Using Nerve Stem Cell Therapy To Promote Knee Cartilage Repair

Injured cartilage cannot properly heal on its own and often requires a combination of surgical techniques and physical therapy to be able to repair and replace the damaged cartilage. The knees are especially prone to cartilage damage due to the amount of pressure and flexibility needed to support the body’s range of motion, and depending on the type of cartilage damage, some forms of cartilage can be regenerated with specific treatments. While the cartilage tissue on its own cannot repair itself due to the lack of blood vessels, one method surgeons have been working with in vitro is stem cell therapy, using those stem cells to facilitate new cartilage cell growth.

Is Stem Cell Therapy Available For Knee Repair?

Currently, orthopedic surgeons have at least three ways to help encourage the body to regrow cartilage cells. When encouraging cartilage growth, the surgeon uses bleeding to spur cartilage healing through each of the methods listed below:

• Knee Microfracture: This surgical method requires the damaged cartilage to be cleared away completely, allowing the surgeon to use a sharpened tool called an awl to pierce the bone to encourage cartilage growth.
• Knee Drilling: Knee drilling works by using a drill or wire to make tiny holes in the bone. However, this method poses issues as it can create heat damage to the nearby tissues, leading to bone cysts and other problems.
• Knee Abrasion Arthroplasty: Knee abrasion arthroplasty requires the damaged cartilage to be completely cleared out, then requires the surgeon to use a special tool to scrape and roughen the bone’s surface.

While each of these techniques can be used to treat damaged cartilage, they’re limited in their application, as they cannot be used to treat articular cartilage or knee meniscus damage. In other methods, the cartilage would need to be replaced fully through the use of allografts and implants to help promote healing to the affected knee joint. But in recent years, researchers have been looking into the effects of stem cells on cartilage growth and have found that stem cells can potentially use the body’s healing mechanisms to repair the damaged or degenerating cartilage by providing stem cells to the affected area.

What Research Says About Stem Cell Regeneration

Right now, researchers are still working to figure out how stem cells work, what the correct dosages could be used to treat problems such as knee damage, how long the treatments can last, and other safety or precaution measures for patients. Currently, conversations about stem cells are often talked about in theory, where the results of these treatments depend on how the stem cells are harvested, where they are injected, and whether or not there will be an overall success rate for the condition being tested on. Stem cell therapy for knee repair isn’t standardized yet, but while these studies remain inconclusive, stem cell therapy has the potential to help treat conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and sports-related knee injuries.

Because research is still in progress, it’s important to speak with your orthopedist about your options for knee repair, especially if you are experiencing symptoms of pain, lack of mobility, and tension throughout your knee joints.