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Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories?
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Hello,

I have osteoporosis in my knee from decades of running. My orthopedic surgeon says surgery is not needed, she is pretty confident I can benefit from Orthovisc injections. Insurance does not cover them. Without disclosing her name, she’s pretty well respected and one of the orthopedic surgeons in her office has the same recommendations (he used to be the team doctor for the Raiders).

I see mixed results on some review forums, thought this group might have some experience. It’s a 4 shot procedure one week a part. The Orthovisc is supposed to replenish lubricant in your knee.

Product;:
ORTHOVISC®: A High Molecular Weight Hyaluronic Acid Injection

Much appreciated
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [Goldenbike] [ In reply to ]
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Hi there. I've been getting these for about 5 years, by two different doctors, originally in 1 knee, now in both. I saw somewhere that Kara Goucher gets them as well, so, if it works for her then they must be doing some kind of good. :-) I believe they've kept me doing what I love (running, hiking, XC skiing) and bought me some time before needing surgery. They typically give me a cortisone shot with the first round, so that helps as well. I've been told I'm an "ideal candidate" for them (younger, fit, with good VMO strength) which may also be why I have good success with them. I would definitely heed the doctor's advice about taking it easy after getting them. I just had my yearly shots and the doctor pointed out that my knees have a lot of extra fluid in them (due to the shot) and it takes a while for it to absorb and get to where it needs to.
Good luck with yours. I hope you have a positive result!
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [lyla] [ In reply to ]
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Sorry intended to reply to the OP.


I've had synvisc injections a total of 5 times (3 in one knee and 2 in the other).

The least effective round gave me about a year of pain relief. All the other rounds have provided 2 or more years of relief.

I was running about 2,000 to 3,000 miles a year in the early years and am now running about 1,500 miles a year. The lower mileage isn't related to knee pain in any way.

Here (canada) my coverage treated these injections the same as orthotics for reimbursement.

My MD suggested that we should keep up these treatments as required since knee replacement basically takes running out of the equation.
Last edited by: jimruns: Oct 19, 20 14:18
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [Goldenbike] [ In reply to ]
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I'm surprised insurance is not covering these. My wife had her injections covered every time. I'd be interested to hear if others have had to pay out of pocket for these injections?

My wife also has cartilage loss of the knee. This injection allowed her to race her first IM pain free
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [Goldenbike] [ In reply to ]
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My insurance pays for one set in each knee a year, but the dr says they have to be careful how they word it, otherwise the insurance will deny it and only approve a knee replacement, which makes no sense to me. Mine typically last about a year and a half.
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [EyeRunMD] [ In reply to ]
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I had synvisc in both knees in May, worked great for about 10 weeks and then went back to square one in about a week. Very disappointing to say the least. When Chattanooga 70.3 got cancelled this fall I got very serious with a PT program. I'm 11 weeks into it and getting some good relief and starting to do some short runs pain free. Time will tell about my recovery. Good luck!
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [lyla] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you for the input!
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [EyeRunMD] [ In reply to ]
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I have blue cross insurance, And the nurse at the orthopedic office and the nurse at the orthopedic office said Blue Cross never covers the injections.
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [Goldenbike] [ In reply to ]
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Goldenbike wrote:
I have blue cross insurance, And the nurse at the orthopedic office and the nurse at the orthopedic office said Blue Cross never covers the injections.

Wow, that is exactly what we have (BCBS, non-federal) and it did cover for my wife.
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [EyeRunMD] [ In reply to ]
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My ortho went with Durolane and it was covered 100% by my ins (BCBS). Gets great reviews and it only requires 1 injection. If I recall, Orthovisc is several injections over a period of weeks.

Took me about 2 weeks post injection to get full range of movement back and pain from the injection and fluid before I could start running again. Once I did, felt incredible. Lasts on average about 6 months.

Cheers, Ray
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [TX83] [ In reply to ]
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TX83 wrote:
My ortho went with Durolane and it was covered 100% by my ins (BCBS). Gets great reviews and it only requires 1 injection. If I recall, Orthovisc is several injections over a period of weeks.

Took me about 2 weeks post injection to get full range of movement back and pain from the injection and fluid before I could start running again. Once I did, felt incredible. Lasts on average about 6 months.

That is a good point to consider its a different drug name. Same with my wife, she had Synvisc, and it was given as one injection instead of three separate ones. I know they are a similar type of drug but I was trying to look real quick to see if Synvisc and Orthovisc were the same drug or not but my quick (at work) search did not provide the info I needed.
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Re: Orthovisc injections, any succcess stories? [Goldenbike] [ In reply to ]
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I had good luck with these injections. If you accept they will not "cure" your arthritis problems, you can expect they will allow you to continue to do things you love for much longer, before facing up to the inevitable. I went through Synvisc/Euflexxa/Orthovisc (all different versions of the same basic injection) injections as well as the occasional intrarticular steroid for several years before moving on to PRP, stem cells, then finally total knee replacement. I found the injections helped with pain relief and let me keep running and biking. My insurance did not pay for the injections, but an orthopedic colleague was happy to make the injections if I paid for the medicines.

The only thing I wished I had done differently is to investigate a so called "biologic" knee replacement or partial knee before things became so bad the total was inevitable. Hope that helps.
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