Effects of Steroid, Dextrose Prolotherapy, and Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections in Knee Joint OA Patients

Osteo Arthritis (OA) is one of the chronic, Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) categorized by the progressive loss of articular cartilage, leading to persistent joint pain, stiffness in the joints along with reduced mobility.

Knee OA has been documented as one of the principal causes of disability across the globe, with significantly higher incidence rate owing to physical trauma to joint, advancing age, obesity, and sedentary lifestyles etc. Management strategies for knee OA include following options, conservative management that include physiotherapy, adjunct therapies, pharmacological options and eventually surgical intervention such as knee replacements. Within the last few years, lots of focus has been placed on application of intra-articular injections for the knee joint which are reportedly found very effective in managing symptoms and altering the course of the disease without being too invasive. Among these, Corticosteroid Injections, Dextrose Prolotherapy and Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injections stand out as the most common for the knee joint, each with its own unique mode of action and varying degree of effectiveness.

Corticosteroid intra-articular injections are known to be one of the most effective treatments. These injections provide relief in pain to joint inflammation targeting the synovial membrane through very potent anti-inflammatories injected directly into the joint.

Primary benefit of these injections is the speed of recovery with which pain is lessened and function of joint back to normal. A troublesome point of this approach is the pain relief time which is limited only a few weeks.

Literature has shown that excessive administration of corticosteroid intra-articular injections has resulted in the degradation of cartilage and narrowing of articular space, which could be antecedent to OA progression. As demonstrated in a randomized clinical trial, patients who were exposed to intra-articular triamcinolone at three-month intervals for a two-year period, experienced more cartilage volume loss over time, compared to placebo group participants highlighting the need for caution in regard to corticosteroids in the treatment of knee OA.

Dextrose prolotherapy is defined as a self augmenting injection therapy in w Dextrose prolotherapy is a unique approach with improvements in pain and function that persist over time, however, this approach likely takes a longer time for relief as compared to that of corticosteroids. Advantage of this therapeutic modality with PRP injections is that they are both anti inflammatory and regenerative in nature and thus, they provide both immediate and prolonged advantages excluding any significant risk to the patient.

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria include patients aged 40-80 years, diagnosed with knee OA having Kellgren- Lawrence grades 2-4(Gelber, 2024) having history of persistent knee pain from at least last six months -

Patients Exclusion reporting with history of recent knee surgery, patients suffering from inflammatory joint diseases for example rheumatoid arthritis, having any active body infection, diabetic patients with de ranged HbA1c, pregnant and breast-feeding females will be excluded.:

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