Journal of drug targetingDec 28, 2020

Non-surgical osteoarthritis treatments using joint injections for clinical use

Updated Mar 30, 2026

Abstract

Intra-articular drug delivery is being explored as a promising method for treating osteoarthritis (OA).

No disease-modifying drug currently exists to prevent OA progression.
Surgical treatments for OA can lead to complications such as pain and post-operative infections.
Intra-articular delivery allows for direct application of therapeutics into the joint cavity, potentially improving treatment effectiveness.
Targeted nano-based drug delivery systems, including nanoparticles, exosomes, and hydrogels, are under investigation for OA therapy.
The application of intra-articular injections could significantly alleviate OA symptoms and improve patients' quality of life.

Simplified

Osteoarthritis (OA）is a common orthopaedic disease in middle-aged and aged people. To date, no disease-modifying drug is available to prevent the progression of OA. Surgical treatment of OA has complications such as pain and high costs with increased risk of post-operative infections. An intra-articular drug delivery is a conservative treatment method to apply therapeutic composites directly into the OA joint cavity. This method has an advantage to improve the bioavailability of therapeutics and hence is a widely preferred choice to test novel disease-modifying drug targets for OA. Herein, we summarised and discussed the current status of intra-articular therapy for OA treatment as well as outlined drug delivery of small molecular, protein and gene delivery for OA therapy. Currently, new targeted nano-based drug delivery systems, including nanoparticles, exosomes and hydrogel formulations under investigation for OA treatmentintra-articular injection are also addressed. The emerging trend demonstrates that intra-articular drug delivery has vast prospects for the clinical selective treatment of OA. The rational application of intra-articular injection of drugs and biological agents will be of great significance for alleviating the patients with OA, improving their quality of life, delaying surgery, and reducing the disease burden of OA. via

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View Full Text ↗

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week: