What is Osteoarthritis?
Do you feel off and on again pain in your fingers or knees? It could be Osteoarthritis, which is a degenerative joint disease. Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic condition of the joints, affecting approximately 27 million Americans according to the Arthritis Foundation. It can affect any joint, but it occurs most often in knees, hips, lower back and neck. It is characterized by the degeneration of the articular cartilage, specifically in the fingers, knees, hips, feet and spine and has been known to lead to inflammation, limitations in movement, severe to debilitating levels of pain and eventually joint destruction to the point of bone rubbing on bone. This disease, affects mostly, but not limited to, elderly Americans and has no known cure. Currently all methods of treatment are only symptomatic. Generally, treatment of Osteoarthritis treats the pain of the affected area, either through non-steroidal injections or pain and health supplements. Despite the medical community having no current means of regeneration of the loss of joint tissue caused by Osteoarthritis, several methods exist to manage the progressive loss of tissue in its early stages, and surgery for more advanced stages. However, as with any surgical procedure there are always chances of potential complications including, but not limited to, Thrombosis, infection, as well as high cost in hospitalization and rehabilitation, and an increased risks of Osteoarthritis after meniscus or an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Three main methods of managing Osteoarthritis, known as The Three Generations of Biologic Injections, have been developed to better manage the levels of pain caused by the disease: The First Generation: Focused on the early stages of the onset of Osteoarthritis, this injection is known as Hyaluronic Acid. Generally only having a temporary effect at the injection site, this type of injection has been shown to work for knee pain. The Second Generation: Known as a Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injection, this form of injection has been shown to be more effective than a Hyaluronic Acid Injection due to the injection being “prepared from one to a few tubes of the patient’s own blood with strict aseptic technique,” reducing chance of rejection from the body. The Third Generation: Finally, with the growing field of stem cell research, a stem cell treatment using a form of stem cell known as the Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells has developed. MSC’s, which have been found to attach to sites with inflammation and injury, and have a reduced count in patients with severe osteoarthritis, “have shown potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activities,” and similar to PRP Injections, due to the source material of the injection being made from the patient’s own body, lower rejection rate and higher effectiveness against pain and inflammation occurs.
At The Stem Cell Orthopedic Institute of Texas, at the Medical Center in San Antonio, is dedicated helping patients who suffer from any type of joint pain. Our motto is, “the pain stops here.� Learn more about Osteoarthritis by visiting http://spinaldoc.com/resources/signs-symptoms-lower-back-pain/. If you are suffering from any form of arthritis or joint pain, please call us to setup an appointment at (210) 293-3136.