Alternatives to Knee Replacement Surgery for Osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common orthopedic conditions. If you are experiencing OA, you understand the pain and discomfort involved and how it can negatively impact your quality of life and enjoyment of daily activities.

Historically, many patients over 40 with knee pain due to osteoarthritis (commonly referred to as arthritis) have been advised to try physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), hyaluronate or corticosteroid knee injections to reduce pain and inflammation. If these are not helpful, the next recommendation is often arthroscopic knee surgery to repair or remove any damaged cartilage or tissue that may be causing the pain. If the surgery doesn’t deliver the desired results, then total knee joint replacement is usually recommended.

Alternative to knee replacement surgery for osteoarthritis

Numerous studies2 evaluating the results of common orthopedic knee surgeries have shown that these procedures generally don’t work unless the patient is younger than 40 years of age. Even then, successful outcomes are not guaranteed. If this is new information to you, you are not alone. A lot of people don’t know that surgery isn’t always the solution. Read on to learn more about our regenerative medicine alternatives to knee replacement surgery for osteoarthritis.

How Does Regenexx Work For Knee Osteoarthritis?

At Regenexx, we invented a new approach to orthopedic care we call Interventional Orthopedics. This minimally invasive alternative to knee surgery uses ultrasound-guided technology to precisely inject your own bone marrow concentrate — which contains stem cells — directly where it’s needed in the joint.

The cells in your bone marrow concentrate work at the site of your injury to promote your body’s natural healing abilities and avoid surgery.

During appointments, Regenexx physicians examine your body in motion and often use Ultrasound to observe the inner workings of the joint in real time. This gives them a much more accurate picture of what’s contributing to your pain, how function is affected, and ultimately, the root cause of the problem. 

Once you’ve been evaluated, your physician will customize a treatment plan based on your specific needs. Our treatments include:

Regenexx-SD: A patented protocol using bone marrow concentrate that contains stem cells

Regenexx SCP: A proprietary formulation of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) that’s more concentrated than what a basic bedside centrifuge machine can produce

Regenexx-PL: Platelet lysate, which is a highly specialized derivative of platelet-rich plasma (PRP)

See how Regenexx helped Stephanie with her chronic pain from knee osteoarthritis.

Am I a candidate?

Note: Like all medical procedures, Regenexx procedures have a success and failure rate. Not all patients will experience the same results.

Below are the outcomes of two patients who had Regenexx procedures done for knee osteoarthritis. Scroll the arrow to the right to see the MRI of the knee joint before the Regenexx treatment — the white/ lighter area indicates damage. Scroll to the left to see the MRI of the knee joint after the Regenexx treatment.

Patient 1 MRI: 51 years old

Patient 2 MRI: 46 years old

Patient 1: The patient was unable to return to many activities after unsuccessful microfracture surgery. As a result, underwent percutaneous, autologous, mesenchymal stem cell implant, after which they were able to return to their daily activities.

Patient 2: The patient had unsuccessful arthroscopic debridement surgery, where a large 3 cm. by 4 cm. osteochondral defect on the medial femur was discovered. The patient was then treated with percutaneously implanted autologous mesenchymal stem cells 1.5 years after surgery. The patient was able to return to full functional activities.

Am I a candidate?

Get started to see if you are a Regenexx candidate

To talk one-on-one with one of our team members about how Regenexx may be able to help your orthopedic pain or injury, please complete the form below and we will be in touch with you within the next business day.

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