Debilitating knee pain from arthritis is one of the most painful and crippling joint problems a person can experience.  Anyone who has had this issue knows full well how arthritis in the knees can reduce your ability to walk affecting your mobility and to be fully-functioning in the lifestyle you want to lead.  A recent study though shows that just one injection of stem cells can reduce pain and inflammation for those suffering from this immobilizing joint problem.

The study, even though very small, had results that were very encouraging in the participants who were involved.  The journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine published the findings of the 18-patient study composed of French and German men and women aged 50 to 75 who all had severe knee osteoarthritis for at least one year prior to the study.

The goal of the study was to extract stem cells from a patient’s own body fat and inject them directly into the damaged knee joint.  Stem cells are known for their ability to differentiate and perform any number of regenerative functions.

Each patient underwent liposuction to extract stem cells from their body fat between April 2012 and December 2013.  The stem cells extracted were of a specific type that has immune-boosting and anti-scarring properties and protect against cell ‘stress’ and death.  The participants were divided into three groups with one group receiving a ‘low-dose’ injection of their own stem cells, the second group received a ‘medium-dose’ injection which amounted to four times the amount of stem cells, while the third group received a ‘high-dose’ injection containing five times more the amount of that the second group received.  Each group had their stem cells injected directly into their knee.

Six months later, all three groups exhibited improvements in pain, function, and mobility.  Interestingly, it was the ‘low-dose’ group that was determined to have statistically significant improvements in their knee pain and recovery.  The majority of participants from the study who had previously scheduled a surgery for a total knee replacement, experienced such good results they decided to cancel their surgery.

The only side effect noted was one individual from the study had a case of chest pain and a few others had mild side effects.

Osteoarthritis, also known as a ‘wear and tear’ condition is a type of arthritis that occurs when flexible tissue at the ends of bones wear down and is the most common musculoskeletal disease among adults.  It is a degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone, most common from middle-age onward affecting about 27 million people in the United States.  It is accompanied by pain and stillness, especially in the hip, knee, and thumb joints with common causes being genetics, being overweight, injury or joint overuse, or other factors such as rheumatoid arthritis or metabolic disorders.

The use of stem cells from a patient’s body to help alleviate osteoarthritis in the knees is still a relatively new form of treatment.  The researchers stressed that more studies are needed and planned before the use of stem cells for treating knee pain can be considered a breakthrough.