About the Joint Relief Institute.
We've provided non-surgical, pain-relieving treatments to tens of thousands of patients since 2015.
Our mission is to end knee pain in the fastest, safest way possible.
Know all your options
Total knee replacement surgery is not your only option. We advise our patients to explore all less invasive methods before undergoing surgery.
Knee replacement surgery doesn’t come with any guarantees of restored movement or less pain and can sometimes lead to reliance on narcotic pain medication.
We don’t want that for our patients if they can avoid it. Our aim is to educate you about your options so you can explore less invasive treatment options so that you are equipped to make the best decision for your mobility journey. If we do feel replacement surgery is your best choice, we’ll tell you that too.
Michael Hana, MD | Founder
“I'd love to tell you the story of why I founded The Joint Relief Institute!”
My name is Mike Hana. I’m board-certified in both anesthesiology and pain medicine, and I founded the Joint Relief Institute. If you’ll give me a moment, I’d like to tell you why I founded the institute.
Many people with knee pain think their only choice is to have a knee replacement, but according to this study, up to 1/3rd of knee surgeries are performed on people who don’t need them. That’s up to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary knee surgeries every year!
A knee replacement is not a minor surgical procedure and like all surgery, knee replacement comes with the risks of infection, heart attack, and stroke. After knee replacement surgery, even the luckiest patient faces a considerable period of bed rest, then a long road to their best-case scenario. And that best-case scenario is bad for many people…
The top reason for getting a knee replacement is chronic pain — my area of specialization — but this study shows many patients continue to have knee pain AFTER the surgery – pain that gets worse over time.
When you have a knee replacement, you close the door on your other options. The only thing you can do for pain after a knee replacement is take ever-increasing doses of mind-numbing and potentially addictive painkillers. And the longer you take painkillers, the greater the chances of bleeding ulcers and kidney failure.
All these studies and statistics are from respected and widely read medical journals, however, these aren’t statistics to me – they’re real people. I see these patients every day at the Joint Relief Institute – people who are in pain after knee replacement surgery. They’ve had one knee replaced, and they will do anything possible to avoid having surgery on the other knee.
So, you can imagine how frustrating it is to meet people who are in pain that they never should have experienced. I’m talking about pain that came because they didn’t get the right treatment, or they had a knee replacement they didn’t need.
That is why I founded the Joint Relief Institute in 2015. I wanted to make sure that as many people with knee pain as possible can undergo a simple, low-risk, low-cost procedure that could change their lives.
Knee injections are safe, effective, painless, and without any side effects, so you have nothing to lose and potentially everything to gain by trying injections first. If you’ve read our thousands of five-star reviews, you know that your life could change in a matter of minutes.
That being said, some people do need knee replacements. However, there is no way back after a knee replacement, so I’m asking you this: Please don’t decide that traumatic surgery is your only option without trying gel injections first.
Please come in to one of our three Chicagoland offices for a no obligation consultation. Our friendly and caring staff will answer any questions you have so you can make the most informed decision for your future.
Mike Hana, MD | Founder, Joint Relief Institute.
Our Expert Doctors
Ermin Arriola
MD, Physician
Ermin Arriola MD, Physician
Ermin is a board-certified physiatrist, a physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physician, with 22 years of clinical experience. He specializes in musculoskeletal disorders and sports medicine. He received his education in biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before pursuing a medical degree from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine and completing a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rush University Medical Center.
Ermin’s experience is extensive and diverse, having practiced at Resurrection Medical Center, MacNeal Hospital, Ingalls Medical Center and Rush University Medical Center in the fields of physical medicine and rehabilitation.
After working as a solo practitioner for over 10 years, Ermin was moved by the energy, enthusiasm and dedication of the team at JRI. He planted his roots at the clinic and has never looked back. Seeing his patients go from living a life of pain to one of genuine happiness and improved quality of life is always a moment of blessing and gratitude for him.
