Gait analysis following single-shot hyaluronic acid supplementation

Gait analysis following single-shot hyaluronic acid supplementation: a pilot randomized double-blinded controlled trial.

Article specifications

This clinical trial was published in 2019 in Journal of Pilot Feasibility Study by Swiss specialists. Twenty-two patients with Ahlbäck grade II-III knee osteoarthritis were randomly allocated into three groups: (1) HA + mannitol (n = 9), (2) HA + sorbitol (n = 5), and (3) saline placebo (n = 8). Patients were assessed by blinded observers prior to injection and at 4 weeks post-injection (4W).

 

Results

This study demonstrated gait speed and stride length are the most relevant gait parameters to investigate when assessing the effect of polyol-containing HA viscosupplementation. This study supports the need for a larger, randomized, controlled, clinical trial to assess the effect of a single-bolus HA injection versus multiple injections in people with knee osteoarthritis using both gait performance and self-reported parameters of knee function.