• Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that causes pain and loss of mobility or joint function. It can greatly diminish the quality of life of sufferers.
• Osteoarthritis is the most common rheumatic disease and is second only to cardiovascular disease in producing chronic disability.
• Osteoarthritis is not a passive ‘wear and tear’ phenomenon, as was believed until recently. It is an active disease with a complex underlying pathology.

• A slight stiffness after lying down or sitting down for a while is often the first indication of osteoarthritis, but this stiffness vanishes soon after the joints are being used and one gets moving again.
• As osteoarthritis progresses, these joint movements will become increasingly and continually painful. There may be a gritty sensation in the joint; the function of the joint is impaired and one can experience a reduced range of movement.
• The last stage of joint degeneration is when the joints are painful even when resting which may adversely affect sleep at night. At each of the stages of osteoarthritis there may also be inflammation and swellings present in the joint.

• being overweight
• inflammation
• incorrect joint alignment
• sporting activities with a higher rate of injury
• working conditions requiring lifting and carrying of heavy loads
• inactivity due to joint resting or life style choices

Basically all synovial joints of the body can become arthritic. Particularly frequent and painful are arthritic problems in the larger joints such as:

• Knee joint
• Hip joint
• Shoulder joint

Arthritis can also affect smaller joints and impinge upon the quality of life:

• Saddle joint (thumb joint)
• All other finger joints
• Toe joints (particularly the large toe)
• Facet joints of the spine

Other places of potential problems:

• Elbow joint
• Ankle joints

In order to understand how these problems develop it is helpful to familiarise yourself with the joint structure.

Joints affected by osteoarthritis typically have lower concentrations of hyaluronic acid in the synovial fluid, the thick liquid that helps cushion and lubricate the joint. As a result, the synovial fluid in osteoarthritic joints has lower viscosity and elasticity than healthy synovial fluid, decreasing its ability to lubricate the joint and absorb shocks.

Hyaluronic Acid is a treatment for the symptoms of osteoarthritis. It can be used in the knee, or in any of the other joints in the body that are classified as ‘synovial’

It is injected into the space in the joint that contains synovial fluid and works by restoring the normal balance between the breakdown and production of sodium hyaluronate. This procedure is known as ‘viscosupplementation’, and the effect of hyaluronic acid means that it can decrease pain and stiffness and improve the other symptoms of osteoarthritis.

If you decide to have treatment with hyaluronic acid, it will be injected directly into the joint affected by osteoarthritis.

You will probably not notice any benefits immediately after the first injection, but you should gradually start to feel less pain and stiffness over the next few weeks.  The improvement in your symptoms is likely to persist for several months, depending on the progression of the degenerative change in the joint being treated.

When the effects of your injections begin to wear off, you can safely choose to have another injection if your clinician agrees it is appropriate. Thereafter, you can continue with treatment whenever necessary.