of arthritis is present, how advanced it is, and how much it is affecting your daily life.
I am Dr. John Villanueva, double board-certified in PM&R and interventional pain management at Villanueva Institute of Pain and Spine (VIPS). When I evaluate arthritis pain, I look at more than an X-ray report. I want to understand how the joint moves, what activities trigger pain, what imaging shows, what treatments you have already tried, and what you want to be able to do again.
At VIPS, we approach arthritis care carefully. I will explain where the pain appears to be coming from, how your symptoms and imaging fit together, and which treatment options make the most sense for your body and goals.
If you are looking for arthritis treatment in Burbank, CA, call VIPS at (818) 669-8895 or request an appointment online. We are located in Burbank and proudly serve patients visiting from Glendale, Pasadena, Van Nuys, Toluca Lake, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood, Sun Valley, La Cañada, La Crescenta, Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Silver Lake, Echo Park, and communities throughout the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles area.
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What Is Arthritis?
Arthritis refers to inflammation, irritation, or degeneration in one or more joints. It can affect the knees, hips, shoulders, hands, wrists, elbows, sacroiliac joints, spine, and many other areas of the body.
The most common type is osteoarthritis, which develops as cartilage and joint structures change over time. Some patients call this “wear and tear,” but that phrase can make arthritis sound too simple. Osteoarthritis can involve cartilage loss, bone changes, inflammation, stiffness, swelling, altered mechanics, and pain that changes with activity.
Other forms of arthritis are inflammatory or autoimmune, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis. These conditions often require coordination with a rheumatologist, especially when medication is needed to control the underlying disease process.
For many patients, the practical question is straightforward: why does this joint hurt, and what can be done to help me move better?
Common Arthritis Symptoms
Arthritis symptoms often develop gradually, although they can also flare after injury, overuse, illness, or a change in activity.
Patients often describe:
- Joint pain with walking, stairs, lifting, gripping, bending, standing, or reaching
- Stiffness after sitting or first thing in the morning
- Swelling, warmth, or tenderness around a joint
- Grinding, clicking, catching, or a feeling of joint pressure
- Reduced range of motion
- Weakness or a sense that the joint cannot be trusted
- Pain that worsens after activity and eases with rest
- Neck or back pain from spinal arthritis
- Hip, knee, shoulder, wrist, elbow, or sacroiliac joint pain
- Difficulty sleeping because of joint discomfort
- Less confidence exercising, driving, working, or moving through daily life
Symptoms often overlap, and the area that hurts is not always the only source of the problem. Arthritis can change how you move, place added stress on nearby joints, or irritate surrounding nerves and soft tissues. That is why I look at the full pain pattern before recommending treatment.
Types of Arthritis Pain I Evaluate
Arthritis can affect different joints in different ways. At VIPS, I often evaluate arthritis-related pain involving the spine, major joints, and surrounding soft tissues.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It often affects weight-bearing joints such as the knees and hips, but it can also affect the shoulders, hands, wrists, spine, and other joints.
Pain from osteoarthritis may worsen with activity, standing, walking, stairs, gripping, or repetitive motion. Some patients feel stiffness when they first get moving, then increased aching after doing too much.
Spinal Arthritis
Spinal arthritis can affect the facet joints in the neck, mid-back, or low back. Facet joints are small joints in the spine that help guide motion when you bend, twist, stand, and move.
Facet-related arthritis pain often feels deep, aching, stiff, or mechanical. It may worsen with standing, walking, twisting, leaning backward, or holding one position too long. When the pattern fits, treatments such as facet joint injections, medial branch blocks, or radiofrequency ablation may be discussed.
Knee Arthritis
Knee arthritis can make walking, stairs, squatting, exercise, or getting in and out of a chair more difficult. Some patients feel pain along the inside of the knee. Others notice swelling, stiffness, grinding, or a sense that the knee is less reliable.
Treatment depends on how advanced the arthritis is, what imaging shows, and how the knee affects your daily life. Options may include physical therapy, medication review, joint injections, regenerative medicine in select cases, genicular nerve procedures, or orthopedic referral when appropriate.
Hip Arthritis
Hip arthritis often causes pain in the groin, front of the hip, side of the hip, buttock, or thigh. It can make walking, stairs, getting in and out of a car, putting on shoes, or standing from a low chair more difficult.
