Are Hyaluronic Acid Injections Effective At Treating Cartilage Loss?

Posted on Fri, 29 Sep 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 Answered on

Tue, 24 Oct 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : I'm a 57 year old woman with cartilage loss in both knees.

Please let me know if Hyaluronic Acid Injections will work? How many injections are needed and what is the duration? Are they safe, etc?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Can be used.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Hyaluronic acid injections are given into the joint (especially large joints like knee joint) in prescribed dosages. These give good short term pain relief in arthritic joints ranging from 1-2 years. These can help in cartilage loss also. You can take them after consulting an orthopaedic surgeon.
Usually a single injection provides relief for 6-10 months and the dose is repeated once the pain starts again. These are safe for use.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (9 hours later)

Please let me know if there are any other type of injections for cartlage loss?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Steroid injections can be used.

Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
Other options are quarterly corticosteroid injections for knee osteoarthritis which decrease the inflammation but increase cartilage loss if used repeatedly.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar