Cellular therapy Chandler: what care made from blood means

What to try first when the joint aches

Pause sooner during work that starts the ache, but don't become still. Easy walking and slow joint motion can hold down stiffness. Try a cold pack when the joint feels warm after use. Try warmth before moving when stiffness bothers you most.

Your usual medicine may help when your doctor says it's safe. Some pills can harm the stomach, kidneys, or heart. Using a cane or brace may reduce strain during daily tasks. Protect the sore joint, then give it easy movement.

When to have the soreness looked at

Arrange an exam when the ache returns often or limits daily tasks. Swelling, catching, weakness, or less motion also need a closer look. Write down when the soreness started and which movements bring it on. Your notes help the clinician locate the part that hurts.

Get prompt care for fever, redness, and heat around the joint. A joint that looks bent after a fall also needs prompt care. New numbness or sudden weakness can't wait for a regular appointment. Handle these warning signs before considering a planned joint procedure.

What to do if it doesn't settle

An exam can find why the joint remains sore. QC Kinetix offers consultations and regenerative treatments, meaning office procedures prepared from parts of your blood and done without surgery. Chandler clinicians can read your records, examine the joint, and discuss the choices. You'll hear what recovery may involve before deciding.

One choice is PRP, meaning platelet-rich plasma made by drawing and spinning your blood to gather platelets, the small blood parts that help it clot. Concentrated PRP puts more platelets into the prepared plasma. More platelets don't prove the treatment will work better for you. Ask how either choice compares with exercise, medicine, or surgery.

Sources

1. 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.

2. 21 CFR 1271.10(a) sets the four criteria a human cell or tissue product must meet to be regulated SOLELY under section 361 of the Public Health Service Act: it must be minimally manipulated; intended for homologous use only, as reflected by labeling and advertising; not combined with another article beyond water, crystalloids or a preserving agent; and either have no systemic effect and not depend on the metabolic activity of living cells, or else be for autologous use, use in a close blood relative, or reproductive use.

   US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 — 21 CFR 1271.10 - Are my HCT/P's regulated solely under section 361 of the PHS Act. , 2004.

3. 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.

4. The 2018 AAOS/NIH consensus work group recommended that minimally manipulated mixed cell preparations be called CELL THERAPY rather than stem cell therapy, and that their untested and uncharacterised nature be clearly communicated to patients and the public, because stem cells have properties these preparations do not meet.

   Chu CR, et al. — Optimizing Clinical Use of Biologics in Orthopaedic Surgery: Consensus Recommendations From the 2018 AAOS/NIH U-13 Conference. J Am Acad Orthop Surg, 2019. DOI: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-18-00305.