Knee Injections: What Types of Knee Injections Help with Knee Pain and Osteoarthritis?

If you've ever had knee pain, you'll know that sometimes, it reaches a level where you're willing to try almost anything to get relief. That relief can come in many forms including over the counter pain medications, rehab and stretching, braces, or injections. Today, we're going to talk about different types of knee injections offered at Modern Concepts, how they work, and what you can expect.

Before you rush to get a knee injection, 2 things must happen. 1) You must consult a licensed medical professional. 2) You must research the type of injection you plan on receiving to make sure it's a good fit for you. That being said... here are some of the knee injections that Modern Concepts offers its patients.

1) Regenerative Cell Therapy Injections: 

As we wear down the protective cartilage in our knees over time, we increase the chance for pain, inflammation, and osteoarthritis. The less "padding" we have, the more susceptible we are to bone injuries. Once the cartilage is gone...it's gone for good....or is it?

Regenerative Cell Therapy is a very non-invasive, proven, and clinically appropriate procedure that involves injecting healthy, "unprogrammed" cells, into a joint in order to regenerate protective cartilage. As these cells go to work, they add layers of cartilage on top of the existing layers to maximize functionality and decrease pain, inflammation, and risk of bone injury.

2) Platelet-Rich Plasma: 

Very similar Regenerative Cell Therapy, platelet-rich is another type of "regenerative" injection. Essentially, your blood is drawn (much like you were getting your yearly primary care labs done), then spun down (like a washing machine on "spin cycle") in a device called a centrifuge. After about 15 minutes, the blood separates into 2 main components: the platelet-rich component, and the platelet-poor component.

The platelet-rich component, is isolated and injected into the knee joint which allows the body to maximize the remaining cartilage and reduce swelling and inflammation.

3) Hyaluronic Acid:

For all intents and purposes, think of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) like "gel insoles for your shoes". When your feet hurt, you can put gel insoles in your shoes to cushion the contact, and prevent pain and swelling. HA injections behave the same way in the knee joint. Every 6 months, HA can be injected into the knee joint to provide "cushioning" and relieve pain.

4) Steroid Injections:

It's important to define disease as anything that effects the body and causes inflammation. Since pain and injury cause inflammation in the body, we can therefore treat it as a "disease". The purpose of a steroid injection is to suppress body processes that contribute to inflammation. Basically, they tell our body to "cut it out" when things get too inflamed. This injection type can be very effective against acute flare ups.

Before you pursue any of the injection types above, make sure to consult a licensed physician. There are other causes outside of osteoarthritis that can contribute to knee pain. So it is important, take all of these potential causes into account.

Hopefully this post helps some of you realize that there ARE treatment options out there. Here's to feeling better and getting your knee pain taken care of for good!