Osteoarthritis

What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting around a third of people aged 45 or over in the UK. It occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones degenerates over time causing pain, aching, and stiffness and, therefore, limiting movement. Put simply, it is ‘wear and tear’ of the joint.

Our doctors at The OrthoBiologics Clinic use a highly specialised treatment, called ACP^SVF Cell Therapy, to treat Osteoarthritis in the following joints:

Knee
Hip
Shoulder
Ankle
Spine
Hand

ACP^SVF Cell Therapy is the very latest adipose derived stem cell therapy for the treatment of OA. Our doctors believe it is far superior than other systems available, combining the benefits of PRP therapy with the regenerative powers of stem cells.

Human painful joints concept with the skeleton anatomy of the body with a group of sores with glowing joint pain and injury or arthritis illness symbol for health care and medical symptoms.

What are the symptoms of Osteoarthritis?

Joint pain during exercise/physical activity
Stiffness of the joint
Loss of function in the joint
Crunching sound or grating sensation in the joint
‘Giving way’ of the joint
Pain above or below the affected joint

What causes Osteoarthritis?

Being overweight puts strain on your joints
Ageing leads to more ‘wear and tear’ on your joints
Overuse of the joint due to your job or sport
More common in females
Family history of OA
Previous injury to a joint can lead to OA later in life
Malalignment of the joint

Treatments for Osteoarthritis

If you are suffering from any of the above symptoms and would like expert advice on how best to treat them, please call The OrthoBiologics Clinic to arrange an appointment with one of our specialists. Although there is no cure for this degenerative joint disease, treatments have improved greatly in recent years with clear benefits in starting those treatments at an early stage.

Lifestyle changes

Lifestyle medication including exercise, to build muscle strength and improve joint function together with weight loss to decrease the strain on the joint, are the first things to consider.
Analgesia, including non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as over the counter Ibuprofen, can be used to control the pain. If stronger analgesia is required, patients may be prescribed opioids, codeine, in combination with paracetamol. However, there are a number of unwanted side effects from the use of these drugs, such as nausea and constipation and long term addiction. If you have been prescribed these drugs, you may wish to consider highly effective drug-free treatments, such as those offered at The OrthoBiologics Clinic.

Joint injections

Cortisone steroid injections can relieve pain and inflammation of the joint, but they are a short term fix, lasting just a few months. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that repeated cortisone injections causes the cartilage within a joint to further deteriorate, resulting in the worsening of osteoarthritis.
Viscosupplement injections, such as Hyaluronic Acid (HA) injections, act as a lubricator similar to that naturally found in the joint. Isolated HA injections can relieve the pain but, again, only for a short period of time. However, when combined with PRP injections, the results can be more favourable.
Regenerative Cell Therapies have gained growing interest over recent decades with scientists and orthopaedic surgeons carrying out extensive research studies investigating more effective alternative methods to conservatively manage OA. Blood products, such as PRP, utilise the body’s own cells to significantly reduce the pain and inflammation associated with OA and improve joint function. More advanced treatment options utilise regenerative cells, sourced from the patient's adipose (fat) tissue or bone marrow. Therapies, such as ACP^SVF, go one step further by combining the pain relieving benefits of PRP with the regenerative effects of stem cells and have marked a new era in the management of OA, potentially helping to slow down the degenerative process altogether thus preserving the joint and avoiding the need for surgery.

Surgery

The least appealing option to most patients in treating their OA is to have major surgery, which results in many months of recovery, time off work and, as with any surgery, comes with risks. However, in some circumstances this may be the only option left to the patient after all other avenues have been exhausted. Four common types of surgery for OA include:

Arthroplasty (joint replacement)
Arthrodesis (fusion of a joint)
Osteotomy (removal of a small section of bone either above or below the joint)
Microfracture (creating tiny fractures in underlying bone to stimulate cartilage growth)

The Role of Orthobiologics

Osteoarthritis diminishes the quality of life and the condition is a major cause of disability. Powerful biological cell therapies have been developed, such as ACP^SVF Cell Therapy, which utilise naturally derived anti-inflammatory and regenerative cells from the individual’s body, and are highly effective in relieving pain in addition to potentially slowing disease progression. The growth factors found in these orthobiologic substances can support the healing process of cartilage, tendons and muscle and can provide an effective and safe alternative therapy to patients with moderate to severe osteoarthritis

As a result, for those patients suffering with OA who do not wish to continue treating their condition with drugs and potentially damaging steroid injections, the scientific evidence suggests that orthobiologics provide a highly effective treatment option without any undesirable side effects. Likewise, those patients wanting to delay surgery, or potentially avoid it altogether, can benefit from regenerative cell therapies.