1. < Bones, Joints & Muscles

Polyurethane foam injections or scaffold injections for knees?

Posted by nowforyou @nowforyou, Oct 7 1:24am

I have a 97-year-old friend who has already had gel injections into her knees and steroid injections as well, and neither helped.

I have heard about polyurethane foam injections, or polyurethane scaffold injections.

There is limited information and I cannot find any orthopedic doctors in New Mexico who perform this or anyone who knows information. But I have heard that the results are far superior to gel injections. She would not be a candidate for knee replacement, obviously because of her age.

She has bone on bone and is in tremendous pain in one of her knees.
We've looked at the other methods the orthopedic doctor suggested and she's also not a candidate because the results would only be 20 to 30% pain relief most likely.

If anyone knows about these foam injections, thank you in advance.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Bones, Joints & Muscles Support Group.

heyjoe415 | @heyjoe415 | Oct 10 6:25am
In reply to @johnbishop "Hello @nowforyou, Thanks for helping your friend. I have bone on bone in my left but..." + (show)
@johnbishop

Hello @nowforyou, Thanks for helping your friend. I have bone on bone in my left but so far I don't have any pain with it. My right knee is another story having torn the meniscus in my forties and had several steroid shots but no gel shots, I finally had a right knee replacement done in my mid 70s. I'm now 82 and still mobile without knee pain but a lot less mobility. I do struggle with walking but can relate to my friends that are struggling with knee pain. Before my knee replacement I looked into gel injections but my surgeon didn't think it was any better than a steroid shot so my only option was the replacement.

There seems to be a lot of research on your question but I don't think there are any doctors using polyurethane foam injections, or polyurethane scaffold injections. I think if there were, her age would also come into play in trying to get the procedure done. Hopefully you will get other responses if someone has more information on the procedure. Here's what I found using Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/):

-- Collagen/polyester-polyurethane porous scaffolds for use in meniscal repair
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2024/bm/d4bm00234b
-- Evaluation of Porous (Poly(lactide-co-glycolide)-co-(ε-caprolactone)) Polyurethane for Use in Orthopedic Scaffolds: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/29/4/766

Jump to this post

Hi John,

Thanks for the info. This doesn't address the question of polyurethane foam injections. I'm a big believer that when the pain from being bone-on-bone is affecting daily living, it's time for a replacement. A 97 y/o person doesn't have that luxury, and I hope that medical science comes up with something to at least alleviate their pain.

I'm bone-on-bone in my shoulder, but get by with cortisone shots, and customizing my exercises to avoid irritating it. For now, there's no need to replace it.

In 2022 I had both knees replaced with amazing results. Yes I did a lot of hard work before and after surgery, had a great surgeon, and a great personal trainer. I consider myself very fortunate.

As for nowforyou, I wish I had an answer for your friend. Aside from everything you've already been told/suggested, I don't know what else to try. All the best to you and your friend, and I hope you may find an answer from the fine people on this forum.

Joe

REPLY
kforrest | @kforrest | Oct 20 12:04pm
In reply to @lbroomayo1 "It's scary to wake up one day and not be able to walk. I barely made..." + (show)
@lbroomayo1

It's scary to wake up one day and not be able to walk. I barely made my trip to the Rochester Clinic last March, with all the walking on that huge Mayo campus. I could not get approved for Mayo Sports Medicine Orthopedics. My knee and hip joints were crippling me. The pain grew worse and I was a step away from permanent use of a walker at age 68. I've been studying nursing for 10 years and finally made it to a university level for a BSN, only to find out that I may not be able to walk. I blamed my last COVID & RSV combo shot for the deteriation of my joint tissue.

I did find a good treatment. It's nothing short of a miracle. It is not a cure, but its making a huge difference. I found a local Urgent Care Sports Medicine Clinic where I live. I explained that walking is important to complete my studies. I was determined not to have anymore injections since those COVID/RSV shots. But I accepted four injections for both knees and hip joints over a 10 week period. They consisted of Cortisol & lidocaine medicine. I'm back at the YMCA walking 2 miles on the treadmill and working on exercise equipment for muscles and joints. Hope this may help someone else.

I will say I have a young doctor who isn't afraid of over treating a senior.

Jump to this post

wow that is what my orthopedic bone dr is suggesting for me. whould you be able to share what it was that made those shots work for you? i would greatly appreciate it. i don't really like exercise but do go to a water aerobics class three days a week.

REPLY
1 reply
nowforyou | @nowforyou | Oct 20 5:34pm
In reply to @kforrest "wow that is what my orthopedic bone dr is suggesting for me. whould you be able..." + (show)
@kforrest

wow that is what my orthopedic bone dr is suggesting for me. whould you be able to share what it was that made those shots work for you? i would greatly appreciate it. i don't really like exercise but do go to a water aerobics class three days a week.

Jump to this post

I'm not sure exactly who you are intending your question to be or replying to? Sometimes the strings of replies can branch off from the original post which was mine and asking if anyone has had polyurethane foam injections.

Can you please refer to the post in which someone had this done? I don't see that as of yet on this string I started, that is what I was hoping to find out for my 96-year-old friend.
So far, I have not spoken to anyone who has had this done and I am trying to find out more about it and which doctors can perform it and if it really works as well as the research implies.

Thank you kindly, Kate

Thank you kindly.

REPLY
kforrest | @kforrest | Oct 20 5:39pm

I am sorry that my reply was not helpful. I never heard of these injections. I do hope your friend gets the help she needs for pain.

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.