There are 14 million Americans who have knee osteoarthritis, 2 million of whom are under the age of 45. In fact, the lifetime prevalence of knee osteoarthritis is 45%, and it’s one of the primary drivers of knee pain, which also puts moderate to severe limitations on your mobility.
Luckily, there’s a fairly easy and long-lasting solution for chronic and nagging knee pain — hyaluronic acid injections.
At Optimal Pain & Regenerative Medicine®, our team of highly qualified pain management experts offers a wide range of solutions that provide relief for most musculoskeletal issues. Whether you’re coping with debilitating back pain or your knees are giving you trouble, we can help with effective treatments that restore your quality of life.
And when it comes to knee pain, the effects that it can have on your ability to make your way through the world are enormous. But rather than reaching for a bottle of pills, which only mask the symptoms, explore how hyaluronic acid injections can encourage easy movement in these large joints.
A look inside your knee joint
To better understand why hyaluronic acid injections are so successful, it’s helpful to step back and take a look at what’s going on inside your knee.
As we mentioned, your knees are the largest joints in your body, and that makes sense given all they’re responsible for in terms of support, mobility, and range of motion. To perform their job well, these joints contain a natural lubricant called synovial fluid, which allows the different components in your knee to glide together smoothly, like a well-oiled machine. Outside of lubrication, this fluid also plays a significant role in the shock absorption capabilities in your knees.
A key ingredient in your synovial fluid is hyaluronic acid, which supports the lubrication within your joint. When osteoarthritis strikes, your hyaluronic acid can break down, leaving your bones to rub together painfully.
As the osteoarthritis progresses, pieces of your bones can chip off, further exacerbating the problem and leaving you with increasingly stiff, painful, and inflamed knee joints.
Knee Injections
Since the loss of hyaluronic acid leads to knee pain, it makes sense that the best way to tackle the problem is to replace the substance, which is the goal behind hyaluronic acid injections, also called viscosupplementation.
Our medical providers inject the hyaluronic acid directly into your joint during an in-office procedure, then you’re free to get on with your day directly afterward. That said, we do ask that you take it easy on your knees for a couple of days after your injections.
Hyaluronic acid injections take a little time to work, so be patient over the weeks following your injections. During this time, you should notice a gradual improvement in your knees. Results vary from one patient to the next. Some patients experience 100% relief that can last a year or more while others benefit from a reduction in pain, but not complete relief. And still others experience no difference.
The bottom line is that hyaluronic acid injections are a minimally invasive approach to knee pain that can potentially relieve all or some of your pain, allowing you more freedom of movement.
To learn whether hyaluronic acid injections may be able to remedy your knee pain, contact us at one of our six locations.