Home › Blog › Restoring Mobility to a Physician with Knee Arthritis using Stem Cells

AL is a 61 year old physician who had knee surgery while in medical school with increasing knee pain over the past few years. His prior knee surgery had removed the better part of the inside (medial) meniscus, leaving no protection for that joint cartilage. His MRI showed arthritis on the inside of the knee and a partially torn ACL ligament. When the ACL ligaments are stretched or partially torn, it’s common for the knee to be unstable and have more wear and tear arthritis. He was also diagnosed with a pes anserine tendonopathy, meaning where the thigh muscles attached to the inside of the knee was chronically swollen. AL knew he was a knee replacement candidate, but like many health care providers we treat, he also knew he didn’t want to head in that therapeutic direction. This is often because doctors, nurses, and other people who work in health care see and take care of patients with complications due to knee replacement. In addition, recent research regarding wear particles generated by all types of knee replacements were also a concern. The patient underwent x-ray guided procedures for his knee ACL ligaments that culminated in several Regenexx-SCP procedures where his own blood derived stem cells were injected into his knee joint. After several injections that were performed once a month, he reported a marked reduction in knee pain with activities. Prior to the procedure, he had difficulty climbing stairs and especially climbing hills while golfing. After the procedure he reported being able to play golf and climb hills with very minimal pain. While AL had a great result, this doesn’t assure that everyone’s knee arthritis we treat with a knee stem cell treatment will experience this kind of increased activity. However, we’re really happy to see AL back in the “swing” of things!

Chris Centeno, MD is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. View Profile