For people with osteoarthritis, they are advice to engage in exercise and other physical activities. Unfortunately knee pain is not just about it. Osteoarthritis is accompanied with joint pain and stiffness. Because of this, it is difficult to walk and do other physical activities. There are people who found oral arthritis medications to be ineffective. The best alternative is to undergo hyaluronic acid injections.
The procedure is also known as viscosupplements. The main purpose of this is to add hyaluronic acid to the joints. This fluid can help in lubricating the joints in order to keep them working smoothly. It also acts as shock absorber that can keep the bones from getting all the impact when you walk or do some activities. If you are suffering from osteoarthritis, the hyaluronic acid in your joints decreases. Injecting these acids in your joint area can supplement the ones that were lost. Normally the acid stays on your joints for hours and days.
There are several brands of hyaluronic acids that are accepted and approved for osteoarthritis. It includes Euflexxa, Hyalgan, Orthovisc and Supartz. The doctor will give you 3 to 5 shots with a week interval. The procedure for hyaluronic acid is simple. First the doctor would clean the area. In some cases, the knees are swollen with liquids and the doctor would have to withdraw this and there is a need for local anesthesia. Using the same needle, the hyaluronic acid would be injected to the knee joint. It is advisable that the patient should avoid lifting activity for a day or two.
There are cases wherein the procedure works better with some people. It is proven to be less effective for the elderly and those people with severe osteoarthritis condition. There are studies that were done to know how effective this is as part of osteoarthritis treatment. In 2002, a study was published that show it has a short term effect. There are seven studies also published in 2006 that show slight benefits of this injection. There are also research done that involve hundreds of people the result to hyaluronic acid being better than placebo drug given to half of the subject. Recently, the hyaluronic acid is compared with anti inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. They work just as well and it could last for six months to a year.
So far there are no long term effects of the said treatment. There are just a few short term ones noted like minor pain in the area after the injection. There is also a tendency of joint fluid build up that can last only for few days. There are some people who can benefit from these injection like those who are experiencing knee osteoarthritis symptoms but don’t respond to treatments. It can also work for those who can’t take oral medicines or those who have undergone knee replacement surgery. It is best to discuss with your doctor how hyaluronic acid injection can help. There are insurance companies that can cover the procedure.