Knee Hyaluronic Acid Injections

The routine use of knee Hyaluronic Acid injections is still commonly done, even as part of a practice protocol for some orthopedic surgeons, prior to doing knee replacement surgery. The research literature has never been clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of knee Hyaluronic acid injections, despite its popularity.

Are Hyaluronic Acid Injections Effective?

In 2021 the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) stated that the routine use of Hyaluronic Acid injections for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, is not recommended. Scientifically, Hyaluronic Acid (HA) Injections cannot alter degenerative knee arthritis pathways for pain, or alter the progressive nature of knee degenerative arthritis. Medicine learned decades ago, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDS) drugs, cannot alter degenerative arthritis progression either, so similarly, scientifically, NSAIDS cannot alter knee or any degenerative arthritis pathways or progression. 

NSAID’s And Knee Pain

 The use of routine NSAID’s long term has slowly followed out of favor. Unfortunately, medicine is sometimes slow to change, and HA injections are still commonly used. Patients are becoming more aware of their health, and as such understanding proposed treatments that are outdated, or cannot provide a solution should be a physicians obligation to their patients.

Dr. Lox and Regenerative Therapy

Consult with Dr. Lox to discuss your knee pain and see if Regenerative Therapy and Stem Cell injections are an option for you.