Can Rooster Comb Injections Prevent Knee Replacement?

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is one of the most common problems seen by both rheumatologists as well as orthopedists in the office. The standard forms of therapy include maintenance of proper weight, exercise, application of cold, bracing, analgesics (pain killers), anti-inflammatory medicines, steroid injections, and viscosupplementation. This latter type of treatment involves the injection of a lubricant directly into the knee.
These lubricants consist of a purified form of a protein called hyaluronic acid (HA). These preparations are effective in relieving pain. pain relief from OA of the knee starts between the 5th and 13th week follwoing injection. While HA is felt to be effective for pain relief, it has been unclear as to whether there are any other benefits.
Two recent studies have demonstrated that viscosupplementation may actually forestall the need for eventual knee replacement surgery and also may represent a long term cost savings.
The first study from Louisiana State University surveyed patients from a large orthopedic practice. A total of 863 patients (1187 knees) were evaluated. All patients had grade 4 changes, meaning they had 0bone on bone0 and were candidates for total knee replacement.
Using survival analysis of the data, it was estimated that total knee replacement was delayed […]

Full Article At: KnowHow-Now.com Articles