Sugar Water Injections Work Better than Exercise in Relieving Knee Pain

A novel finding offers some relief for those who suffer from knee osteoarthritis. The new study says that injections with a form of sugar called dextrose offer significant relief from chronic pain as compared to exercise. The injection also improves knee-related quality of life among those suffering from knee osteoarthritis.

The study was conducted by lead author Dr. David Rabago, assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

The process of injecting non-pharmacological solution in painful tendons, ligaments and joints is known as prolotherapy.

The study was conducted on 90 people who had been suffering from knee arthritis pain for at least three months. Participants belonged to the age group of 40-76. They had undergone other treatments, including physical therapy, but these were unsuccessful. The participants were later segregated into three different groups. Two groups received blinded injections of saline solution or sugar solution called dextrose. The third group was engaged in an exercise program.

The two groups received injections at one, five and nine weeks and if necessary, at 13-17 weeks. Participants were contacted after 26 and 52 weeks, and with the help of a scoring system, researchers rated the pain, stiffness and how arthritis affected their daily normal activities such as walking or household chores.

They noticed that the group that received prolotherapy improved about twice as much when compared to those receiving saline injections or exercise from nine to 52 weeks.

"We don't have a detailed understanding about why prolotherapy has a biological effect," Rabago said in a press statement. "One theory suggests that injected solutions act as a positive irritant and, when injected locally at points of tenderness and pain, stimulate the native healing response. Prolotherapy may work with the person's own immune response to create a local healing response at the injured tissue."

The study was published in the journal Annals of Family Medicine.