Hyaluronic acid injections work best for younger people with worse knee pain highlights new study

People with osteoarthritis who have worse knee pain, are younger and have less severe structural damage benefit the most from hyaluronic acid injections, according to findings in Arthritis Research and Therapy.

Evidence and advice about steroid and hyaluronic acid injections is inconsistent.

So a research group asked 310 people with osteoarthritis to give information on 404 injections of hyaluronic acid before the treatment and six months later.

Those whose pain, stiffness and function reduced the most after the hyaluronic acid injection tended to be younger, have greater cartilage volume in the medial compartment and greater joint space width and have worse knee pain before the procedure. People who didn’t respond found their symptoms got worse.

“This study identified reliable predictive determinants that can distinguish patients who could best benefit from intra-articular hyaluronic acid treatment: high levels of knee pain, younger, and less severe structural damage,” the research group concludes.

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