Hip pain can also come from the lumbar spine, sacroiliac joint, tendons, muscles, or bursae. A careful exam helps decide whether the hip joint is truly the main pain source.
Shoulder Arthritis
Shoulder arthritis can cause pain with reaching, lifting, dressing, sleeping on one side, or overhead activity. It may involve the glenohumeral joint, AC joint, rotator cuff, bursa, neck, or surrounding muscles.
When shoulder pain comes from more than one structure, the treatment plan has to account for that. I look at range of motion, strength, tenderness, imaging, and how the pain behaves with activity.
Sacroiliac Joint Arthritis
The sacroiliac joint sits where the spine meets the pelvis. Arthritis or irritation in this joint can cause low back, buttock, hip, groin, or upper thigh pain. It may worsen with standing, walking, stairs, rolling in bed, or getting in and out of a car.
A sacroiliac joint injection can sometimes help reduce pain and clarify whether the SI joint is a meaningful part of the problem.
Inflammatory Arthritis
Inflammatory arthritis includes conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. These conditions can cause joint pain, swelling, stiffness, fatigue, and symptoms beyond a single joint.
When the pattern suggests inflammatory arthritis, I may recommend lab work, imaging review, medication coordination, or rheumatology involvement. Pain management can still be valuable, especially when a specific joint, spine region, or nerve pathway continues to cause pain despite broader disease management.
How Arthritis Is Diagnosed
Arthritis is diagnosed through a combination of history, physical exam, imaging, and sometimes lab testing. The imaging can be important, but it does not tell the whole story by itself.
Some patients have arthritis on X-ray but very little pain. Others have significant pain even when imaging looks mild. The diagnosis becomes clearer when we connect what you feel, how you move, where the joint is tender, what positions worsen pain, and what the images show.
During your evaluation, I may review:
- Where the pain starts and where it travels
- Which movements or positions make it worse
- Whether you have stiffness, swelling, warmth, clicking, catching, weakness, numbness, or tingling
- Prior X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, ultrasound findings, or procedure notes
- Medications, therapy, injections, surgeries, or other treatments you have tried
- How pain affects walking, stairs, sitting, driving, sleep, exercise, work, and family life
- Whether lab work, EMG/NCS testing, or referral to another specialist may be needed
Whenever possible, I prefer to review the actual images, not only the written report. A report can be helpful, but the images often show details that affect which treatment makes sense.
Good Candidates for Arthritis Pain Treatment
You may benefit from an arthritis evaluation if joint or spine pain is beginning to limit how you move through daily life.
Patients often come in with:
- Knee, hip, shoulder, wrist, elbow, or hand pain
- Neck or back pain related to spinal arthritis
- Sacroiliac joint pain affecting the low back, buttock, hip, or pelvis
- Stiffness that limits motion or confidence with movement
- Pain that worsens with walking, stairs, standing, bending, lifting, gripping, or reaching
- Joint swelling, tenderness, clicking, catching, or reduced range of motion
- Arthritis pain that interrupts sleep
- Pain that continues despite medication, therapy, rest, or prior injections
- Imaging that shows arthritis or degenerative joint changes
- A desire to understand nonsurgical options before considering surgery
You do not need to know which treatment you need before coming in. The consultation is where we connect your symptoms, exam, imaging, and goals.
Arthritis Treatment Options
Arthritis treatment should match the joint, diagnosis, severity, and functional problem. A mild arthritic knee, an inflamed shoulder joint, spinal facet arthritis, and inflammatory arthritis all require different thinking.
Your treatment plan may include one or more of the following options.
Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
Physical therapy can help improve joint mechanics, strength, flexibility, balance, and confidence with movement. For arthritis, the right exercises can reduce strain on painful joints and help you move with better support.
As a PM&R physician, I pay close attention to what your pain is preventing you from doing. The plan may include strengthening, mobility work, gait training, posture work, home exercise guidance, or activity modification.
Joint Injections
Joint injections can place medication directly into a painful joint, such as the knee, hip, shoulder, wrist, elbow, or sacroiliac joint. These injections may be used when inflammation or irritation inside the joint is contributing to pain.
