StemCell Therapy

Experts are researching ways to use stem cells to treat arthritis in the knee and other joints. Many doctors already use stem cell therapy to treat arthritis, but it is not considered standard practice.

Stem cell therapy is one of several non-surgical treatments for arthritis pain. See Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment

There is a lot of debate around stem cell treatment, and it is helpful for potential patients to understand what stem cells are and the issues surrounding their use in arthritis therapy.

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Stem cells are located throughout the body. What makes stem cells special is that they can:

See What Are Stem Cells?

Advocates of stem cell treatments hypothesize that, when placed into a certain environment, stem cells can transform to accommodate a certain need. For example, stem cells that are placed near damaged cartilage are hypothesized to develop into cartilage tissue.

See What Is Cartilage?

Stem cells can be applied during a surgery (such as the surgical repair of a torn knee meniscus) or delivered through injections directly into the arthritis joint.

Watch: Knee Meniscus Tear Video

When administering stem cell injections, many physicians use medical imaging, such as ultrasound, in order to deliver cells precisely to the site of cartilage damage.

The most common type of stem cells used for treating arthritis are mesenchymal stem cells. Mesenchymal stem cells are usually collected from the patients fat tissue, blood, or bone marrow.

The process of collecting cells is often called harvesting.

Bone marrow is usually taken from the pelvic bone using a needle and syringe, a process called bone marrow aspiration. The patient is given a local anesthetic and may also be given a sedative before the procedure.

There are no professional medical guidelines for who can and cannot receive stem cell therapy for arthritis. For now, the decision about who gets stem cell therapy is up to patients and doctors.

See Arthritis Treatment Specialists

There is some evidence that people with severe arthritis can benefit from stem cell therapy.1 Most research indicates that younger patients who have relatively mild osteoarthritis or cartilage damage see the most benefit.2

See What Is Osteoarthritis?

Some doctors have certain criteria for recommending stem cell therapy. For example, they only recommend it to patients who are healthy and have relatively little cartilage damage. Other doctors make recommendations on a case-by-case basis.

Stem cell therapy is a promising but still unproven treatment, and will not be covered by most insurance companies.

Complete Listing of References

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Stem Cell Therapy for Arthritis

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