The current reality of living with joint pain or osteoarthritis usually involves the management of a condition that is gradually getting worse – a situation that impacts millions of people across the world and can have a considerable negative effect on quality of life.
Today, treatment traditionally involves over-the-counter painkillers, or a drug-free option like FlexiSEQ and gentle exercise to manage symptoms, or – in more advanced cases – joint replacement surgery. But treatments like this only offer temporary relief, rather than addressing the root causes of joint pain.
Regenerative medicine is a new and rapidly evolving field of treatment that is focused on stimulating the body’s natural healing response, and in the case of joint pain and osteoarthritis could one day offer new hope for treating the underlying causes – possibly providing long-term relief from chronic conditions that currently have no cure. But what exactly is regenerative medicine, and how can it work to treat joint pain?
What is regenerative medicine?
On the most basic level, regenerative medicine aims to repair or replace damaged tissue by harnessing the body’s own healing mechanisms. Where traditional treatment methods are focused on relieving symptoms, regenerative medicine aims to reverse the damage done by existing conditions through stimulating tissue repair and regeneration.
While still a medical field in its infancy, significant resources are being devoted to researching and trialling regenerative medicine in clinics and laboratories all over the world. There is hope that this experimental treatment can not only reverse the effects of degenerative effects like osteoarthritis, but also have applications for other currently incurable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
What are the key types of regenerative medicine?
There are a number of types of regenerative therapies currently being researched and developed, but the following three are particularly prominent in relation to osteoarthritis:
Stem cell therapy
Stem cells are a specific type of cell in the body that has the capacity to turn into a wide variety of types of cell – and this has major potential implications in terms of repairing or replacing damaged or ageing tissue.
In stem cell therapy for joint pain, these cells are often taken from the patient’s bone marrow or fat tissue and then injected into the area affected with joint pain – the idea being that the stem cells will then become healthy cartilage or other joint tissue, and jump-start the body’s natural healing processes.
Early studies suggest that this may represent a potential breakthrough for osteoarthritis sufferers, and there has been evidence that this kind of therapy can reduce inflammation, relieve pain and restore joint function.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP)
PRP therapy has been used successfully as a treatment for osteoarthritis pain since the early 2000s, when athletes started using it to recover from slow-healing injuries.
The process involves drawing blood from the patient and spinning it in a centrifuge, which separates platelets from the blood and concentrates them into the plasma (i.e. the liquid component of blood). The platelet-rich plasma is then injected into the damaged tissue, so the growth factors and anti-inflammatory proteins within the PRP can get to work boosting healing and relieving joint pain.
Autologous microfragmented adipose tissue
This type of regenerative therapy uses stem cells from the patient’s fat tissue which is removed using liposuction, and then processed to isolate healing cells such as pericytes, which act much like stem cells and are believed to improve osteoarthritis pain and function.
The processed fat tissue is injected into the affected joints, and like PRP therapy this is a natural and safe form of treatment that uses the patient’s own tissue to relieve the symptoms and potentially promote the healing of joint pain and osteoarthritis.
Is regenerative medicine an effective treatment for joint pain?
The short – and perhaps not entirely satisfactory – answer to this is ‘very possibly’, depending on the type of treatment used, and the specific circumstances of the individual and their joint pain.
The evidence so far – both from clinical trials and anecdotal testimony – suggests that regenerative therapies have had significant success in reducing pain, improving mobility and delaying the need for joint replacement therapy. But in these early stages it functions more as an exciting new method of managing joint pain and osteoarthritis rather than a guaranteed method for curing it entirely.
Additionally, these treatments may not be effective for all patients, depending on the severity of existing joint damage, the general health of the recipient, and whether they are responsive or well-suited to the specific treatment used.
But as research and testing continues, there is every reason to be excited about the future of regenerative medicine and its applications for joint pain – whether as a new means of pain relief and symptom management, or as an even more comprehensive form of treatment.
In the meantime…
While the development of regenerative therapies continues, there is a relatively futuristic method of managing joint pain and osteoarthritis already on the market.
FlexiSEQ is a topically applied gel that is clinically proven to relieve joint pain and improve mobility. FlexiSEQ lubricates the cartilage in joints to relieve pain and stiffness and improve impaired joint function associated with all stages of osteoarthritis.
