Knee Pain

Many people suffer from knee pain to different extents in their lives. Sometimes knee pain can be too severe to do any daily sports, exercises and other activities, even mild knee pain can limit people from enjoying an active life as they wish. Anyways, we should never neglect the knee problem even when it’s in the early stage.

Knee Ligament Injuries

The ligaments connect the thigh bone and lower leg bones of our body and hold our bones together in stable status. Sprains or tears of ligaments are considered as the most common sports injuries. No matter the injury is occurred to the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL), posterior cruciate ligament(PCL) or medical collateral ligament(MCL), it can lead to severe knee pain which needs proper medical treatment.

Knee Cartilage Tears

Some other injuries can happen to the cartilage of our knees. Cartilage is a tough but flexible tissue that covers and protect our knee bones. It consists of two menisci on each side of the joint. The one positioned on the inside of knee is called medical meniscus, the other one located on the outside of knee is called lateral meniscus. Meniscus tear is a very common injury that happens to our knee cartilage.

Arthritis of the Knee

Arthritis is a chronic degenerative condition and considered as one the most common reasons of disability and severe knee pain. There are 3 typical types of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis, post-traumatic arthritis and osteoarthritis. People who suffer from any of these three types of arthritis may find it hard to bend their knees with conditions of stiffness and swelling.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease which represents 10%~15% of all arthritis cases. When people have this disease, the tissue around their joints will be thickened and inflamed. Damage and loss of cartilage can happen as a result of chronic inflammation.

Post-Traumatic Arthritis

Serious knee injuries such as bone fractures and ligament tears can lead to post-traumatic arthritis. Over time, your cartilage would be damaged by such injuries and cause stiffness, swelling and pain.

Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Among other types of arthritis, osteoarthritis is the most common one. It is a result of the cartilage in our knee joint being progressively worn. Individuals in or over 50 would more likely to have this disease. Owing to accumulated use and wearing of the cartilage with age, the impact of osteoarthritis worsens after one’s over 50. People who suffer from osteoarthritis have many conditions, including stiffness, swelling, pain, limited motion range, weakness, deformity and tenderness.

There are many factors that can lead to osteoarthritis, such as age, weight, infections, old injuries, illness and genetics. In some specific occupations as construction or manufacturing, physical works can lead to wear and tear of the muscles, which also lead to osteoarthritis.

Stem Cell Transplantation Therapy for Knee Pain

Repeated clinical treatments have proven that transplanting stem cells to the affected area can effectively relieve and treat knee pain.

Basic Principles

• Differentiation and Repair Function: Stem cells have the potential for multi-directional differentiation and can differentiate into chondrocytes, osteoblasts, etc. They can replace damaged or degenerated cells, promote the repair and regeneration of tissues such as cartilage and meniscus in the knee joint, restore the normal structure and function of the joint, and thus relieve pain.
• Anti-inflammatory Effect: Stem cells can secrete a variety of anti-inflammatory factors, such as interleukin-10. These factors can inhibit the inflammatory response, reduce the local inflammatory state of the knee joint, and decrease the stimulation of nerve endings by inflammation, thereby alleviating pain.
• Immunomodulatory Function: Stem cells can regulate the body’s immune function, inhibit the attack of immune cells on joint tissues, reduce immune damage, and create a favorable internal environment for the repair of joint tissues.

Treatment Advantages

• Precise Repair: Stem cells can accurately locate the damaged part of the knee joint and carry out targeted repair treatment, which is more specific compared to traditional therapies.
• Low Immunogenicity: Stem cells have low immunogenicity, and generally do not cause obvious immune rejection reactions, so the safety is relatively high.
• Multiple Cellular Effects: In addition to differentiating into specific cells for repair, stem cells can also secrete a variety of bioactive substances through paracrine action, which play a comprehensive role in repairing and protecting knee joint tissues.

Cases