NON-SURGICAL KNEE TREATMENT DONE RIGHT

A Guide to Non-Surgical Knee Treatment with PRP or Bone Marrow Containing Your Stem Cells 

Unfortunately, as the population ages, the prevalence of osteoarthritis increases. In 2020, 595 million people reported having osteoarthritis, which is a 132% increase since the year 1990 (1). The knee was the most common site for osteoarthritis among those surveyed. A population so afflicted by knee troubles should be informed on how best to treat them. This article poses non-surgical orthobiologic PRP or Bone Marrow Concentrate (BMC) procedures over  typical options given to patients–surgery or corticosteroid shots. If you’ve made the decision in favor of the less invasive non-surgical route, be educated and be warned. Unfortunately, not all non-surgical clinics are created equal. Read to learn about Regenexx’s procedure methods and the standards we uphold using knee treatment as an example.

Preliminary Questions to Ask Yourself Before Regenerative Knee Treatment

Before you consent to a non-surgical knee procedure, ensure your clinic can answer ‘yes’ to these four questions:

1. Will your knee procedure be performed by an experienced physician (MD or DO)?
2. Will your clinic use precise image guidance to place healing agents?
3. Will an advanced research lab centrifuge process your PRP or autologous stem cells?
4. Does your clinic provide clients with an accessible database based on over 125,000 patient procedures?

Qualified Physicians and Precise Imaging

The Board Certified Physicians at Regenexx Pittsburgh are experienced and highly qualified. Regenexx physicians are orthobiologics experts, experienced in diagnosing and treating various musculoskeletal afflictions (2). All Regenexx regenerative treatments employ  imaging guidance, like fluoroscopy, ultrasound guidance, or both, so that the physician can inject the stem cells into the precise location of the injury in the body.

Knee Treatment Imaging Guidance Infographic

Below is a guide created by Regenexx’s founder, Chris Centeno, MD, detailing what type of precise imaging guidance a Regenexx physician would use to treat various areas of the knee (3).

image credit: https://regenexx.com/blog/what-does-an-advanced-knee-treatment-with-orthobiologics-look-like/

As the image shows, there are multiple specific locations in the knee where regenerative treatments like stem cells or PRP can be injected. If a patient’s problem area is intra-articular (i.e. in the joint itself) or in a lax ligament (a ligament that has become unnaturally loose), a Regenexx physician would identify precisely where to inject the regenerative treatment using either ultrasound or fluoroscopic imaging guidance (3,5). If a patient suffers from osteoarthritis in the knee bone, a physician must use fluoroscopic imaging guidance for a precise injection (3). Softer tissues in the knee like the meniscus and tendons require ultrasound imaging guidance (3).

Advanced Lab Equipment and Treatment Methods

At Regenexx treatment locations, the processing labs contain high-tech, updated centrifuges in order to produce the highest possible quality BMC or PRP for each patient. Different from PRP created in a hospital-grade centrifuge, Regenexx’s SCP (super-concentrated plasma) is amber in color, meaning it contains a lower concentration of red blood cells and a higher concentration of platelets (the natural healing agents within the blood) (6).

Regenexx has also learned how to maximize the effectiveness of procedures using bone marrow concentrate containing only the patient’s live stem cells. Centrifuge actions maximize stem cell count. Then, while the actual BMC withdrawal and injection happens on the same day, the Regenexx-SD bone marrow concentrate treatment takes place as part of a minimally invasive three day procedure.

Day One

The doctor injects a patient with a dextrose solution that creates a mildly inflammatory reaction, making the area conducive to the healing process (6).

Day Two

The patient returns, and the doctor extracts bone marrow from the patient’s hip bone, which is then processed by a Regenexx lab technician (6). Some short time later, the bone marrow concentrate is ready, and the Regenexx doctor uses imaging guidance like ultrasound or fluoroscopy to inject this healing solution into the patient’s precise problem area (6).

Day Three

The doctor draws blood from the patient’s arm and processes it in the lab’s centrifuge. Once this blood sample has become the highly-concentrated Regenexx SCP, the physician again uses imaging guidance and injects this solution into the precise area of pain (6). The PRP works in conjunction with the BMC to enhance the body’s natural healing process.

Outcomes Database On Knee

Regenexx has a specific outcomes database on the website dedicated to patient outcomes. This is not a few cherry-picked show-only-the-good-results-outcomes, but rather a comprehensive database of 125,000 patient results (4). For example, the two graphs below depict a steady increase in overall improvement for thousands of Regenexx knee patients suffering from osteoarthritis (first graph) and meniscus injury (second graph) (4).

Are you a Regenexx candidate for knee treatment? 

Find out if you’re a Regenexx candidate for non-surgical BMC or PRP knee procedure. Tap the “TALK TO AN EXPERT” BUTTON below.

SOURCES:

1. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(23)00163-7/fulltext
2. https://regenexxpittsburgh.com/regenexx-knee/
3. https://regenexx.com/blog/what-does-an-advanced-knee-treatment-with-orthobiologics-look-like/
4. https://regenexxpittsburgh.com/patient-outcome-data/
5. https://www.healthline.com/health/ligamentous-laxity
6. https://regenexx.com/our-approach/procedure-experience/