A joint injection can also provide useful information. If the injection improves your usual pain, that response can help confirm that the joint is a meaningful pain source.
Facet Joint Injections and Medial Branch Blocks
When arthritis affects the small joints of the spine, facet joint injections or medial branch blocks may be used to evaluate and treat facet-related pain. These procedures are often considered when pain is deep, aching, stiff, and worse with standing, twisting, or bending backward.
Medial branch blocks can help determine whether radiofrequency ablation should be discussed as a longer-lasting option.
Radiofrequency Ablation
Radiofrequency ablation, often called RFA, uses controlled heat to quiet specific nerves that carry pain signals from arthritic joints. It is commonly used for facet-related neck or back pain after diagnostic blocks confirm the target.
RFA may also be considered for certain knee pain patterns through genicular nerve ablation, depending on the diagnosis, prior treatments, and goals.
PRP and Regenerative Medicine
PRP and regenerative medicine options may be discussed for certain joint, tendon, ligament, or degenerative pain patterns. These treatments are chosen based on symptoms, imaging, severity, prior response to care, and realistic expectations.
For some patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis, regenerative medicine may be part of a broader nonsurgical plan.
Nerve Blocks
Nerve blocks may be useful when arthritis pain overlaps with nerve-related symptoms or when a specific nerve pathway appears to be contributing to pain. This can happen with spine arthritis, pelvic or SI-related pain, or certain chronic pain patterns.
Medication Management
Medication may help reduce pain, inflammation, or flares. This may include topical medications, oral anti-inflammatory medication when medically appropriate, nerve-related medication if symptoms overlap with nerve pain, or other carefully selected options.
I review medication choices in the context of your medical history, age, kidney function, stomach history, blood thinners, other prescriptions, and overall safety.
Surgical Referral When Appropriate
Some arthritis patients reach a point where a surgical opinion is the right step. If your imaging, exam, function, or symptoms suggest that joint replacement, spine surgery, or another surgical evaluation should be considered, I will explain why and help you understand that part of the process.
How I Evaluate You Before Recommending Treatment
Before recommending arthritis treatment, I want to understand which structure is causing pain and how that pain is changing your life.
Two patients can both have knee arthritis and need different plans. One may need strengthening and activity modification. Another may benefit from an image-guided injection. Another may need a regenerative medicine discussion. Another may be ready for an orthopedic opinion.
The same is true for spine arthritis. Neck or back pain may come from facet joints, discs, nerves, muscles, sacroiliac joints, or more than one source. The treatment should follow the diagnosis.
During your consultation, I listen to your history, review prior care, examine the painful area, study imaging when available, and discuss what kind of improvement would matter most to you. That may mean walking farther, sleeping better, returning to exercise, lifting your child, sitting through a drive, or moving without constantly protecting the painful joint.
Why Choose VIPS for Arthritis Treatment?
Double board-certified expertise
I am double board-certified in PM&R and interventional pain management. My PM&R training helps me evaluate joints, muscles, nerves, movement, function, and rehabilitation. My interventional training allows me to perform targeted procedures when they fit the diagnosis. My qualifications extend beyond double-board certification. As a Certified Life Care Planner, I have advanced specialized training in evaluating the long-term medical, rehabilitation, and future care needs of individuals with complex injuries and disabilities, further strengthening the expertise I bring to medical-legal consulting and expert witness services.
A careful diagnostic process
I review your symptoms, exam findings, imaging, prior care, and daily limitations before recommending a treatment plan.
Image-guided procedures when appropriate
Some arthritis-related injections are best performed with fluoroscopy or ultrasound. I choose the guidance method based on the joint, anatomy, safety, and clinical need.
A function-focused approach
I want to know whether arthritis is limiting walking, stairs, sleep, work, exercise, driving, lifting, reaching, or time with family. Those details help define success.
A broad range of treatment options
Care may include rehabilitation, medication management, joint injections, facet joint procedures, medial branch blocks, radiofrequency ablation, PRP, nerve blocks, or surgical referral when appropriate.
Clear guidance about the next step
I will explain which treatment options fit your symptoms and why. If the best next step is therapy, imaging, a procedure, regenerative medicine, rheumatology, orthopedics, or surgery, we will talk through it directly.
