Wednesday, 28 May 2014

What to do after joint injections

You have just had an injection with hyaluronic acid to treat osteoarthritis, but what else can you do?

Exercising helps to prolong the benefit
of hyaluronic acid joint injections

After your injection with OSTENIL® hyaluronic acid (or: sodium hyaluronate) into your knee joint, or other synovial joint, you may want to utilise and prolong the positive effects of the treatment and get your joints moving again. Your Physiotherapist or GP can give you some helpful advice on which exercises and type of activity would be most suitable to further improve and stabilise your joints.
Here are some ideas:

Knee, shoulder and hip:

  • Frequent exercising that won't put too much pressure on the joints: e.g. swimming, walking, cycling
  • Specific physiotherapy exercises to strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint
  • Reducing weight
Fingers and toes:
  • Regular movement exercises to maintain joint flexibility
  • Bathing fingers and toes in warm water to reduce pain
  • Stretching fingers and toes as far as pain allows
Back joints:
  • Strengthening and stretching abdominal muscles (back and stomach muscles)
  • Relaxing painful back muscles by applying warmth, e.g. hot water bottle