Stem cell therapy Chandler: What can help your sore joint?

Why does the soreness keep coming back?

Wear can make a joint move less smoothly. An old injury may also leave a knee, hip, or shoulder easy to upset. Walking, lifting, reaching, or sitting too long can raise soreness, while swelling and stiffness may come and go.

Soreness doesn't always point to fresh damage, because weak muscles or too little movement can add strain. The exam may be paired with an X-ray or scan. The test shows the joint, while the exam shows which movements hurt.

What can you do before making an appointment?

Long rest often adds stiffness, while easy movement may loosen the joint. A therapist can tailor the exercises to your strength and balance. Warmth may loosen the joint before activity, while a cold pack can ease swelling later.

Notice what you were doing before the soreness rose and what eased it. Write down whether the joint catches, buckles, or wakes you at night. These details help the examiner understand how the ache affects your day and make the visit more useful.

What does QC Kinetix offer in Chandler?

QC Kinetix offers regenerative treatments, clinic procedures using your own blood, marrow, or fat. Medical providers, the staff members who check your joint and deliver care, perform them. The exam may support a procedure, point to different care, or leave the cause uncertain.

The Chandler clinic is at 1100 S. Dobson Rd., Suite 210, just south of Pecos. Call (602) 837-PAIN to reach any of the four Valley locations. A visit lets you ask what was found during the exam and what remains unclear. You can decide after you understand the choices.

Sources

1. The OARSI non-surgical management guideline evaluated 60 interventions with GRADE methodology and built its recommendations around core treatments - structured exercise, weight management and self-management education - for every patient with knee osteoarthritis, regardless of what else is added.

   Bannuru RR, et al. — OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2019.06.011.

2. In a 480-patient, four-arm, multicenter randomized phase 2/3 trial, none of three orthobiologic cell injections - autologous bone marrow aspirate concentrate, autologous adipose stromal vascular fraction, or allogeneic umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells - was superior to any other, or to a corticosteroid injection control, on pain at 12 months.

   Mautner K, et al. — Cell-based versus corticosteroid injections for knee pain in osteoarthritis: a randomized phase 3 trial. Nat Med, 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02632-w.

3. FDA states in its consumer alert that the only FDA-approved stem cell products in the United States are blood-forming stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood, approved for disorders of the blood-forming system, and that NONE of these products - stem cells, stromal vascular fraction, umbilical cord blood, Wharton's jelly or amniotic fluid - has been approved for the treatment of any orthopedic condition, including osteoarthritis, tendonitis, disc disease, tennis elbow, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain or shoulder pain.

   US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research — Consumer Alert on Regenerative Medicine Products Including Stem Cells and Exosomes. , 2020.

4. A Bayesian network meta-analysis of 48 randomized trials covering 9,338 knees found hyaluronic acid and PRP significantly improved pain versus placebo, and that BMAC accounted for only 2.5 percent of the studied injections - the thinnest evidence base of the four comparators.

   Jawanda H, et al. — Platelet-Rich Plasma, Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate, and Hyaluronic Acid Injections Outperform Corticosteroids in Pain and Function Scores at a Minimum of 6 Months as Intra-Articular Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis. Arthroscopy, 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.arthro.2024.01.037.

5. Global Burden of Disease data show osteoarthritis age-standardised prevalence rose 9.3 percent between 1990 and 2017 and years lived with disability rose 9.6 percent, with prevalence higher in women and rising with age.

   Safiri S, et al. — Global, regional and national burden of osteoarthritis 1990-2017: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Ann Rheum Dis, 2020. DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-216515.