Call your orthopedic Dr. You can get shots in the joint. They have several brands. The best way to describe it is chicken fat. It's a lubricant it also helps with swelling. Lasts about 6mo. to a yr.
I have the same problem. Sounds an feels like gravel under the knee caps. I beats surgery 🙏

I had knee and hip surgery and still have arthritis there. They attempted to scrape some arthritis off my knee joint, but it still swells and hurts

I had knee replacement on my left knee and December 8th I will have knee replacement on my right knee. The swelling has never gone away on my left knee and some pain is there but it works much better. Reading the article about knee replacement and psoriatic arthritis after knee replacement helped me understand what is happening.

Wow! Thanks for sharing. I had surgery for my hip and haven’t had much guidance from then on. It helps to hear what others experience.

I'm currently getting Radiofrequency nerve ablation (RFA) in my lower back. I'll do anything to prevent either using damaging cortisone or knee replacement. I've had gel injection in my knee and it worked for 3 years. The RFA separates the nerves or nerve signals from the spine to the pain in you back, hips and knees. It is extremely painful and takes 3 treatments. Also, the nerve can grow back, so it requires a repeat of the treatment, but your quality of life is improved through pain management for a period of time ( for complex reasons the length for each person is unknown). I have never heard of anyone with a knee tmreplacement who is pain free. Hope this helps