Making Decisions About Home Care

Knee Pain Stem Cell Therapy: What It Is And When To Consider It

by Mae Ferguson

It is estimated that one in four American adults suffers from severe knee pain. Causes of knee pain may include knee bursitis, tendinitis, ligament injuries, fractures, arthritis, or knee deformities. If left untreated, knee pain can significantly affect your quality of life. For instance, it can make it harder to walk, work, do household chores, play with children, or exercise. People with chronic knee pain also often experience depression and anxiety. If you have unsuccessfully tried other remedies to relieve knee pain, it might be time to consider knee pain stem cell therapy.

What is Knee Pain Stem Cell Therapy?

It is a popular procedure whereby stem cells are typically harvested from a patient's healthy knee cartilage and injected into the diseased knee. In theory, these stem cells can help reduce knee pain by encouraging new cartilage growth in the knee joint to offset knee inflammation and swelling caused by arthritis.

Simply put, stem cell knee therapy is a procedure that uses the regenerative power of stem cells to increase knee joint mobility and reduce knee pain. It gives patients an alternative treatment option to knee replacement or knee fusion.

When Should You Try Knee Pain Stem Cell Therapy?

If knee pain is due to an injury, the first step is usually RICE - rest, ice, compression, and elevation of the knee. These steps decrease pain and swelling caused by the injury, allowing the knee to heal without further damage.

If these home remedies don't help, you may try physical therapy. The rehabilitation goals are to restore knee function, improve knee strength and mobility, reduce knee pain, and resolve knee swelling.

In some instances, you may have to use medication, especially if knee pain is associated with chronic conditions, such as arthritis or gout. In these cases, treatment may include medications that reduce pain, inflammation, and swelling.

What if all these options don't work? You should consider knee pain stem cell treatment if the pain is severe and hasn't improved after appropriate treatment. If you undergo a doctor-approved knee injection with stem cells, you will experience a significant reduction in knee swelling and morning stiffness. You will also report knee pain relief that will last for several months.

The Bottom Line

Recent years have witnessed an increased use of stem cell therapy in the treatment of knee pain. It is a relatively new treatment option that has been shown to alleviate knee pain caused by different conditions, including torn knee ligaments, arthritis, and sports injury.

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