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No Joint Replacement for Me! Joel Finds Nonsurgical Relief for His Knee Arthritis With Regenexx

Anyone who has taken a gander at knee replacement pictures on-line knows that the procedure is not pretty. First there’s the demolition: The surgeon creates a long incision in the skin to access the knee joint and then amputates (or cuts out) all or part of the knee bones and joint. Next the surgeon uses power tools to sculpt the end of femur (upper-leg bone) and the tibia (lower-leg bone). Once the demolition is complete, the surgeon will insert the artificial joint made of metal, cement, and polyethylene—materials that sound more suited to high-rise-building construction than to the human body.

After viewing the disturbing images of this surgery, Joel, a former competitive body builder, drew the line at the knee replacement suggested by his doctor. Joel just wanted to regain some of the active lifestyle he enjoyed before his knee problems set in. It was a chance conversation with a friend that led Joel to explore and find success with a nonsurgical option using his own stem cells.

Joel’s Story

Joel had always been active, a former competitive body builder who’d almost made it to the professional level. After retiring from competition, he still maintained a work-out and training schedule to try and keep in shape. Then, at the age of 50, he started having knee pain, and the next thing he knew, he couldn’t even walk up the stairs. Like many with the sudden onset of arthritic knee pain, this wasn’t how he planned to age. As his quality of life deteriorated, he decided he needed to do something about it. He did what most people would do—he went to the doctor.

The Doctor’s Solution? Pain Medication

Before long, Joel was on pain medication three times a day just to try to get enough relief to get through his daily activities. He felt terrible. He was gaining weight and was short-tempered due to the constant pain. Soon everyone around him noticed a very different man. When the pain medication wasn’t working, and its effects were intolerable, his doctor sent him to an orthopedist.

The Orthopedist’s Solution? Arthroscopic Knee Repair

Like most patients, Joel felt that arthroscopic knee surgery would be the magic wand that would fix his knee problems once and for all, so he underwent a bilateral procedure. During an arthroscopy, two small incisions are made through which a camera and surgical instruments access the knee joint to cut out various parts and pieces of the degenerating knee. Several studies have concluded that routine arthroscopic knee surgery isn’t effective, and, indeed, that was Joel’s experience. Two months later, not only had Joel’s pain not been relieved, it had, in fact, gotten worse. This often happens once the cushioning meniscus and cartilage are removed from the knee in this type of surgery.

The Orthopedist’s New Solution? Gel Injections

Viscosupplementation treatment (gel injection) is the injection of hyaluronic acid into the knee joint. The idea is that the gel-like substance will coat and lubricate the joints and provide for ease of movement and relieve the pain. Joel was given many gel injections to try to conquer his pain, but this also didn’t work. It felt like his knees were floating and unstable, and this made him feel even worse. Prior to this, his activity level was at about 75% of normal, but now, as his pain worsened, his activity level bottomed out at about 5%. He was miserable.

The Orthopedist’s Final Solution? Knee Replacement

After the orthopedist suggested knee replacement, and after so many other shattered hopes following failed treatments and procedures, Joel was cautious and uncertain. He did some online research on knee replacements and was disturbed by the knee replacement pictures of human carpentry that he found. He thought to himself, surely this couldn’t be the only option left? Did he really need a knee replacement? Luck kicked in for Joel when a chance conversation with a friend led him to look into stem cell treatments.

The Successful Solution for Joel? Stem Cell Treatments

Joel soon found Regenexx, and in May and October of 2015, he received our patented stem cell procedure using his own stem cells. As Joel relays above, the procedure was able to improve his function and pain, and within one month, Joel was off the pain medication. Six weeks later, he began working out again and he was finally able to again experience that welcome endorphin rush! He now has no limitations, is fully active, and has returned to the Joel everyone knew before pain took control of his life.

Learn More About Regenexx For Knee Arthritis

Note: The testimonials appearing on this website reflect the real-life experiences of Regenexx patients but are not necessarily typical of what you or any other patient might experience. Individual results of the Regenexx procedures will vary depending on a number of factors, including your diagnosis, the severity of your condition, your overall health, and others. To better understand what large numbers of patients experience on average, please visit our Patient Results page, and inquire with your Regenexx physician.

Patients often characterize Regenexx’s non-surgical treatment options as “stem cell” or “regenerative medicine” procedures. For more information about these terms and how Regenexx defines them, please click here.

Regenexx® Procedures have a success and failure rate. Patient reviews and testimonials on this site should not be interpreted as a statement on the effectiveness of our treatments for anyone else.