Knee injections and osteoarthritis - PRP, Hyaluronic acid (Euflexxa, Synvisc), Steroid

Mild-moderate knee arthritis and pain troubling you?

First-line treatment should be: physiotherapy, weight-optimisation, stay active & non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication.

If your knee is still troubling you despite your initial efforts, then an intra-articular knee injection may be right for you.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP): Growing evidence shows benefits (improved pain and function) of PRP injections over other injections (steroid, hyaluronic acid and normal saline). The theory is the growth factors help decrease the inflammation in the knee and promote restoration of damaged cartilage. It is best used in mild-moderate arthritis. It can’t ‘reverse’ severe (bone on bone) arthritis.

Hyaluronic Acid (synvisc, synvisc-one, durolane, euflexxa): Viscosupplementation involves injecting a ‘lubricant’ (synthetic hyaluronic acid, similar to normal joint/synovial fluid) into the knee. It has similar results to PRP with some studies favouring PRP and some studies showing no difference either way.

Steroid: A corticosteroid injection decreased the inflammation and subsequently the associated pain of arthritis. During a ‘pain’ flare or attack it is good short-term solution for knee arthritis that is heading towards a knee replacement

If the above multi-modal approach isn’t helping, contact us to make an appointment with Dr Collins to discuss further options, including surgical intervention (joint preservation and/or joint replacement).