What is Viscosupplementation?
Viscosupplementation is a procedure that involves injecting hyaluronic acid into the knee. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance found in normal joint fluid. It can be concentrated into a gel-like substance that acts as a lubricant and shock absorber when injected into the knee. Why did my doctor say that viscosupplementation would not be helpful? Viscosupplementation seems to work best in the early phases of arthritis. If you have advanced knee arthritis, with bone-on-bone changes, it is unlikely that you will benefit from viscosupplementation. Also, there is no evidence that viscosupplementation is effective in treating meniscus tears, ligament tears, or other non-arthritic knee conditions. Viscosupplementation has not been shown to prevent knee arthritis from getting worse. Why did my doctor recommend a cortisone shot? Isnt viscosupplementation better? Cortisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory that can be injected directly into the knee joint. Several recent studies hav
