Effective cure for Osteoarthritis

CHENNAI: With a high success rate of 90 percent, viscosupplementation is the most effective cure for elderly people suffering from knee osteoarthritis, say city- based specialists. Speaking at ‘Knee to know’, an educational forum to bring awareness on the management of knee osteoarthritis, they spoke about how intervention of a specialist at an early stage could help the patients slow down the progression of the disease. “Except for those who have an allergy to chicken or egg, absolutely anyone can have this simple, but effective procedure done,” said Dr A B Govindaraj, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at Guest Hospital. The reason for this is that the serum itself is derived from avian compounds.With over 40 per cent of people over the age of 70 suffering from this dreaded disease according to the WHO, this procedure, where the fluid in the knee is replaced by this serum, can be the answer for a good year or more. States Dr Vijay C Bose, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at Apollo specialty, “Many treatment options are available that can help the patients manage their knee pain conservatively with lesser side effects. A multi-modal approach is always emphasised for managing Osteoarthritis pain. This approach principally talks about a combination of physiotherapy, exercise, drugs, weight management and Viscosupplementation.”“People with Osteoarthritis have a lower concentration of Synovial fluid inside the joint. Viscosupplementation replenishes this Synovial Fluid. The procedure has been very beneficial for many of my patients as it helps them get back to routine activities and delays their progression of disease.” This is now available as a one-shot option and provides long-term relief from pain. “A single shot of this serum costs `15,000 and will remain in the knee for about six weeks. But the effects and pain relief can extend up to a year,” he added.