Knee osteoarthritis is the deterioration of the cartilage in knee joints, leading to pain and difficulty walking. Injections of hyaluronic acid have been prescribed since the 1970s to treat this problem. Hyaluronic acid, a gel-like substance, is injected into the joint aiming to lubricate movement and decrease pain. The treatment is known as viscosupplementation.
A meta-analysis published in The BMJ looked at 169 previous trials that compared the injections to a placebo (no treatment). The researches then whittled that down to 24 large placebo-controlled trials involving nearly 9,000 patients, in what is the largest review of the available data so far.
These are some of the Conclusions:
> Strong conclusive evidence that viscosupplementation is associated with a clinically irrelevant reduction in pain intensity.
> The treatment is associated with a higher incidence of serious adverse events.
> It is not only ineffective compared with a placebo but might also be seriously harmful.
One of the study's authors, Bruno da Costa of the University of Toronto said that for a typical patient, it should be a last resort. Several large-scale, industry-funded studies were carried out that found negative results about the treatment. But those studies were never published, da Costa said. He added this is concerning, and perhaps mainly driven by commercial interests.
What are some countries doing
> France's social security system stopped offering reimbursements for the treatment a few years ago.
> England's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends against viscosupplementation.
> A quarter of the money that US Medicare spent on viscosupplementation in 2018 went towards treating infections in joints following an injection, one of the most common side effects.
(Source: StarHealth, 18/7/2022)
What can you do
Click on this link to read the story of how my mother overcame her osteoarthritis problem with Vitaking collagen..
http://www.pingofhealth.com/2011/09/my-mums-knee-pain-collagen-did-job.html
