Dr. Richter's Knee Program is used in the care of knee arthritis, bone-on-bone diagnoses, meniscus tears, osteoarthritis, patellar tendonitis, and chronic knee pain — without surgery or cortisone. It combines Storz Medical shockwave, Class IV laser, EMTT, chiropractic adjustment, and rehabilitation, and it addresses the whole kinetic chain rather than the knee in isolation. Whether it's appropriate for you depends on what your examination and imaging actually show.
Dr. Richter's Knee Program is built for patients diagnosed with the conditions below — including those who have been told a knee replacement is their only option. Whether our approach fits your case depends on your examination and imaging.
Each of these helps some people, and some of them belong in your care. But they work on different parts of the problem — and if one of them had resolved your knee pain, you probably would not be reading this page.
An injection can quiet an inflamed knee down, and plenty of people get real relief from one. For some, that relief holds. For others it fades, and they come to us wanting an approach aimed at the tissue and the mechanics rather than another round.
Replacement is genuinely the right answer for some knees, and when we think you need a surgical consult we will say so directly. It's also a significant, difficult-to-reverse step — which is why most people want to know they've worked through their conservative options first.
Medication can make daily life manageable while you sort out what's wrong, and for some people that's exactly the right role for it. What it doesn't do is change the mechanics loading the joint. Many patients tell us the pain is waiting for them when the bottle runs out.
For a recent, mild knee strain, time and sensible activity are often enough. A brace can also make a painful week workable. What neither one does is rebuild the muscular stability an arthritic or injured knee depends on when you go back to being active.
PT builds the strength and stability that protect a knee long-term, and it's valuable work. It uses a different mechanism than shockwave or laser, and it doesn't by itself address hip and ankle alignment feeding the problem. In knee cases the approaches are usually complementary rather than competing.
Adjustment addresses joint motion and alignment — including the hip and pelvic contribution to knee pain — and it does that well. It isn't the same mechanism as acoustic wave therapy or laser applied to the soft tissue itself. For knee cases specifically, our doctors generally combine adjustment, shockwave, laser, and rehab rather than relying on any single one.
Dr. Richter's Knee Program doesn't mask knee pain with cortisone or move you straight toward a replacement. It's a structured protocol addressing the knee joint and the entire kinetic chain — hip, ankle, and pelvis — that may be driving your dysfunction. It's often a fit for patients who have already worked through injections, PT, or surgery without getting where they wanted to be.
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Several therapies used together, each doing a different job. Which of them apply to you is decided by your examination — not everyone receives all of them.
A Knee on Trac system applies controlled traction to the knee joint itself — the same decompression principle used on the spine, built for the knee. Whether it is appropriate for you is decided by the examination.
Both Storz Medical shockwave types are available here: radial (RSWT), which disperses energy over a broader, shallower area, and focused (F-SW), which concentrates energy at a selected depth. Acoustic wave therapy is applied to the chronic soft tissue around the knee.
The office has two Class IV therapeutic lasers, including a 40-watt LightForce deep tissue unit. Laser is applied over the knee and surrounding soft tissue as part of the program.
Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy — a high-energy pulsed electromagnetic field device used for musculoskeletal conditions. Contact-free, and often applied in the same visit as shockwave.
A low-frequency stimulation unit that runs at 7.83 Hz. It is used in the office on occasion, and many care plans send one home so it can be used between visits.
Addresses alignment and motion of the pelvis, hip, and spine — mechanical contributors that increase stress on the knee and are easy to overlook when the knee is the only thing being examined.
Custom strengthening and stabilization exercises to rebuild the muscular support around the knee and support the area as you return to activity.
Your in-office care alone cannot deliver the daily reinforcement your knee needs. Custom home exercises, mobility work, and recovery routines are how we treat your knee the other 5-6 days each week — and how we protect your progress.
No surprises. Here's exactly how it works from your first call to your recovery.
Most knee patients have already spent money on imaging, injections, or PT without the relief they hoped for. The $59 New Patient Exam removes the financial hurdle — anyone can afford to find out exactly what's wrong with their knee and whether we can help.
Visit 1 · ~30-35 minFull knee assessment with your doctor — including X-rays if clinically indicated, movement and gait analysis, kinetic chain evaluation (hip, ankle, pelvis), and inflammation assessment. We work to identify the specific structural cause, whether that's knee arthritis, bone-on-bone joint space loss, a meniscus tear, patellar tendonitis, or degenerative joint disease.
Visit 1 · Same dayYour doctor explains what the examination showed so far, what still needs review, and what to expect at your Diagnosis & Treatment Plan visit. If we have printed information relevant to your case, it goes home with you.
Visit 1On Visit 2, your doctor presents your complete program: exactly which therapies are indicated, how many visits it will take, how long it will take, and the exact cost. You will hear one of three things: (a) you're a strong candidate and here's your knee program, (b) we believe you'd be better served elsewhere and here's where to go, or (c) further conservative care is unlikely to help. We tell you the truth — even when it costs us a patient.
Visit 2 · Included in $59If you're a fit and decide to move forward, your first treatment begins on Visit 2 — combining adjustments, Class IV laser, shockwave, EMTT, and rehab. Each session builds on the last. Your new patient exam covers both of your first two visits; the knee program itself is billed separately, at the cost quoted on Visit 2.
Same day on Visit 2 if you choose to proceedThe goal of care is reduced knee pain, restored range of motion, getting up and down stairs again, and a return to the activities you've been missing. Knees respond slowly, so you get the full visit count and timeline on Visit 2 — before you commit to any of it.
Individualized care planAfter your evaluation, if our protocols aren't a good fit, your doctor will tell you honestly — and help point you in the right direction. That's the Richter Family Chiropractic promise.
You may be a candidate if you have:
We'll tell you honestly if we can't help with:
The only way to know definitively is a full evaluation. Your doctor will assess your condition and give you an honest answer — for just $59.
Book My New Patient Exam →No obligation · A straight answer, even if it's not us
Take the first step — a full New Patient Exam with one of our doctors for just $59. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help.
Book My New Patient Exam →It depends on what is causing the pain, which is why care here starts with an examination rather than a treatment. Knee pain is not always only a knee problem: the way your hip, pelvis and ankle move changes how load passes through the knee, and chiropractic adjustment addresses that motion and alignment. At this office knee care goes beyond adjustment. Dr. Richter's Knee Program combines it with Storz Medical shockwave, Class IV laser, EMTT, knee decompression and targeted rehabilitation exercises. Some knee problems need something different, such as a fracture, an infection or a joint that needs a surgical opinion, and if your examination points that way you will be told and referred.
There is no single answer that fits everyone. The right approach depends on what is causing the pain, how long you have had it, and what you have already tried. A recent, mild strain often settles with sensible activity and time. For pain that has lasted months, such as knee arthritis, a meniscus tear or patellar tendonitis, strengthening and stabilizing the muscles around the knee is part of most non-surgical care. At this office that rehabilitation may be combined with chiropractic adjustment, shockwave, Class IV laser, EMTT and knee decompression. A focused examination is the starting point for deciding which combination makes sense for your knee.
That depends on the cause. A minor strain often eases within days to a few weeks. Long-standing problems such as arthritis or a worn meniscus are different: the aim of care is less pain and a knee that works better, and knees respond slowly, so it is measured in weeks of care rather than days. Your doctor gives you the expected timeline and visit count on your second visit, after the examination, before you commit to anything. If your knee pain has lasted more than a few weeks, is getting worse, or comes with swelling, locking, giving way or trouble putting weight on the leg, it is worth having it examined.
Shockwave is used mainly for tendon and soft-tissue problems, so it fits some knee pain and not others. Around the knee it is used for problems such as patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee) and the chronic soft tissue around an arthritic knee. It is not a treatment for the cartilage inside the joint. This office has both Storz Medical shockwave types: radial, which spreads energy over a broader, shallower area, and focused, which concentrates it at a set depth. Here it is usually one part of the Knee Program rather than used on its own. Whether it is appropriate for your knee is decided at your examination, and if it is not, you will be told.
Replacement is the right answer for some knees, and when your doctor thinks you need a surgical consult, you will be told directly. It is also a significant step that is hard to reverse, which is why many people want to know they have worked through their conservative options first. Dr. Richter's Knee Program sees patients who have been told replacement is their only option. Your examination and imaging decide whether conservative care is a reasonable next step for your knee, and on your second visit you get an honest answer either way.
No. You do not need imaging before you book. Your first visit includes a full knee examination, with X-rays if they are clinically indicated. If you already have X-rays or an MRI of the knee, bring them, along with any reports.
That depends on your findings, and any office quoting you a number before examining you is guessing. Shockwave, laser and rehabilitation are typically delivered as a series rather than a single visit. Your doctor lays out what is indicated, how it is sequenced, how many visits it will take and what it costs on your second visit, after the examination, rather than after you have already started.
Many insurance plans include benefits that can apply to parts of our knee pain program, but coverage varies from plan to plan. Before you start, our team will verify your specific benefits and give you a clear breakdown of what your insurance is expected to cover and what your out-of-pocket cost will be. No surprises: you'll know your numbers before you commit to care. Call us at (951) 817-9815 or bring your insurance card to your first visit and we'll take care of the rest.