Michael Hana
MD, DABA. DABPM, FIPP, Physician
Michael Hana MD, Founder
Mike Hana is triple board certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Interventional Pain Practice. He completed his fellowship at the University of Texas, where he also served as an assistant professor training and teaching other physicians the science and the art of performing Image-guided interventions for pain management. Before moving to Texas, Dr. Hana lived in New York City where he participated in thousands of surgeries including many joint replacements at multiple hospitals including the Brookdale University Level One Trauma Center, Staten Island University Hospital, Cornell University, and Columbia University Hospitals.
During his time as a pain management specialist, Dr. Hana was at the bedside of patients struggling to recover from knee surgery and saw firsthand the pain and suffering that follows knee replacement surgery. As he witnessed patients with increasing doses of narcotics, Dr. Hana decided he couldn’t be part of any more surgeries. Instead, Dr. Hana has dedicated his medical career to finding a better way to treat patients with knee pain. That commitment to effective, non-surgical relief for knee pain is how the Joint Relief Institute was born.
Rahul Khapekar
DO, Physician
Rahul Khapekar DO, Physician
Rahul is a double board-certified physician in both Sports Medicine and Family Medicine. As a graduate from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, he has an extensive background in Osteopathic Medicine too. After completing his family medicine training at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, he specialized in sports medicine and trained at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.
Rahul enjoys working at JRI because of its positive culture and is proud to be part of a team that is in complete transparency and compliance with the required medical and governmental guidelines.
As a primary care sports medicine physician, Rahul knows all too well the challenges of living with joint pain. That is why he takes the time to fully understand his patients’ conditions so that he can work on a treatment plan that has their best interests at heart.
Rahul says sharing his medical knowledge in exchange for stories, opinions and life lessons from his patients makes for a rewarding practice.
Julie Kafka
MD, Physician
Julie Kafka MD, Physician
Julie is triple board certified in Sports Medicine, Family Medicine and Urgent care. She completed her medical studies at the University of Tennessee in 2009, and she has been in practice ever since. She has worked in multiple medical facilites, including at the University of Tennessee, the University of Illinois and Rockford Memorial Hospital.
Julie joined JRI two years ago for its welcoming environment and commitment to excellent patient care. She thoroughly enjoys working alongside her team members and takes pleasure in providing pain relief to her patients.
Avid runner, Julie ran thirteen half Marathons including one on the Great Wall of China.
Nicholas Manolitsis
MD, Physician
Nicholas Manolitsis MD, Physician
Nicholas is a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) specialist. He earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from Loyola University Chicago before heading to Southern Illinois University where he earned his medical degree. After completing his PM&R residency training at the University of Missouri in 2012, he worked as a travelling PM&R physician providing inpatient rehabilitation coverage in several states from far and near, such as Montana, Iowa, and New Mexico. Prior to joining the Joint Relief Institute he worked at Swedish Hospital in Chicago.
Nicholas’s primary clinical interest is in the management of chronic musculoskeletal disorders, most notably the non-surgical treatment of osteoarthritis. He was drawn to the Joint Relief Institute by its collegial work environment, commitment to patient-centered care, and the opportunity to help patients stay active, maximize their function and improve their quality of life
In his free time Nicholas enjoys photography, hiking, and going on road trips and hopes to one day visit all of our nation’s majestic national parks.
Katrina Nguyen
DO, Physician
Katrina Nguyen DO, Physician
Katrina received her Sports medicine fellowship training at Stanford University after finishing her medical education at Midwestern University and completing her residency at the University of Florida Shands Hospital. She is board certified in sports and emergency medicine and has been a practicing physician for seven years. During her time in San Fransisco, she was a team physician for the U.S. national women’s soccer team and the San Francisco 49ers, as well as working as a Stanford collegiate-level team doctor for football, wrestling, gymnastics and soccer.
Katrina was drawn to the family-like work environment at JRI, where she could get to know her patients and devise a treatment that would help them lead happier, more active lives. Her happiness lies in being able to provide her patients relief from pain and seeing them enjoy doing the things they couldn’t before.
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