In a randomized controlled trial, viscosupplementation with a single-dose intra-articular hyaluronic acid injection after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy led to significant reductions in pain two weeks after surgery and better range of motion (ROM) at two and six weeks after surgery. Researchers undertook this study to determine the efficacy of viscosupplementation on pain and functional recovery following arthroscopic partial meniscectomy.

Overall, 47 participants who underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy were randomly allocated to 2 groups, a viscosupplementation group namely Group A (n = 23) and a control group namely Group B (n = 24). Notably, a single-dose intraarticular hyaluronic acid injection was utilized as viscosupplementation. At baseline and at day one, two weeks, six weeks, and three months after the surgery, pain evaluation was done using a 100mm visual analogue scale (VAS).

At baseline, two weeks, six weeks, and three months, the range of motion (ROM), International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Lysholm, Tegner, and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores of the knee were also observed.

At two weeks post-surgery, the viscosupplementation group exhibited a considerably reduced 100 mm VAS score for pain and substantially higher ROM when compared to the control group, as shown in Table 1:

There were no considerable inter-group differences noticed in the scores of IKDC, Tegner, Lysholm, and WOMAC. Hence, viscosupplementation after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy offers major benefits related to pain and functional recovery.