Osteoarthritis

Stem cell therapies are sprouting like weeds. This is a good thing. The medical community is rushing into the biologic sciences, opening up the field of stimulating tissues to heal—rather than suppressing them with steroids, anti-inflammatories, or joint replacement surgeries. Here is my take on where the field is now and where it is going.

New studies have shown that when a meniscus tissue is torn, pro-arthritis enzymes and factors are released, which stimulate the synovial lining cells of the joint to go into overdrive.

If you’ve been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, there’s a strong chance that you were advised to rest, limit your activities and use anti-inflammatory drugs to treat the symptoms of pain and inflammation. There are some major flaws in this advice.

If we live longer, will our joints still work? While many diseases can kill you, arthritis has the potential to ruin your long life.

You are told you have knee arthritis. The advice the doctor gives you is to go home, rest your knee, take anti-inflammatory drugs, lose some weight, wait until you are older and then get an artificial knee replacement. This advice is awful. Here's why.

If you have osteoarthritis, or if you think you may develop it later, you don’t have to just “suck up” the symptoms or change your life to manage the disorder. There is something that you can do about it, especially if you catch it early.