Arthritic knee pain can substantially limit your life. If spot medications are no longer providing ample relief and you’re not ready for surgery, hyaluronic acid (HA) injections may present the perfect solution.
At Healthstone Primary, Dr. Hector Fabregas and his team offer several solutions for arthritic joints, including hyaluronic acid injections, also called viscosupplementation treatment.
Here’s a look at how hyaluronic acid joint injections can ease your knee pain.
Many conditions can lead to knee pain, including:
Far and away, the primary culprits behind knee pain are osteoarthritis and wear and tear, especially as you age. When arthritis strikes your knees, it causes the breakdown of your cartilage and the loss of HA, a naturally occurring substance in your joints that aids with lubrication.
If, after an extensive evaluation of your knees, we find that degenerative processes within your joint are to blame for your pain, we typically start out conservatively with:
Our HA injections aim to restore pain-free movement in your knees by increasing the lubrication within these large joints.
We administer the HA injections in our offices on an outpatient basis, which means you’re free to continue your day afterward (though you should refrain from strenuous exercise until we give you the green light).
Your provider first injects a numbing medicine into the space around your knee joint. They may drain any fluid that is causing the joint to swell. Then, your provider will inject hyaluronic acid into the space inside your joint. A small bandage is put on your injection site.
Don’t expect this to ease your pain right away. But after the full treatment, you may have some pain relief.
Most patients benefit from a series of weekly injections over 3-5 weeks. As you progress through your treatment, your pain should ease, and your mobility increase.
These results can last up to 6 months — even a year for some. Once the pain returns, you simply return for another round of injections.
One of the greatest benefits of HA injections is that they buy you ample time to address your knee pain from every angle, including targeted exercises that strengthen your leg muscles, taking the pressure off of your beleaguered joints.
If you’d like to explore whether HA injections are right for your knee pain, call us today at our office in Weston, Pembroke Pines, or Davies, Florida, or request an appointment online.
