The Innovare Tx Knee Preservation Program
Everything we can do for a knee before surgery, in order: find out what is wrong, treat it with physical therapy and the injections your insurance covers, add cash-pay orthobiologics if you want to go further, and coordinate the care we do not provide ourselves.
Two tracks: insurance and cash-pay
The insurance track is where everyone starts: consultation and diagnostics, then physical therapy, then a covered knee injection series — up to five injections per knee, repeatable about twice a year on most plans. For many patients these injections bring real relief, and it is temporary, which is why they are paired with therapy rather than used alone.
The cash-pay track is for patients who want to try more before considering surgery: the autologous orthobiologic procedures we perform here. They are investigational, not covered by insurance, and quoted in writing after your evaluation — see costs and insurance.
Why a program instead of a procedure
Most people arrive at a knee clinic having already been offered something. A cortisone injection that worked for a while. A supplement. A surgery date that felt too early. An injection they read about online. What is usually missing is the step before all of them: a clear account of which structure in the knee is generating the pain, and what the plan is if the first thing does not work.
So we sequence it. Every patient in the program gets the same first visit and the same fixed reassessment date, and nothing procedural is discussed until there is a finding to discuss it against. That order is not a marketing device — it is how the major osteoarthritis guidelines are written, and it is also the only order in which we can tell whether anything we did made a difference.
Who the program is for
- Knee pain that has lasted more than six weeks
- Osteoarthritis you have been told to “live with”
- A meniscus or ligament injury that never fully settled
- Pain that returns each time a cortisone injection wears off
- A knee that limits stairs, squatting, kneeling or walking distance
- A surgical opinion you want a second look at before deciding
It is not for a knee that is acutely hot, swollen and painful with fever, a knee that gave way completely during an injury, or a leg that is newly swollen and tender in the calf. Those need same-day care, not a program — see who the program suits.
Six steps, in this order
Each step links to the page that covers it in full. Steps one to three are the insurance track; step five is the cash-pay track. Nobody moves to a procedure without a finding from step one.
Consultation and diagnostics
A full history, a hands-on exam, and a review of any imaging you already have. Charles Ortega, PA-C uses in-office ultrasound to look at the soft tissue around the joint, and orders further imaging only when it would change the plan. You leave the first visit knowing what we think is driving the pain.
Physical therapy first
Exercise therapy and load management are the backbone of osteoarthritis care in every major guideline, and they are the first thing we build. Rowena Calleja, PT runs the program in the same building, and most plans bill it to your insurance.
A covered knee injection series
When the knee needs more than therapy, the next step is an injection series your insurance covers — up to five injections per knee, and most plans allow a series about twice a year. Which injection is right for your knee is decided at your evaluation, and we check your plan's rules before the first one.
Reassess honestly
We measure the same things we measured on day one. If the plan is working, we keep going. If it is not, we say so and change it rather than repeat it — including referring you on when that is the right answer.
Cash-pay orthobiologics, before surgery
For patients who want to try more before considering surgery, we can discuss autologous orthobiologic procedures — PRP, PPP, BMAC and A2M, prepared from your own blood or bone marrow and delivered with image guidance, in one visit. These are investigational procedures, not approved treatments, and they are cash-pay.
We coordinate the rest of your care
Some options belong to other specialists. Genicular artery embolization is performed by an interventional radiologist, and some knees are better served by an orthopedic surgeon. We evaluate, explain, make the referral, and keep coordinating your care — you are not left to organize it yourself.
What we do here, and what we send you out for
A clinic that claims to do everything for a knee is telling you something about its marketing, not its capability.
In our Addison clinic
- Knee evaluation, hands-on exam and in-office ultrasound
- Review of your existing X-rays, MRI reports and operative notes
- A structured physical therapy program with Rowena Calleja, PT
- An insurance-covered knee injection series, up to five per knee
- Autologous orthobiologic procedures — PRP, PPP, BMAC and A2M
- Medically supervised weight management, when weight is part of the picture
- Primary care coordination, so the whole picture stays with one team
Referred to a specialist
- Genicular artery embolization — performed by an interventional radiologist
- Knee replacement and arthroscopic surgery — orthopedic surgery
- Advanced MRI and CT imaging — imaging centers we send you to
- Nerve conduction studies and EMG — a referral, billed to your insurance
- Rheumatology workup when an inflammatory arthritis is suspected
- Emergency care for a hot, locked or acutely unstable knee
PRP, PPP, BMAC, and A2M are autologous procedures prepared from your own blood or bone marrow. They are considered investigational and are not FDA-approved for the treatment of any specific orthopedic condition, including osteoarthritis. Individual results are not guaranteed. Any decision to pursue an orthobiologic procedure should be made with your provider after a clinical evaluation.
The part of knee care nobody wants to talk about
The American College of Rheumatology’s 2026 update to its osteoarthritis guideline makes only a short list of strong recommendations for knee osteoarthritis. Two of them are exercise and, for patients who are overweight or obese, weight loss. The 2019 guideline noted that benefit appears from around a 5% change in body weight and continues to increase beyond it.
We mention it because we can actually do something about it in the same building. Our medically supervised weight management program is run by the same provider who evaluates your knee, so the plan is one plan. Whether it is appropriate for you is a clinical decision made at a consultation, not a default.
Also strongly recommended for knee OA
- Exercise therapy
- Weight loss if overweight or obese
- Topical and oral anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medication
- Corticosteroid injection into the knee joint
Source: ACR 2026 update to the recommendations for the management of osteoarthritis of the knee, hip and hand. Which of these applies to you is decided at your evaluation.
Read any part of it before you book
We would rather you arrive having read the awkward pages than arrive unprepared.
Your knee evaluation
What the first visit covers, what to bring, and what you walk out knowing.
Read moreKnee physical therapy
The guideline-backed core of knee care — exercise therapy, offloading and load management with Rowena Calleja, PT.
Read moreThe covered injection series
The insurance-covered step: which injections, the series of up to five per knee, and how often plans allow it.
Read moreOrthobiologic options
PRP, PPP, BMAC and A2M explained as procedures: autologous, minimally manipulated, image-guided, same day.
Read moreGenicular artery embolization
What GAE is, who performs it, what the evidence says, and how we evaluate and refer.
Read moreAre you a candidate?
Who the program suits, who it does not, and the findings that send you elsewhere.
Read moreCosts & insurance
What bills to insurance, what is cash-pay, and how we verify your benefits before you come in.
Read moreKnee resource hub
Every knee guide, checklist and article in one place.
Read moreKnee questions answered
The long-form answers to the questions patients actually ask about knee care.
Read moreKnee & orthobiologic glossary
Plain-English definitions for the terms on your imaging report and in our copy.
Read moreTell us about your knee
Include how long it has been going on and anything you have already tried. Our team responds within one business day. For urgent needs, please call.
Knee Program FAQs
Get the knee looked at properly
Book an evaluation at our Addison clinic, or call and we’ll verify your insurance before you come in.