Is It Possible to Reverse Early-Stage Osteoarthritis?

Imagine someone offered to give you $53 million. That’s a lot of money, right? It’s hard to visualize how much it actually is.

Here in the United States, 53 million adults (that’s 21% of adults) suffer from some form of arthritis. That’s a lot of people.

Arthritis is obviously a huge problem, which is why at Carolina Joint and Arthritis, one of our favorite things to do is to help patients manage and even beat their disease.  We often get asked if it’s possible to reverse osteoarthritis, and the answer is yes, if you follow our treatment plan, you can indeed reverse the disease. Here’s how it works.

What is osteoarthritis?

Arthritis is a collective term for more than 100 different inflammatory diseases that affect your joints, causing stiffness and pain. One of the most common types is osteoarthritis, which occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones wears down, leaving no shock absorber to keep bones from rubbing together.

Osteoarthritis can occur because of wear and tear over time or a sudden injury that damages your cartilage. Symptoms can include pain, stiffness in the joint, swelling, the feeling of bone grating on bone, loss of flexibility, and more.

How can we reverse it?

Osteoarthritis is usually treated with pain medications, lifestyle changes (for example, losing weight can help reduce your symptoms because you’ll have less pressure on your joints), and physical therapy or exercise.

Here at Carolina Joint and Arthritis, Dr. Austin Yeargan has developed innovativeorthobiologics treatments that have the potential to actually reverse early-stage osteoarthritis.  Orthobiologics, also called regenerative medicine, supercharges the body’s natural healing power to  treat your arthritis. We have two procedures that can be helpful to you.

With PRP (platelet-rich plasma), we draw your own blood and centrifuge it to separate the platelets, which are then injected into your joint to release growth factors that stimulate tissue repair.

With Autologous Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (ABMAC), or the Nanoplasty procedure, we transplant your own concentrated nucleated bone marrow cells into the bone under your cartilage to activate healing activities, regenerate new cells and tissue, and restore elasticity to the bone. 

After these procedures, we usually also prescribe custom physical therapy protocols that we have designed specifically for these situations. You’ll likely undergo 4-8 weeks of physical therapy to see the best results.

We cannot completely cure arthritis, but these procedures can go a long way toward relieving your pain and reversing your symptoms. If you’re ready to explore our unique treatments, call our Wilmington, North Carolina, office at 910-659-9597, or use our online scheduler to book the most convenient time for you.