Knee replacement surgery is often recommended for older adults who experience knee pain or have mobility problems such as walking or climbing stairs. However, knee replacement surgery, as with most surgeries, has certain risks and will require physical therapy for 1 to 2 months. For those with active lifestyles, a knee replacement implant may force you to give up certain high-impact activities such as jogging and sports for the rest of your life.
For these reasons, many patients have turned to stem cell therapy as an alternative to knee replacement surgery. With stem cell therapy, the patient’s own stem cells are harvested and injected into the damage joint. Since stem cell have the special ability to transform into specialized cells, they are able to create new cartilage in the knee.
Quick Recovery
The biggest reason why stem cell therapy is a popular alternative over knee replacement surgery is the fast recovery time. Stem cell therapy is an outpatient procedure. Most patients are able to walk around within 24 hours and will often wear a knee brace for a short period of time.
With knee surgery on the other hand, patients will usually stay in the hospital for 1 to 2 days before being allowed to go home. Afterwards, patients will have to go through some form of physical therapy which usually consists of:
- A graduated walking program to slowly increase your mobility
- Knee-strengthening exercises
- Slowly resuming your normal household activities
Patients will most likely be able to resume driving after 4 to 6 weeks after surgery.
No Risks
Since stem cells are a natural part of your body, there is virtually no risks to the patient’s health and the chance of an infection or rejection is very small. Knee surgery, which is a common procedure, has some risks though the possibility of them occurring are low. Some of those risks include:
- Infections
- Blood clots in the leg vein or lungs
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Nerve damage
Resume Your Normal Life
After knee surgery, your doctor may advise you to avoid certain activities that may put too much force on your knee and damage the implant or cause it to become loosen and become painful. With stem cell treatment, the procedure rebuilds the damage or lost cartilage, allowing you to enjoy your normal life without pain or restriction in movement. In fact, many top athletes have used stem cell treatment as an alternative to knee surgery for this reason.
No Need for Additional Treatment
In some cases, knee replacement patients may need to have additional surgery if they damage the implant during the first few weeks of recovery. Afterwards, the knee implant may have to be replaced as a result of normal wear and tear. Approximately 15% of knee replacement patients will have
