Have you been told your only option for joint pain is steroid injections or joint replacement surgery? Our minimally invasive regenerative alternatives offer pain relief and can help you get your lifestyle back
Our expert team specialises in treating all types of arthritis using advanced non-surgical techniques including stem cell therapy, Micro-Fragmented Adipose Tissue (MFAT) (using Lipogems® technology), Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC) and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
Our Treatment
Micro-Fragmented Adipose Tissue (MFAT) (using Lipogems® technology)
We exclusively offer our patients MFAT injections. A pioneering new treatment using your body’s own mesenchymal stem cells from adipose (fatty) tissue to treat pain and inflammation. The minimally invasive procedure is a possible alternative to having an operation or can be used after surgery to help healing. It harnesses natural repair cells removed from your body fat to target problems affecting joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles. The procedure takes around an hour and early results suggest an improvement for 75% of suitable patients.
This treatment contains concentrated blood plasma PRP/PRGF, as well as adipose-based pericytes harvested with the Lipogems® system.
Read Angela’s story who had MFAT treatment using Lipogems® in her knees. She is now pain free and her life has changed completely.
PRP Therapy supports your body’s self-healing processes by using your own cells. Blood is mostly liquid (called plasma) but also contains solid component including red cells, white cells and platelets. The platelets are important for clotting blood but they also contain proteins called growth factors which are important in the healing of injuries.
With a higher concentration of growth factors than typically found in blood, PRP injections support the restoration of injured tissue and inhibit painful inflammatory processes.
This treatment is widely researched and supported in clinical papers. See our PRP evidence section.
Click to find out more about AMPP® or PRP treatments or make an appointment with one of our specialist orthopaedic consultants.
The nSTRIDE APS injection treatment is designed to alleviate pain and bring balance back to your inflamed knee joint by introducing high levels of “good” proteins concentrated from your own blood. These good proteins can block the “bad” proteins responsible for the inflammatory condition in your joint. At the same time, nSTRIDE APS also concentrates growth factors which are beneficial for cartilage health.
Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC) is a non-surgical, minimally invasive, regenerative treatment that harnesses the natural ability to heal the body through the assistance of biological growth factors. BMAC utilises the regenerative stem cells collected from bone marrow to aid in the acceleration of healing moderate to severe osteoarthritis and tendon injuries. Read more here.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is also known as “wear and tear” or degenerative arthritis and most often affects people in their late 40s or older. It is more common in women and people who have a family history of the condition.
Osteoarthritis affects the smooth cartilage lining of the joint which makes movement difficult and causes pain and stiffness.
The cartilage inside the joint acts as a shock absorber. If the cartilage lining starts to thin out, it is harder for the tendons and ligaments which move the joint to work. This can cause swelling and the growth of bony spurs. If the cartilage loss is extreme it can lead to bone rubbing on bone which can change the shape of the joint.
The most common joints affected by osteoarthritis are:
- Knee
- Hands
- Spine
- Hip
- Foot and ankle
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder and happens when the immune system attacks the joints. This causes inflammation, pain and swelling around the joint. Women are much more likely to be affected by rheumatoid arthritis than men.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects the lining of the joints and can result in bone erosion and joint deformity.
People with rheumatoid arthritis may develop problems with other tissues and organs in their body.
- Hand and wrist
- Foot and ankle
- Elbow
- Knee
Causes of arthritis
There are a number of factors which can cause arthritis, including:
- Gender – certain types of arthritis are generally found more in women than in men
- Age – osteoarthritis often affects older people
- Genetics – arthritis can run in families, particularly rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis of the fingers
- Injury – damage to a joint , for example a sporting injury, can cause osteoarthritis when people are older
- Infections – some viral and other infections can prompt types of arthritis
- Lifestyle – osteoarthritis is more common in people who are overweight. Smoking is more common in people who have rheumatoid arthritis
Other treatments
Treatment for 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.
Physiotherapy can help with some forms of arthritis and splints or braces may be used.
Surgery including arthroscopy, joint replacement and joint fusion may be recommended if other methods don’t help.