Abstract

A REVIEW ON VISCOSUPPLEMENTATION THERAPY

Dr. Darabadi Rispa* andKasamaneni Supriya

ABSTRACT

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints. osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and it is most commonly seen at the knee. It is a degenerative, "wear-and-tear" type of arthritis that occurs in people of 50 years and older, but may occur in younger people too. The symptoms include Pain, swelling, and stiffness. The knee joint is surrounded by a thin lining of synovial fluid and it acts as lubricant and reduce friction in knee In osteoarthritis, the cartilage in the knee joint gradually wears away. Because of this, it becomes frayed and rough, and the protective space between the bones decreases. This can result in bone rubbing on bone, and produce painful bone spurs. Arthritis has no specific cure but there are many treatment options to manage pain and keep people staying active. For this viscosupplementation therapy is used to reduce friction in-between two joints at knee. Viscosupplementation is a medical procedure in which lubricating fluid is injected into a joint. Also called hyaluronic acid injections or hyaluronan injections. This therapy is most commonly used to treat symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. Hyaluronic acid is a key component of the joint fluid in healthy joints, but is found in lower concentrations in osteoarthritic joints. By adding hyaluronic acid to the existing joint fluid of an osteoarthritic knee, the goal is to: ï‚· Facilitate better knee movement ï‚· Reduce pain ï‚· Perhaps slow osteoarthritis progression.[1] The viscosupplementation therapy has 80% of positive result, but 20% of adrs are seen in patients like mostly pain at injected site.

Keywords: hyaluronic acid, viscosupplementation therapy, OA (osteoarthritis), intra-articular, Nsaid’s (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).