Swelling of the knee is relatively uncommon side effect from injected synvisc.
This can appear a few hours after injections and could be due to a mild allergic reaction to the synvisc. Most of the time the swelling should subside with a short period of rest and ice and with NSAIDs.

You should talk with your doctor if the further injections should be carried out.
I'll suggest not to get this kind of injections again.

What type of arthritis you have?

I have severe degenerative arthritis in my right knee and lower back. My back responds well to the NSAIDS that I've been taking for 3 years now and my knee is due to be replaced in July of this year. I just wanted more information about how long it would take for the reaction to subside. It IS listed as a possible side effect, so it's not of great concern and my doctor has already checked the area and there is no infection.

Did the swelling subside with a short period of rest?
Do you have primary (without knowing cause) or secondary osteoarthritis (degenerative) arthritis?

Synvisc is used as substitution for anti inflammatory drugs when they aren't beneficial, as in your case, and, also, for delaying the date of knee replacement surgery.

Best wishes!
Marija

Am I a candidate for synvisc injections as my knee has been swollen for several months after (for unknown reason) I felt an electric shock in my leg and went down.

I have a very painful right hip. The cartlidge is nearly gone and when I walk it is extremely painful. I was wondering if this injection would help my hip. All I need is more cartlidge. I injured the hip 40 years ago in a track race. It took 38 years to stop me from running. I don't want a hip replacement. Either orthoscopic surgery or something like this is preferable. Can this help?

hi. this is the second series of injections i've had for my oa in right knee. the first series were tolerated better but i don't mind the reactions as long as it helps my discomfort. i just had my third shot three days ago and i pretty much spend most of this time in bed with my knee on pillows and ice every two to three hours. it is much better so i'll return to work tomorrow. last week i felt sick for a day but by day 3 i was fine and returned to work. don't have a hard job but sit for the better part of the day. i had my left knee done one time but it blew up like a balloon and had to drain it, took out alot but knee was better. my right is my worst anyway. can't have replacements now, only 55 and cannot take off work but eventually will have to do it. hoping i can wait 5 or so years. good luck to all of you, i hope this helped in some way.

just had synvisc injections in my right knee! has any one had a side affect of complete engery drain...weakness

YES! Just had my third injection and it happened every time. Thought it was my imagination. Lasted a couple of days every time.

I had my last injection 10 days ago and had it in both knees. Three days later my right knee swelled up ,very painful, and hot.Called dr. and was told to stay off, ice, and if not better in two weeks let him know. It has been very painful and now just 10 days after shots the left has done the exact same thing.I am very concerned that I have done permanant damage and this will speed up the TKR.

I have had 3 SYNVISC injections and so far they have not been successful. My last injection was June 1 2009 and 10 days later my knee became swollen, painful and hot. i was in so much pain - i couldn't walk on it. My doctor drained some of the fluid and sent it off to be cultured. Result i am allergic to Bird protein and hence will never be able to have injection again. I am in my 50's and have never had any allergies - i eat eggs, chicken......After reading Jakeboy I have a concerned that maybe there could have been a problem with one of the batches. 4 weeks later i can walk for about 20-30 minutes and then the pain comes back, I have to ice my knee and the pain goes. I also have to take pain killers every night
Concerned

I see my post is under review. All I did was offer a source of truth regarding the concerns of the above posters. It should not be censored. For those who want more information about Synvisc, google synvisc survivor blogspot where all data is backed up by sources. Information is knowledge to help you make an informed consent.

Thanks for the info Survivor4life. I am still having problems with my knee. If i do too much walking my knee hurts -- there is still fluid in the knee however my physio is helping.I can now bend my knee. I am hoping after all of this that i can get a full knee replacement

Try to find someone who does ozone injection in your area. They really do work, and have NO known side-effects. As a friend noted, if "I" don't react to it, no one will. You can google Dr Shallenberger's ozone site on ozone, and find a physician in your area. It's worth a try before going through a TKR...that's a serious step.

If I could post links to a research article, I would...but google ozone intraarticular injections P. BENVENUTI and see what comes up. The Washington Post also just pubbed an article on it's effects on herniated discs. It's amazing stuff. Hoping for the best for you...

I had the same reaction as Jakeboy. I had synvisc in my right knee with positive results. Then got first shot in my left knee and swelling and pain occured, but went away. The next week I got my second shot in my left knee and five hours later I had the swelling, pain, fever, could not put any weight on my knee and had no range of motion! Horrible pain! My doctor took a large sample from my knee and did cultures and blood tests fearing that I had infection in my joint. Almost got hosptialized, but my doctor decided to wait for culture results. Everything came back negative, but it has been two weeks and I am still not back to normal. The swelling in down, no fever, he put me on an antibiotic, range of motion is improved, but still not back to my old self. My doctor said that this kind of reaction is extremely rare and therefore he has no idea how long the effects may last. I am concerned about long lasting side effects too. My doctor believes that mine was an allergic reaction, however I also eat chicken and eggs!

I am 43 and have bad knees due to a skiing accident many years ago and following many surgeries. I currently have miniscal tears in both knees, but due to the arthritis, the Doc would prefer to hold off on surgery as long as possible. I was set to have my third injections tomorrow. I have had synvisc before, and then hyogan 2x since then. Never had any side effects and continued with exercise with no problems. Two days ago i started feeling swelling in my left knee which i thought was from working out too hard. The swelling continued to worsen in my left knee and then this morning awoke to find both knees are swollen. I can barely bend them or walk due to the swelling. They are hot but not exactly painful, just swollen. I am freaking out! I never knew this was a side effect. I have left a call for the Dr and hope to hear back from him.
Any suggestions on what to take to help swelling? I'm icing them alternately every 15 mins or so.

It has been three weeks since my allergic reaction to synvisc and I am finally able to return to work. Apparently, the healing time for this kind of trauma is individual, but most commonly about 2-3 weeks. If you've had this happen try heat before range of motion exercises and then ice. Just using ice was helpful, but the combination is best. Take care and rest. It will subside, but you must give it time.

Thankfully I had a Dr apt scheduled today for my 3rd set of injections, which obviously I didn't get. Instead the Dr removed fluid from both knees. The swelling was so bad it was difficult to get around and my bathroom and bedroom are upstairs. It's better already, but still need to keep legs elevated and iced as well as continue to take the Anti Inflamatorys the Dr prescribed to me yesterday.
The Dr did say he had two patients that this has happened to, one of which was similar to my reaction. I'm just glad there was an answer to my problem. Thanks everyone for posting here, otherwise I wouldn't have realized why I was having the reaction.
Hope to be back up and around soon.

A side note: My Doc said that he hasn't seen this side effect with Hayolgan(spelling?). So if anyone here needs this type of treatment, I recomend that instead. I personally did not have any side effects and believe it helps me just as well as the Synvisc. In the future I will certainly go back to it, but need to wait six months, at least.

I had Synvisc injection for OA in left knee. First two injections no reaction. After third one, no pain but huge swelling within 24 hours. Went to my orthopods office and had 60 ccs of fluid withdrawn.