Patient Testimony: Ex-Pro Footballer Colin West Shares His Story (Arthrosamid for Knee Pain)

Arthrosamid at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital – Patient’s Journey Transcript

Colin: My name is Colin West. My background is a professional footballer. Started at probably about 16, 17, going into a professional club at Sunderland and played right up until I was 37. It was like I was getting sharp pains in my knee, more on the inside of it virtually,  but it would make me… not drop to the floor as such, but it was that sort of sharp pain as it was somebody was sticking a pin in me. It had been probably going on for 9 to 12 months.

I went to see Mr. Jaiswal and he took some scans and he said that there’s a new injection out which could possibly work for me and help me.

Mr Jaiswal: Colin was an excellent candidate for this treatment. I remember him well when he first came to me. Arthrosamid is a non-biodegradable gel implant and it’s an exciting new way of treating knee osteoarthritis. Because it’s non-biodegradable, it stays in the knee unlike other substances I inject into knees like steroids or hyaluronic acid. That’s one of the main reasons why it has such long-lasting effects.

Colin: I was a bit sceptical because years ago I’d had, I’d had one on my right knee, but it was obviously a different injection, but the reason why I went ahead because obviously the pain I was having, I didn’t really want to go down the line of having another knee replacement.

Mr Jaiswal: Arthrosamid works really well in patients that have inflamed sinovial tissue which Colin did and so we discussed whether he wanted to try this new way of treating a knee arthritis which is minimally invasive, low complication rate and potentially can be as good as a knee replacement… And he jumped on that chance because he’s already had the knee replacement on the other side so he knows what’s involved. We made a date to go and see him at the hospital, and in fairness, the whole process of having the injection was probably in total 45 minutes, wasn’t painful at all to be fair. We had a little bit of a numbness in it and never really, never really bothered me on the way home.

So I see a lot of patients, sporting individuals, who really benefit from Arthrosamid if they’ve had or have arthritis that’s causing pain and inflammation. The other group of patients I found this has been really helpful for are those that potentially need knee replacement. They’ve got really severe arthritis but because of their multiple medical problems where general anaesthetic may pose an issue.

Colin: This is a really good viable treatment option but avoiding all the complications. And the process after that is obviously waiting a little bit longer try and work it at home with different exercises further down the line not straight away and the pain was getting less and less and then every time, I would be getting longer longer periods with less pain.

Mr Jaiswal: One of the key differences between Arthrosamid and the other injectables are that Arthrosamid takes about four to six weeks to see the effects as the gel implant is binding and bedding into the  knee and in fact in some patients and I think  Colin was one of those it took a bit longer 8  to 10 weeks before we saw the full benefits of it

Colin: Since I’ve had the injection and it’s been a period of 3 or 4 months it’s allowed me now where I can then go and play, I mean I’ve even been playing Padel. It’s a massive increase of me being able to get out there and do other things.  Walking with the dog’s not ever been a problem now after having the arthrosamid injection. It’s been far better for me. I would definitely encourage somebody else to have it.

Mr Jaiswal: It’s really important to understand that Arthrosamid may not be for everyone. There are some contraindications.  But if you do have knee pain and don’t want to think about surgery or major surgery, it’s definitely worth consultation and seeking advice.