L
ately you're using with good results a new injection, for knee pain, based on hyaluronic acid, as an alternative to steroids and cortisone.
Injection for knee pain
The new injection for knee pain used by orthopedic surgeons is based on hyaluronic acid, which is employed as a sort of bio-lubricant.
Currently the most common type of drug for knee pain is the cortisone. The cortisone infiltrations are used in the conservative treatment of joint diseases that recognize an inflammatory component, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gouty arthritis and the aggravation of arthritic processes.
The drug is injected directly into the joint, the injection is painful but it immediately reduces swelling and inflammation, sometimes in as little as 24 hours. The knee should stay at rest for two days after treatment, but in many cases it is very helpful in relieving the pain.
The doctor uses a syringe and a large needle, up to 18 gauge. The drug is injected into the space between the kneecap and the leg bones. It's an unpleasant procedure, can be very painful, but the cortisone is usually effective enough to relieve knee pain for around six months.
In recent times is applied a relatively new procedure, that has had great success and that uses hyaluronic acid as a kind of bio-lubricant, not as a drug.
Hyaluronic acid
Hyaluronic acid is typically injected into the knee joint once a week for a period of five weeks, the body absorbs and uses hyaluronic acid as a makeshift barrier between the bones, allowing them to move easily, avoiding the rubbing of bone against bone.
The procedure is painful, the knee should stay at rest for 48 hours after the injections, but the benefits are worth the discomfort, and usually last up to a year or more.
However all the injections, unfortunately, do not solve the knee problems but they treat only the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. The benefits of these injections are the elimination or reduction of pain and the possibility to delay surgery.
A benefit of the new injection for knee pain, based on hyaluronic acid, appears to be the long-term improvement for those suffering from arthritis and, in some cases, has been a permanent solution.
[Photo: flickr.com]
