Joint pain FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Commonly asked questions about joint pain and joint injections.

A synovial joint is one in which the ends of the bones are enclosed in a capsule containing a thick, slippery liquid called synovial fluid.

For more information, please go to our "What is a Synovial Joint" page.

OSTENIL® has to be administered by a suitably qualified clinician. This might be your GP, a Consultant, or a qualified Physiotherapist or Podiatrist. They will usually order it on your behalf. Alternatively, you can obtain a prescription and take this to your local pharmacy where it can be ordered for you. You will then have to take the syringes back to the clinician for injection into the affected joint. For more information, please go to our "FAQ How to get Ostenil" page.

No one knows your particular condition better than your GP, Physiotherapist, or Consultant, so please ask them. TRB Chemedica is not qualified to give medical advice.

Ostenil injections are available at some NHS trusts, but not all. If your consultant has advised that it isn't available, then it will need to be purchased by yourself.

Ostenil is not available in primary care (GPs).

OSTENIL® contains 20mg / 2ml sodium hyaluronate and is administered into the synovial joint as a course of one to three weekly injections. 

OSTENIL® PLUS contains a higher concentration of 40mg / 2ml sodium hyaluronate, with the addition of mannitol. This formulation offers effective symptomatic relief with a single injection in large joints. Mannitol is a simple sugar derivative and works as a free radical scavenger, thus helping to stabilise the chains of sodium hyaluronate.

Both formulations are well tolerated.

OSTENIL® products contain no blood, or animal derived products, or human donor products, so they are fine to be used by vegetarians or vegans.

All OSTENIL® products are licensed for use in any synovial joint of the body, typically the knee, hip, or shoulder joints. Ostenil® products are also suitable for the elbow, ankle, and some of the small joints such as the jaw, hand (finger, wrist and saddle joints) and toe joints.

You may not notice any benefits immediately after the first injection, but you should gradually start to feel less pain and stiffness over the next few weeks.

The improvement in your symptoms should last for several months, depending partly on the number of injections you have. You can expect the benefit from three injections to persist for up to 9 months.

After your injection with OSTENIL® hyaluronic acid (or: sodium hyaluronate) into your knee joint, or other synovial joint, you may want to utilise and prolong the positive effects of the treatment and get your joints moving again.
Please ask your GP, Physiotherapist, or Orthopaedic Consultant for more detailed advice.