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Rooster Juice

Hyaluronic Acid - "Rooster Juice"
Hyaluronic Acid is a natural substance found in all living organisms other than plants. Your own body makes it and it's found in your joints, eyeballs and skin. When isolated, it's a very thick, viscous liquid. It works as a lubricant and shock absorber in the knee, and more importantly, it's a natural pain inhibitor.

Most Hyaluronic Acid for Joint Fluid Therapy is made from the combs of roosters. One of our patients referred to it as Rooster Juice, and that's been our nickname for it ever since. (So if you do an Internet search for more information, use the term Hyaluronic Acid, as the keyword Rooster Juice will get you nowhere!)

There are several brands of Hyaluronic Acid. We most often use Supartz, a naturally derived and purified Hyaluronic Acid, made by Smith and Nephew. We have found this to be extremely effective for our patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Hyaluronic Acid Risks and Side Effects
There is not a long list of side effects or HA injections. The only people who should not use Supartz or any Hyaluronic Acid derived from rooster combs, are people who are allergic to poultry. If you have an infection or skin disease around the injection site, you shouldn't have injections. Other than that, the only side effect is the same as you may experience with any injection, which is mild swelling, heat, redness or itching at the injection site. This is temporary, and usually short lived.

HA Injections can be Repeated
At the Center for Joint Therapy, we have patients who have been receiving injections every six months for seven years. If the injections are successful, they may be repeated every six months. When the injections no longer provide pain relief, we then refer patients to ILSWO for total knee replacement.