How Hyaluronic Acid Injections Can Remedy Knee Pain?

 If you have osteoarthritis in your knee joint, you know firsthand how much it can impact your mobility, turning even the simplest tasks into major challenges. And when stiff, achy knees make it increasingly harder for you to climb the stairs, get in and out of the car, or simply go for a walk, it’s time to take control.   

At Advanced Pain & Spine Management, with offices in Bloomingdale and Arlington Heights, IL, our pain management experts offer a wide range of solutions, including hyaluronic acid injections for knee pain.

In this blog, our medical team explains how these injections work.

Osteoarthritis and chronic knee pain

Osteoarthritis is a chronic wear-and-tear condition that causes the gradual breakdown of cartilage, which is the smooth tissue that cushions and protect the ends of your bones where they meet at the joint.

As if having less cartilage between your bones weren’t painful enough, osteoarthritis also actively diminishes and degrades hyaluronic acid, a vital shock-absorbing substance in your synovial fluid that lubricates and buffers your joints.

Early on, the bone-on-bone sensation of osteoarthritis may simply make your knees feel stiff and achy. As it progresses, however, it often gives rise to less tolerable, more restrictive pain that impairs joint function, range of motion, and mobility, to the point that routine tasks — particularly those that place any type of load on your knees — become noticeably harder to perform.

When most or all of your joint cartilage is gone, you may also experience a grinding sensation or hear loud popping or crunching sounds as the bones in your knee joint rub against one another.

Hyaluronic acid injection benefits

At first, osteoarthritis-related knee pain may respond well to a combination of conservative treatment solutions like over-the-counter pain relievers, exercise, weight loss, and physical therapy.

However, these strategies may not provide adequate relief as your condition advances. If this sounds familiar, it may be time for hyaluronic acid injection therapy, a more targeted treatment approach that uses a supplement of the same lubricating substance that’s found in the synovial fluid of your knee joint to address osteoarthritis pain — from the inside out.  

When carefully injected into your knee, hyaluronic acid helps restore shock-absorbing joint fluid to optimal or near-optimal levels. By cushioning your bones, coating your nerve endings, and re-lubricating your joints, this highly effective solution can help ease osteoarthritis-related knee pain for months at a time.

Pain management solutions you can trust

Depending on your condition, hyaluronic acid therapy typically consists of a course of 3-5 injections, each spaced 1-3 weeks apart. If you have osteoarthritis pain in both knees, you may be eligible for dual injections.   

While everyone responds differently to hyaluronic acid therapy, most people notice significant symptom improvement in just a few days. Effective pain relief, increased range of motion, and improved mobility typically last 4-5 months following a full course of injections. In some cases, osteoarthritis-related pain and stiffness may stay away for up to a year.

Although you won’t necessarily need to rest your joints following a hyaluronic acid injection, you should avoid prolonged weight-bearing activities for a day or two.

Because it’s safe to repeat hyaluronic acid injections, you may be able to seamlessly continue your therapy as soon as your osteoarthritis symptoms begin to re-emerge.

If over-the-counter pain medication, exercise, and physical therapy no longer take the edge off osteoarthritis-related knee pain, we can help. Contact the experts at Advanced Pain & Spine Management today.