Viscous supplements
Viscous supplements are a class of injectable medications used to treat knee osteoarthritis. A knee affected by osteoarthritis has a poor quality of synovial fluid, which impacts the ability of this fluid to protect and lubricate the knee joint. Viscous supplements are made up of sodium hyaluronate (hyaluronan or HA), which is found naturally in synovial fluid and joint tissues and acts as a lubricant. Administering hyaluronan into the knee joint helps to supplement the poor quality hyaluronan in the osteoarthritic knee, with the goal of decreasing knee pain, stiffness, and gelling.