Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common diseases affecting quality of life for millions of people nationwide. This places a significant financial burden on the healthcare system. There has been a significant focus placed on research towards more cost-effective options in order to manage this knee pain. Viscosupplementation, or hyaluronic acid (HA), injections are becoming increasingly more popular as a conservative treatment option for knee osteoarthritis. Overall, HA injections can be expensive and can sometimes take months to take effect. HA injections are also sometimes not covered by certain insurance providers.
A recent study evaluated the effectiveness of the single injections vs. the multiple injection dosages. Some brands of injections require weekly visits to your physician office in order to complete the treatment course. The recent systematic review found that there was no significant difference between number of injections and injection efficacy. This indicates that single-dose injections such as Synvisc-One, Gel-One, Durolane, or Monovisc are just as effective as the multiple injection series.
If you are suffering from knee pain and would like to discuss your personal options, give us a call! Our number one priority is to get our patients back to living the most fulfilling life possible!
Source:
McElheny K, Toresdahl B, Ling D, Mages K, Asif I. Comparative effectiveness of alternative dosing regimens of hyaluronic acid injections for knee osteoarthritis. Sports Health. 2019;11(5):461-466.