Genicular nerve radiofrequency ablation practice patterns: A survey study of the International Pain and Spine Interventional Society

Chronic knee pain often results from degenerative conditions such as knee osteoarthritis (OA) and can worsen after surgical interventions like total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Knee OA affects approximately 86 million individuals globally, leading to decreased function, mobility limitations, and disability. While TKA is a common surgical treatment for refractory knee OA, though up to 20 % of patients experience chronic post-operative knee pain worse than their pre-operative pain. Genicular nerve radiofrequency ablation (GnRFA) has emerged as a promising intervention for knee OA pain unresponsive to conservative management and for chronic post-TKA pain. GnRFA is an evidence-based technique supported by multiple prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, practice patterns and GnRFA techniques vary, and no peer-reviewed publication has yet quantified these variations in real-world clinical practice.