If you’re tired of living with knee pain and are looking for alternatives to steroid injections or joint replacement, then minimally invasive regenerative treatments could help bring balance back to your life.
What treatments does Jorja Healthcare Regenerative Treatments offer?
Our renowned medical team provides a range of treatments, from the traditional to the innovative:
This day case treatment is exclusively offered to our patients. It uses pioneering technology using your body’s own adipose (fat) cells to treat pain and inflammation with MFAT Injections. These Injections are minimally invasive and are carried out under ultrasound guidance. Altogether the procedure takes about an hour to perform with a minimal recovery time. As well as being a potential alternative to surgery, MFAT Injections can also aid post-surgery recovery.
BMAC Injections harness the natural healing abilities of your own mesenchymal stem cells, found in the bone marrow, to
This is an effective and well-researched procedure that’s a potential alternative to surgery. It takes advantage of the blood’s natural healing properties to reduce pain and improve joint function. It uses a specially concentrated dosage of platelets prepared from your own blood to repair damaged cartilage, tendons, ligaments, muscle and bone. Treatment is administered via an injection and depending on the injury two to six injections may be required, performed at weekly intervals. Patients usually see their symptoms improve within four to six weeks of having the injections. PRP is a safe treatment option which, because your own blood is used, carries no risk of allergic reaction. Read more clinical evidence supporting PRP here.
Read Eddie’s Story. The British former professional strongman and World’s Strongest Man 2017 winner Eddie Hall recently received PRP Therapy.
The nSTRIDE APS injection treatment is designed to alleviate pain. It is an autologous solution meaning that it is prepared from a sample of your own blood. Within osteoarthritic joints, inflammatory (swelling) proteins are present in a much greater concentration than anti-inflammatory proteins, causing a gradual breakdown of the cartilage. nSTRIDE APS injections contain a solution of concentrated anti-inflammatory proteins which restore the balance between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory proteins by preventing the activity/function of inflammatory proteins. This results in the reduction of inflammation and prevents any further deterioration of cartilage. nSTRIDE APS injections also contain anabolic proteins which stimulate the growth of cartilage and aids in the reduction and potential reversal of progression of osteoarthritis.
Unfortunately, the most common cause of knee arthritis is age and women are more prone to get it than men. Yet, it can also be caused by:
- Genes
Some genetic traits can cause knee arthritis. For example, osteoarthritis in the knee has been found in people in their 20’s who have a genetic defect which affects the production of collagen, the protein which makes cartilage.
- Weight
Being overweight puts extra pressure on the knees and as time goes on this can cause the cartilage, which cushions the joint, to breakdown faster.
- Overuse or Injury
Repetitive movements or injuries (fractures, surgery, ligament tears) can be a cause of knee osteoarthritis. Also, athletes who repeatedly damage their ligaments, joints and tendons are prone to knee osteoarthritis.
Knee arthritis affects people in different ways and one person’s symptoms may be different to another’s.
The diagnosis of knee arthritis tends to begin with a physical examination during which the medical practitioner will check for swelling, tenderness, redness and flexibility.
Osteoarthritis of the knee can also be detected using an X-ray. While cartilage doesn’t show up on an X-ray, cartilage loss can be detected by the narrowing of the space between the joint bones. Bony spurs which surround the joint also show up with an X-ray. In some cases, there can be little or no correlation to how the cartilage damage looks on an X-ray and the level of pain and discomfort a person is experiencing.
Magnetic reasoning imagery (MRI) may be recommended in difficult cases. An MRI can be used to display a detailed image of the cartilage, soft tissues and bone.
Diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis of the knee isn’t possible using an X-ray or MRI. Instead, a blood test or an examination of the fluid which has built in the joint needs to be carried out to determine the cause of the pain.
Treatment for knee arthritis aims to relieve symptoms and improve the function of the joint.
Initial treatment may include medications such as analgesics which help reduce the pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – NSAIDS – which reduce the pain and inflammation and steroid injections which reduce inflammation and provide short-term relief.
Lifestyle changes such as weight loss, minimising activities (such as climbing stairs or bending) that aggravate the condition and swapping to low impact exercises (like swimming and cycling) can help slow down the progression of knee arthritis.
Physiotherapy can help with knee arthritis and assistive devices like canes, wearing shock-absorbing shoes inserts or wearing a knee brace may be used.
Our expert team specialises in treating knee arthritis using advanced non-surgical techniques including stromal cell therapy, Micro-Fragmented Adipose Tissue (MFAT) and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy.
Surgery, including partial or total joint replacement and joint distraction, may be recommended if other treatment options don’t yield results.
Joint replacement
Partial joint replacement involves the surgeon replacing the damaged area. This allows you to keep the majority of your bone, tissue and ligaments in the hope that full mobility can be resumed. There is a shorter recovery time for partial joint replacement than total joint replacement.
Joint replacement should only be considered after less invasive non-surgical treatments have been explored. While joint replacement is a routine surgical procedure there are still risks attached to the surgery.
Post-surgery there is an extensive rehabilitation period involved which involves regular physical exercises. And, at some point in the future, the joint may need replacing again.
Autologous translates as ‘from the same person.’ In brief, it involves using your own cells to encourage healing. The major benefits are that there is no chance of rejection, infection or contamination as you are using cells from your own body rather than a donor.
We offer a range therapies based on this principle which can be considered if traditional treatments including surgery aren’t relieving your pain.