A warm, unhurried experience in Burbank
Many patients come to VIPS after feeling rushed or unsure what their imaging means. I want you to leave with a clearer understanding of your pain and a plan that feels grounded in your real life.
What Happens During Arthritis Treatment?
Your treatment visit depends on the type of arthritis pain being treated.
For a joint injection, the treatment area is cleaned, and medication is placed into or near the affected joint. For deeper joints, such as the hip or sacroiliac joint, image guidance may be used to improve accuracy.
For spinal arthritis, treatment may involve facet joint injections, medial branch blocks, or radiofrequency ablation. These procedures are chosen based on how your pain behaves, what imaging shows, and whether diagnostic blocks support the target.
For regenerative medicine, such as PRP, the process may involve drawing and processing your blood before placing the prepared PRP into the treatment area.
Before any procedure, I will explain what we are treating, how the procedure works, what you can expect afterward, and how we will judge the response.
What Should You Expect After Arthritis Treatment?
Your response depends on the treatment performed, the joint involved, the severity of arthritis, and how your body responds.
Some patients feel improvement soon after an injection because of local anesthetic. Anti-inflammatory medication may take several days to have its full effect. PRP and regenerative options typically take longer because the response is more gradual. Radiofrequency ablation may take days to weeks before the full benefit becomes clear.
After treatment, keep track of more than just the pain. See if you can walk a little farther, take the stairs with less effort, sleep more soundly, sit longer without shifting around, exercise with less hesitation, or simply move through your day with less guarding.
What you notice guides the next step, so if treatment is helping, we can build on that with rehab, gradual activity increases, or planned follow-up. If the relief is limited, we may need to take another look at the pain source or consider a different approach.
Arthritis Treatment in Burbank, CA
VIPS is located in Burbank, CA, in the Magnolia Park neighborhood. The office is designed to feel welcoming and personal, with comfortable seating, warm finishes, and original artwork from patients who are working artists.
This is meant to feel like a place where your story has time to be heard. I live and work in Burbank, and I care about building a practice where patients feel known, respected, and well-informed.
We see patients from Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Van Nuys, Toluca Lake, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood, Sun Valley, La Cañada, La Crescenta, Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Silver Lake, Echo Park, and communities throughout the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles area.
Burbank Arthritis FAQs
If arthritis pain is making it harder to walk, sleep, work, exercise, sit, drive, use your hands, or enjoy daily life, a careful evaluation can help clarify what is happening and what treatment options make sense.
To schedule an arthritis consultation in Burbank, CA, call (818) 669-8895 or contact VIPS online today. The right care may help you spend less time working around painful joints and more time moving with comfort, confidence, and peace of mind.
What is the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?
Osteoarthritis usually involves degenerative changes in the joint over time. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks joint tissue and can affect other parts of the body. Rheumatoid arthritis often requires rheumatology care and medication to control the underlying disease process.
Can pain management help arthritis?
Yes. Pain management can help evaluate the source of arthritis pain and offer nonsurgical treatments such as rehabilitation planning, medication review, image-guided injections, nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation, or regenerative medicine when appropriate.
What joints can be treated for arthritis pain?
Are arthritis injections image-guided?
Some arthritis injections are image-guided. Fluoroscopy or ultrasound may be used for deeper joints or more precise targets, such as the hip, sacroiliac joint, facet joints, or certain spine procedures. The guidance method depends on the joint and clinical need.
How long do arthritis injections last?
Relief varies based on the joint, diagnosis, medication used, severity of arthritis, and your body’s response. Some patients feel relief for weeks or months, while others have a shorter response. I will explain what is realistic for your specific condition.
When should I see a doctor for arthritis pain?
You should consider an arthritis evaluation if joint pain is limiting walking, sleep, work, exercise, stairs, driving, lifting, reaching, or daily routines. You should also seek care if pain is worsening, associated with swelling, stiffness, weakness, or nerve symptoms, or has not improved enough with rest or medication.
How much does arthritis treatment cost in Burbank, CA?
The cost of arthritis treatment in Burbank can vary depending on the evaluation, imaging, medication plan, injections, radiofrequency ablation, regenerative medicine, therapy, or specialist referral involved. During your consultation, my team can help you understand what information may be needed for scheduling, authorization, and cost review.