Ortho-Biological Treatment For Meniscus Injuries
When it comes to knee health, the meniscus plays a crucial role. This crescent-shaped cartilage acts as a very important shock absorber between your thighbone (femur) and shinbone (tibia), ensuring smooth and stable movement, alongside protecting your bone cartilage for excessive load. However, meniscus injuries are a common problem, affecting individuals of all ages. At Dynamic Regenerative Medicine in Birmingham, we’ve been treating meniscus injuries for over 15 years, helping patients from across the UK preserve their cartilage, slow degenerative changes, and control pain. In this blog, we’ll explore the causes of meniscus injuries, their impact on knee osteoarthritis, and how regenerative treatments like Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) can aid in repair and healing.
Causes of Meniscus Injury
Meniscus injuries generally fall into two categories: acute meniscus injury or degenerative tears.
Acute Meniscus Injury
Acute meniscus injuries are often the result of sudden, forceful movements or direct trauma. These injuries are common among athletes and can occur during activities that involve twisting, pivoting, or sudden stops. A direct blow to the knee can also cause an acute meniscus tear. Symptoms include pain, swelling, and difficulty moving the knee. Meniscus tears can fall in to different gradings, based on severity. Initial gradings can be managed conservatively and severe tears often warrant surgery.
Degenerative Meniscus Injury
Degenerative meniscus injuries are more common in older adults and result from gradual wear and tear over time, often as a result of excessive loading. As we age, the meniscus weakens and becomes more susceptible to tears from even minor movements. This type of injury is can also be associated with osteoarthritis, a condition where the cartilage in the knee joint wears down, causing pain and stiffness.
Meniscus Injuries and Knee Osteoarthritis
A meniscus injury, particularly a degenerative one, is often associated with significant acceleration and progression of knee osteoarthritis. The meniscus acts as a cushion and stabiliser for the knee joint. When it is damaged, the load, increased friction and instability can speed up the breakdown of cartilage, leading to osteoarthritis. This is a progressive process causes chronic pain, inflammation, and decreased mobility.
Regenerative Treatment For Menuscus Injuries
Regenerative therapies for knee, pain and meniscus injuries often consist of platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection therapy, stem cell therapy or prolotherapy.
At Dynamic Regenerative Medicine, our focus is on innovative treatments that promote healing and slow the progression of degenerative changes. One such popular treatment is PRP therapy.
How PRP Aids in Repair and Healing
PRP injection therapy is an extremely popular treatment for knee pain, meniscus injury and osteoarthritis that we have been using for a decade, with very good success rates. In fact, this is the most popular treatment we provide at our knee pain clinic in Birmingham.
PRP is a very simple and safe, natural biological treatment that involves extracting a small amount of the patient’s blood, processing it to concentrate the platelets, and then use this very high concentration of platelets to release growth factors in to an area of problem, pain, or injury. Platelets are very specialised healing cells that contain many bioactive growth factors that naturally reduce inflammation, stimulate tissue healing, repair and aid in regeneration. Furthermore, this treatment is extremely safe and slows the progression of degenerative changes.
Regards to meniscus injuries, PRP is used to:
- Promote the healing of damaged cartilage.
- Reduce pain and inflammation.
- Slow the degeneration of cartilage.
- Enhance the body’s natural healing
processes.
Reducing Pain and Inflammation with PRP Therapy
One of the most significant benefits of PRP therapy is its ability to reduce pain and inflammation, it does. This via suppressing inflammatory cytokines. The growth factors in PRP help modulate the inflammatory response, decreasing swelling and discomfort. This can provide significant relief for patients with meniscus injuries, allowing them to resume daily activities with less pain. The meniscus can be notoriously difficult to treat because it does not have a blood supply naturally. This greatly hinders its response to repair and heal. It relies solely on joint fluid for repair and healing. To concentrate specialised cells from the blood and locate them specifically to areas of damage and degeneration has been shown to be greatly effective in reducing pain and stimulating repair and recovery.
Importance of Dynamic Stability and Control
Achieving dynamic stability and control is essential for preventing further injury and maintaining knee health. Dynamic stability refers to the knee’s ability to remain stable during movement. This involves the coordination of muscles, ligaments, and tendons. At Dynamic Regenerative Medicine, we emphasise the importance of strengthening the muscles around the knee and improving proprioception (the sense of joint position) to enhance stability. This approach not only aids in recovery but also helps prevent future injuries. Further information can be found here at the importance of dynamic stability and control for knee injuries.
Our Commitment to Cartilage Preservation and Pain Control
With over 15 years of experience, Dynamic Regenerative Medicine has been at the forefront of treating meniscus injuries and related conditions, non-surgically. We are dedicated to cartilage preservation, slowing the progression of degenerative changes, and controlling pain. Our patients come from all over the UK, seeking our expertise in regenerative treatments like PRP therapy. This is a very popular treatment because of its simplicity, safety and effectiveness alongside being affordable with being minimally invasive.
PRP treatment is very frequently used alongside or in combination with Hyaluronic acid treatment. This is used for joint lubrication which nourishes the cartilage and slows the progression of degenerative changes.
In summary, meniscus injuries can significantly impact knee health, leading to accelerated osteoarthritis if not properly managed. Regenerative treatments such as PRP therapy, alongside conservative management such as physical therapy, rehabilitation and manual therapy, offer a promising solution by promoting healing, reducing pain, and enhancing dynamic stability. At Dynamic Regenerative Medicine, we are committed to helping our patients achieve optimal knee health and improve their quality of life. If you’re dealing with a meniscus injury, contact us today to learn more about our innovative treatment options.
Get in touch to find out more or schedule a free consultation.
Dynamic Regenerative Medicine
Birmingham & Warwickshire
01564 330773
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