Viscosupplemenation

Viscosupplementation is another widely used treatment optioin in osteoarthritis pain management.

Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance present in the synovial fluid of your joints. In your knees, synovial fluid, a thick gel-like liquid, helps cushion your joint and absorb the shock of walking, running, twisting, and turning. People with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee have lower levels of hyaluronic acid in their synovial fluid. Therefore, their joints are less “greased” and less able to protect the bones and cartilage from damage and destruction. Viscosupplementation, a popular treatment for OA of the knee, injects hyaluronic acid (also called hyaluron and hyaluronate) into the affected knee in order to hopefully return some mobility to the joint.

Viscosupplementation is usually reserved until other conservative treatment options have been tried and have not relieved your pain, A single concentrated injection or a course of 3 to 5 injections may be required.

Most patients have improved pain relief and function following the injections, but some patients will not be helped by viscosupplementation as mentioned above. For those patients who report pain relief with the procedure, it could possibly take a few weeks or months to notice a significant improvement. How long the effects last vary on several factors like diet, exercises, and external factors. Some patients report pain relieving effects for several months following the injections.

Viscosupplementation is regularly carried out by our team of experts in an outpatient setting at our Regenerative Therapy Centre. This consists of a patient receiving one or 3 injections over several weeks.

The procedure begins by understanding and assessing damage in the joint, if there is any sort of swelling and inflammation in the joint involved. Once the diagnosis is made and you are suitable for the injection, this is carried out in the clinic. Following the injection, you will be asked to avoid excessive weight bearing on the leg, standing for longer durations, heavy lifting or jogging. You will need to be in a relaxed state but can continue with daily activities for the first 48 hours.

Some patients witness a local reaction, such as pain, slight swelling or warmth immediately after the injections. These symptoms generally subside over a few hours and do not tend to cause any problem. An ice pack application on the knee generally is known to help and ease the pain.

In rare scenarios, some patients may develop a local allergy-like reaction in the knee. In these cases, the knee tends to become full of fluid, red, warm, and painful. In such circumstances, you should call your consultant to give you further instructions. Some other rare conditions such as infection and bleeding can occur after the procedure.

If the injections are effective they may be repeated after a period of time, usually every 6 months.

Routine follow up appointment at 3 months with ongoing support and care for your condition through our helpline and clinic.

If you have had a good response to the Viscosupplementation injection it can be repeated again in 6 to 8 months time.