Author(s)

Satish Prasad Koiri^1,2, Yi Yang², Huang Kui^2*

¹School of Medicine, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China.
²Department of Orthopaedic, First Affiliated Hospital of Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive disease in which the cartilage (cushioning between joints) wears away. As the cartilage wears away, it becomes frayed and rough, and the protective space between the bones decreases. This causes rubbing of bones, resulting in pain, swelling, stiffness, decreased ability to move and formation of bone spurs. Osteoarthritis develops slowly and the pain it causes worsens over time. Although there is no cure, there are many treatment options available to help manage pain and keep people staying active. Intra-articular (IA) hyaluronic acid (HA) injection is one of the treatment options. Hyaluronic acid is a polysaccharide, an anionic, non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan and is a naturally occurring substance found in the synovial fluid surrounding joints. It acts as a lubricant to enable bones to move smoothly over each other and as a shock absorber for joint loads. People with knee osteoarthritis have lower concentration and altered volume of hyaluronic acid than normal in their joints. Due to lower concentration and volume, exogenous hyaluronic acid may be injected into the knee joint. Treatment with exogenous hyaluronic acid contributes to restore the elastic and viscous properties of the synovial fluid, pain reduction and functional improvement. It is indicated for patients who have failed to respond adequately to conservative non-pharmacological therapy and simple analgesic.

Osteoarthritis, Intra-Articular, Hyaluronic Acid, Viscosupplementation

Koiri, S. , Yang, Y. and Kui, H. (2018) Hyaluronic Acid in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: Review. Yangtze Medicine, 2, 62-72. doi: 10.4236/ym.2018.22007.