What have you tried?

Osteoarthritis (OA) cannot be cured but pain can be relieved in a number of ways. You may have tried to lose weight, exercise and manage pain with oral pain medication. If these are no longer working it may be time to seek an osteoarthritis specialist to explore treatment options.

At one stage, pain may be so frequent and intense that oral pain medication like paracetamol or NSAIDs no longer offer sufficient relief. Yet joint replacement surgery is invasive, is associated with certain risks and requires recovery time. Before taking this step consider an effective alternative such as hyaluronic acid (HA) injections.

It may be time to visit an Osteoarthritis Health Center if you have tried the following:

• self management by losing weight and/or doing regular physical exercise
• over the counter pain relief medication such as paracetamol and NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen or naproxen, or over the counter pain relief ointments)
• physiotherapy to support you in your physical exercise program
• a combination of the above

Have you followed these treatment steps and are you still not getting adequate pain relief?

Discuss your symptoms and restrictions with your doctor and find out whether HA injections are the therapy you need now.

Click here to find your nearest osteoarthritis specialist.