The effectiveness of Ultrasound-guided three-needle approach of genicular nerve block in improving pain, functionality and quality of life in patients suffering from chronic knee osteoarthritis: A prospective observational study

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee joint is one of the common joint degenerative diseases affecting almost 12 % of the population over their sixties. Approximately 70-80% of the affected individuals are sixty-five or older. Knee OA is a chronic joint disease leading to pain, disability and hamper daily activities of the patients, which ultimately leads to significant social impairments and healthcare burden worldwide.

Both non-surgical and surgical methods are available for the management of OA knees. In non-surgical options, we have patient education, lifestyle modification, physical therapies, bracing, and pharmacological management. Different types of injections like intra-articular steroid, prolotherapy, Ozone, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), hyaluronic acid are also available. A few recent interventions are stem cell therapy, genicular nerve block; all of which are aimed to reduce the symptoms, improve the functionality of the affected individuals. In severe cases, only surgical management is the remaining option, i.e. partial or total knee arthroplasty.

In case of severe OA knee, Kellgren-Lawrence grade 4 surgery is required. The majority of the interventions are rendered ineffective in severe OA knee. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of genicular nerve block in cases of severe OA kneeWe hypothesized that there would be improvement in cases of severe OA knee in the domains of pain and functionality.