Viscosupplementation

What is viscosupplementation?

Viscosupplementation is a nonsurgical orthopedic care option for chronic joint pain.

The procedure involves injections of hyaluronic acid, a gel-like fluid that already occurs naturally in your body, into stiff and painful joints. Hyaluronic acid works like a lubricant in your joints, acting to revitalize the loss cartilage in between the bones of your joint, and helping the bones glide easily and absorbing the shocks of your movements.

As you get older, or should you have underlying joint degeneration from disease or injury, your joints may not have a sufficient amount of this acid to keep you physically active and pain-free. Viscosupplementation adds back the hyaluronic acid you need to increase joint flexibility and treat pain and helps to revitalize the cartilage that is degenerated overtime.

What conditions can viscosupplementation treat?

Most often, Dr. Shah uses viscosupplementation to treat joint pain from arthritis in the knee, but he can also effectively treat other painful joints in your body with this minimally invasive treatment.

When using viscosupplementation therapy to treat other joints, like your hips and shoulders, Dr. Shah relies on the guidance of fluoroscopy imaging, a real-time X-ray technology, As well as live on site dynamic ultrasound image guidance. Image guidance ensures he positions the injection in the precise location to optimize your results.

Based on the severity of your pain and its cause, Dr. Shah can determine how many injections you need to improve your joint health. Generally, you can expect a series of 3 injections over the course of a 3 weeks.

How long does it take for viscosupplementation to work?

Viscosupplementation may not provide you with immediate pain relief, but you may notice a difference in your pain levels soon after your injection. In some cases, you might experience a temporary increase in your pain and some mild swelling just after your treatment, which should resolve within a day or two.

In general, pain relief can be expected upon completing all three treatments for you to achieve the maximum benefits of your injection, and pain relief can last for over one year.

If you’re limited by joint stiffness and chronic pain from arthritis or another condition, call the SamWell Institute for Pain Management office nearest you to find out if viscosupplementation is an option. You can also schedule a consultation by using the online booking tool today.