Take a jab to keep away knee surgery

It is now possible for people suffering from osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, to be relieved of the pain and delay surgery by undergoing a procedure known as viscosupplementation. 
Viscosupplementation is a procedure by which a gel-like substance, which mimics the naturally available synovial fluid (present in the joints), is injected into the joint in order to supplement the viscous properties of the synovial fluid. It is particularly effective for younger people who suffer from osteoarthritis and helps them delay surgery. "Nowadays because of more awareness among the people we see more cases of osteoarthritis and that too in people in their early forties. Viscosupplementation now helps us provide relief to those patients," said Dr G Rajasekar, rheumatologist at Sri Ramachandra Medical University. He also mentioned that because of the sedentary lifestyles which people lead, osteoarthritis can set in earlier because of the related obesity. 
"Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease which is characterised by loss of cartilage. Viscosupplementation works when cartilage is available and not in the later stages of osteoarthritis when surgery or joint replacement is the only option," said Dr Rajasekar. Knee osteoarthritis, he said, was the most common type of osteoarthritis -- with India having the second largest osteoarthritis patient base of over 15 million. "Women are more susceptible to osteoarthritis and it worsens with age," he said. 
P Meena (67), who suffers from osteoarthritis and underwent viscosupplementation, said that the procedure has provided her relief and she was able to carry on with household activities without much pain. "Though the pain is not completely gone, it has reduced to a great extent. I was scared that I would have to undergo surgery but now after this procedure I exercise regularly, take vitamin tablets and I feel much better," she said. 
Talking about the advantages of viscosupplementation over corticosteroids (drugs to reduce inflammation or pain), Dr P V Mohandass of MIOT hospitals said there was a chance that corticosteroids could destroy the joints and they cannot be given to people who have diabetes. "Viscosupplementation is better than giving corticosteroids because it encourages the knee to generate its own natural fluid," said Dr A B Govindaraj, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Guest Hospital. 
But contrary to popular belief, viscosupplementation is not an alternative to surgery, cautioned Dr Mohandass. "It gives only temporary relief for the pain but is not curative in nature," he said. Dr Govindaraj, who agreed with him, said the procedure had to be repeated once every year and cost around Rs 15,000 for every injection. 
Dr Rajasekar said though viscosupplementation was a procedure that helped reduce dependence on steroids and painkillers, it needed to be supplemented with regular exercise and efforts to strengthen muscles around the knee joint. "On world arthritis day I would like to tell people that regular exercise and a healthy diet is the key to avoiding such diseases. In fact, regular exercises can prevent further progression of osteoarthritis and help avoid surgery," he said. 
Source:TNN