Introduction: recently, the viscoelastic properties of hyaluronic acid (HA) on liquid connective tissue have been proposed for the treatment of tendinopathies. Some fundamental studies show encouraging results on hyaluronic acid's ability to promote tendon gliding and reduce adhesion as well as to improve tendon architectural organisation. Some observations also support its use in a clinical setting to improve pain and function. This literature review analyses studies relating to the use of hyaluronic acid in the treatment of tendinopathies.
Methods: this review was constructed using the Medline database via Pubmed, Scopus and Google Scholar. The key words hyaluronic acid, tendon and tendinopathy were used for the research.
Results: in total, 28 articles (in English and French) on the application of hyaluronic acid to tendons were selected for their relevance and scientific quality, including 13 for the in vitro part, 7 for the in vivo animal part and 8 for the human section.
Conclusions: preclinical studies demonstrate encouraging results: HA permits tendon gliding, reduces adhesions, creates better tendon architectural organisation and limits inflammation. These laboratory observations appear to be supported by limited but encouraging short-term clinical results on pain and function. However, controlled randomised studies are still needed.
Keywords: cicatrization; healing; hyaluronic acid; tendinopathy; tendon.