Hyaluronic Acid Injections for Knee Pain / Arthritis (Synvisc / Monovisc)

 What is Hyaluronic Acid and how does it work?

Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring molecule within our knee joints. It is from the family of molecules called glycosaminoglycans, which have a unique property of being able to attract and retain water. It’s ability to attract water creates a lubricant within our joint. A synthetic version of hyaluronic acid can be injected into your joint if you have knee pain and arthritis. It has been shown to help a damaged joint increase its own production of natural hyaluronic acid. This helps to lubricate your joint, resulting in less pain.

What is Synvisc?

Synvisc is a brand names for Hyaluronic acid injection that is available for knee arthritis in Perth.

What is Monovisc?

Monovisc is another brand names for Hyaluronic acid injection that is also available for knee arthritis in Perth.

Both these brands of hyaluronic acid injections are available at Dr Meyerkort’s knee treatment clinics in Perth Western Australia.

Does Hyaluronic Acid injection work for knee pain?

Hyaluronic acid injections have been shown to be more effective at relieving pain and improving knee function than cortisone (steroid) injections for knee pain in Perth. This has been supported by recent Cochrane reviews. Patients with mild to moderate arthritis are the best candidates for successful treatment from Hyaluronic Acid. Most patients experience between 6 – 12 months of relief. In my practice, I occasionally use Hyaluronic acid injections to allow a patient to commence an muscle strengthening exercise program, which should be the base treatment for most patient with knee arthritis.

How much does Hyaluronic Acid injections cost?

Synvisc and Monovisc all cost around 400 – 500 dollars in Perth/Western Australia, which is the cost paid for the artificial lubricant. The cost of the knee or other joint injection is an additional 70 dollars.