# What to try for knee soreness around Tempe *Knee Care in Tempe | Non-Surgical Knee Treatment Tempe* > Non-surgical knee treatment Tempe guidance for walking, cycling, court play, and routes to the Chandler or Scottsdale clinic. The knee may handle a flat walk and complain on the first curb afterward. It may pedal a bicycle without much trouble, then object when you turn across a court. Those aren’t mixed messages. Each activity asks the knee to bear weight and turn in a different way. Use a familiar Tempe route to judge change. You’ll learn more from the same walk repeated than from several outings that can’t be compared. ## What to try on a level walk The shoreline loop around Tempe Town Lake runs about five miles and stays mostly flat. You don’t need to finish the loop to learn something useful. Pick a turnaround point you can reach without limping, then check for later swelling and next-morning stiffness. If the knee settles, add distance gently. If it stays swollen, shorten the next walk instead of giving up all movement. A cane may help on an uncertain day, and steady shoes can make the outing feel less risky. The next morning tells you plenty. ## What to change for hills, bikes, and courts Hayden Butte is only about 0.7 miles, but it gains around 280 feet. The downhill part can trouble a knee that handles flat ground well. Shorter steps and a slower pace may help, though a swollen or unstable knee needs an exam before another steep outing. Cycling brings steadier motion, while court play makes you stop fast and move sideways. You may manage one and not the other. That isn’t a failure; it tells you which movement still needs work. Don’t use a good bike ride to prove the knee is ready for a hard court. Judge the knee on the activity you want to do. ## Where to go when local care is needed Tempe has no clinic within the city. From south Tempe, the Chandler clinic at 1100 S. Dobson Road, Suite 210, sits about five miles away, with an off-peak drive commonly taking ten to twelve minutes. McClintock Road turns into Dobson Road when it reaches the Chandler line. From north Tempe, the Scottsdale clinic at 9220 E. Mountain View Road, Suite 210, may be closer. Routes can use Scottsdale Road or Loop 202 to Loop 101. Choose the office you can return to without turning each follow-up into a long errand. The easier drive may save you trouble later. ## What Tempe routes can tell you about the knee Tempe Town Lake offers a mostly flat walk, while Hayden Butte adds a steeper descent. Your knee may handle one and object to the other. Pick a familiar distance, then notice later swelling and next-morning stiffness before adding more. Cycling uses steady motion, while Tempe Sports Complex courts require fast stops and sideways movement. One sore activity needn’t end every kind of exercise. Match the activity to what the knee can manage today. QC Kinetix has no office within Tempe. For south Tempe, the Chandler clinic at 1100 S. Dobson Road, Suite 210, sits about five miles away; off-peak travel commonly takes ten to twelve minutes. McClintock Road turns into Dobson Road when it reaches the Chandler line. From north Tempe, the QC Kinetix Scottsdale clinic at 9220 E. Mountain View Road, Suite 210, may be closer, using Scottsdale Road or Loop 202 to Loop 101. One phone number reaches both Phoenix-area clinics: (602) 837-PAIN. - Nearest QC Kinetix location: QC Kinetix (Chandler), 1100 S. Dobson Rd., Suite 210, Chandler, AZ 85286 - Phone: (602) 837-PAIN / (602) 837-7246 ## Sources 1. The Cochrane review of land-based therapeutic exercise for knee osteoarthritis extracted data from 54 randomised trials, assessing pain, physical function and quality of life immediately after treatment and the sustained effect at 2-6 months and beyond 6 months. Only 19 of the included studies (20%) met all three low-risk-of-bias criteria the authors applied. Fransen M, McConnell S, Harmer AR, et al. — [Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25569281/). *Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews*, 2015. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004376.pub3. 2. OARSI 2019 designates arthritis education plus structured land-based exercise (with or without dietary weight management) as CORE treatments for knee OA, and education plus structured land-based exercise as core for hip and polyarticular OA. Topical NSAIDs are strongly recommended for knee OA (Level 1A). Intra-articular corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid are Level 1B/2 for knee OA depending on comorbidity and are NOT recommended for hip or polyarticular OA. Oral NSAIDs are not recommended for people with cardiovascular comorbidity or frailty, and oral and transdermal opioids are strongly not recommended (Level 5). Bannuru RR, Osani MC, Vaysbrot EE, et al. — [OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31278997/). *Osteoarthritis and Cartilage*, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2019.06.011. 3. The 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline makes STRONG recommendations for exercise, weight loss in people with knee and/or hip OA who are overweight or obese, self-efficacy and self-management programs, tai chi, cane use, tibiofemoral bracing for tibiofemoral knee OA, topical NSAIDs for knee OA, oral NSAIDs, and intra-articular glucocorticoid injections for knee OA. Radiofrequency ablation for knee OA, acupuncture, thermal modalities, acetaminophen, duloxetine and tramadol are only CONDITIONAL recommendations. Kolasinski SL, Neogi T, Hochberg MC, et al. — [2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31908163/). *Arthritis & Rheumatology*, 2020. DOI: 10.1002/art.41142. 4. A 2021 JAMA review states that osteoarthritis affects an estimated 240 million people worldwide including more than 32 million in the US, that 33% of people older than 75 have symptomatic and radiographic knee OA, that diagnosis is clinical despite widespread overuse of imaging, that people with OA are more sedentary and carry a 20% higher age-adjusted mortality, and that the cornerstones of management are exercise, weight loss where appropriate and education, complemented by topical or oral NSAIDs, with opiates to be avoided. Katz JN, Arant KR, Loeser RF. — [Diagnosis and Treatment of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: A Review.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33560326/). *JAMA*, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.22171. ## What to bring when you’re ready to talk Bring your X-ray if you have it, a medicine list, and notes on sleep, swelling, walking, and stairs. Ask how the exam works, what the full cost includes, and when any benefit would be judged. For central and south Tempe, Chandler is usually the direct route. Scottsdale may be shorter from north Tempe. Call (602) 837-PAIN or choose the easier office through the booking link. Book a free consultation: --- Clear help for a knee that keeps bothering you. A plain Tempe guide to knee replacement alternatives, bone-on-bone soreness, things to try, surgery timing, and nearby help. Plain guidance for Tempe knee soreness, daily care, treatment choices, and surgery questions. This site is operated by the owners of the QC Kinetix Phoenix-area clinics, including the Chandler and Scottsdale locations described here; the owners benefit when readers book with those clinics. Copyright 2026 Tempe Knee Liner Notes. General education about knee-care decisions, not medical advice for an individual knee.