Can Knee Injections Help Arthritic Pain?

Consultant Orthopaedic Knee Surgeon, Mr Chan Jeer

Consultant Orthopaedic Knee Surgeon, Mr Chan Jeer discusses the benefits of knee injections for the treatment of arthritic pain

‘As part of the strategy to deal with arthritic knee joints, a surgeon will always try and exhaust simple conservative measures before resorting to end-stage joint replacement as a curative option. One of the best ways to help arthritic pain in a knee is to perform an injection, for which there are many varieties available.  The simplest thing that can be injected into the knee is a combination of local anaesthetic and steroid. I personally try to avoid steroid injections into the knee as they can have an adverse effect in the future when it comes to joint replacement, with an increased potential risk of infection in the joint replacement if there has been a previous steroid injection. My preferred injection would be a visco-supplement and this injection can provide up to 50% reduction in arthritic joint pain for up to six months.

‘Visco-supplements are administered as a single injection to the knee as an outpatient.  If there is a lot of swelling in the knee then an attempt is made to remove some of that fluid prior to the injection.  The product works by reducing inflammation in the knee and risks of complications are very rare.  The injection is repeatable, and in my opinion an excellent way of offsetting the requirement for surgery.’

P.J.S. Jeer
Consultant Orthopaedic Knee Surgeon