An Alternative to Knee Surgery- Regenerative Cellular Therapies

1. An Alternative to Knee Surgery- Regenerative Cellular Therapies

2. Regenerative cell treatments and PRP may offer an unconventional alternative to knee surgery or knee replacement. Medica Stem Cells regenerative treatments are minimally invasive non-surgical procedures. Treatments provide long-lasting relief from symptoms with minimal downtime and enhance recovery within a short period using your own body's healing power to treat knee arthritis and knee-related injuries. Our patients benefit from reduced pain and enhanced functionality of the knee without undergoing surgery or knee replacement.

3. Can Regenerative Therapy Revitalize Your Knee Joint Without Surgery? Imagine climbing the stairs where your knee catches and buckles with severe ache. What happens if you fall unexpectedly and if you are unable to get up? You may not be ready to consult a physician as you would have seen your relatives spent more on procedures that did not prove to be effective. No worries! We are here to help you understand your natural healing mechanism through regenerative cellular therapies. It is time to get back to your active life without knee surgery! Before we go through the potential knee problems and treatment, let us know the anatomy and working mechanism of the knee joint.

4. Knee Joint Anatomy

5. Knee Joint Anatomy • The knee joint is composed of bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bursal sac. All these parts work with coordination to help us walk, jump, and bend down. • Bones: There are three types of bones in the knee, namely femur, tibia, and patella. The knee joint connects the tibia (shin bone) and the femur (thigh bone), including a protective bony cover named patella (kneecap). Femur and tibia end as a rounded protuberance named condyle, which forms the part of the knee joint. • Knee cartilage is otherwise called as the knee meniscus. There are two types of knee meniscus, namely medial (inside) and lateral (outside). It is located between the femur and the tibia. It helps in distributing the body weight and protects the bones from friction. • Tendons connect bone to muscle. There are two types of tendons, namely quadriceps tendon and patellar tendon. The quadriceps tendon connects the patella to the large thigh muscle named quadriceps muscle. The patellar tendon attaches to the tibia. • Ligaments hold bones or cartilage together. There are two types of ligaments, namely anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). ACL lies at the front part of the knee joint while PCL lies at the back. They hold femur and tibia together to stabilize the knee joint. • Bursa sac consists of lubricating fluid that remains as a cushion between the bones in the knee joint to reduce friction.

6. The Function of Knee joint • Imagine a door that opens and closes with the help of a hinge. Similarly, the knee joint is considered as a flexible hinge that aids in mobility. You can normally move your leg in front-to-back and side-to-side motion. In case of improper joint movement due to worn-out shoes or trauma, acute knee injuries may occur. • Similarly, the knee is also considered as the weight-bearing joint. It is the knee joint that balances a person’s weight. In the case of obesity, excess pressure falls on the knee joint, which may lead to cartilage damage, degeneration, or wear and tear.

7. Common knee joint problems Knee JointProblems Osteoarthritis (degenerative knee joint disease) Knee bursitis (Bursa inflammation) Tendonitis (Tendon inflammation) Torn meniscus (cartilage wear and tear) Knee ligament tear (ACL/PCL injury) Hamstring injury (Tear of the tendons or muscles at the back of the thigh) Iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome – Knee pain due to worn- out or poorly fitting shoes Fracture/sprained knee Knee bone spur Other sports- related injuries such as athlete injury, football or soccer injury

8. What are the conventional methods to relieve knee pain? Rest Activity modification Ice therapy Elevation Compression

9. What is the principle of regenerative cell therapy? • Your body can heal by itself. That is the motto of regenerative cell therapy. Let us see how the body heals. • If you cut your finger, it bleeds. It then forms a scab like structure. Ultimately, it is the healing cell beneath the scab that seals the injury and stop the bleeding. Similarly, your body can also examine the signs of damage and repair them using its healing cells. • Regenerative cell therapy is a non-surgical procedure that provides long-lasting relief from the symptoms with minimal downtime and enhances recovery within a short period. It has no side effects since the injection involves your blood. So, there is no chance of rejection or cross-transmission of disease.

10. Advancement of regenerative therapy over conventional methods • A study published in NPJ Regenerative Medicine compared to NSAIDs drugs and corticosteroid injections [1]. Regenerative Medicine revealed that regenerative cell therapy may provide better pain relief • Recent research shows that provides more long-term relief from joint pain and enhances the quality of life in a shorter duration compared to corticosteroid injections. People may think that PRP injection is just like a cortisone shot. But it is not so. Long-term administration of cortisone injections will suppress the body’s natural healing mechanism and leads to knee replacement surgery in the future. But PRP therapy PRP therapy repairs the injured tissue by naturally promoting your body’s healing function. Hence, you need not have to undergo surgery in your later stage [2]. • Surgery may promote knee degeneration which leads to undergoing the same surgery once again in the future. Additionally, the incidence of pain after the surgery is high around 20%, in addition to anaesthesia and surgery associated risks. With the advent of PRP therapy, surgery can be easily avoided [4]. • So, what are you waiting for? Turn back the clock and start leading an active pain-free life by opting for regenerative cell therapy!

11. If you feel you may benefit from regenerative therapies, please contact us at our London clinic on 020 8 168 2000 or our Ireland clinic on 01 298 8000 to book a consultation or request a callback today! We will take a close look at your case and evaluate if you are a qualified candidate for regenerative therapy.

12. References References • Iijima, H., Isho, T., Kuroki, H., Takahashi, M., & Aoyama, T. (2018). Effectiveness of mesenchymal stem cells for treating patients with knee osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis toward the establishment of effective regenerative rehabilitation. NPJ Regenerative medicine, 3(1), 1-13. • Forogh B, Mianehsaz E, Shoaee S, Ahadi T, Raissi GR, Sajadi S. Effect of single injection of Platelet- Rich Plasma in comparison with corticosteroid on knee osteoarthritis: a double-blind randomized clinical trial. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2015 Jul 14. [Google Scholar] • Cooper C, Chapurlat R, Al-Daghri N, et al (2019). Safety of Oral Non-Selective Non-Steroidal Anti- Inflammatory Drugs in Osteoarthritis: What Does the Literature Say? Drugs Aging. 36(Suppl 1):15– 24. doi:10.1007/s40266-019-00660-1. • Gautam Das, Debjyoti Dutta, et al (2019). Platelet-rich Plasma Injection in Osteoarthritis of the Knee? Journal on Recent Advances in Pain, 5(1): 1-15

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