Cured Severe Cartilage Damage (Severe Arthritis) ?!!

[Mr.Qaili]

Helloooo  .

Im interested to know has anyone cured healed totaly knee arthritis disease ?
Everywhere i read or search in the net ,  most of people say that just they can treat or reduce pain with medications,injections . I havent heard till now anyone to say that has not pain still
Stem cells seen to be helpful and regenerative , has anyone true info or self experience ?

I want to hear story of anyone who has had severe articular cartilage damage (arthritis) and has healed totally and no pain anymore :-)


Does it exists true cure for arthritis ? Somebody they also say that can heal with bioenergy therapy ?!

All thoughs are welcome

[AndyB]

Hi, I am not sure about that and have not been on here in awhile.  I have bad arthiritis that has been severly worsened by injections I had in Germany and was told about cartilage transplants, have you looked into that?

[silverghost]

Hi

I have grade 4 OA medial compartment and you can see the ops I have had below..

I am no expert but don't believe you can cure OA surely you can only slow it down.. once you have arthritis everything afterwards becomes a measure to slow down its progress.

If im totally on the wrong lines with this then please correct me guys... I had injections previously to ease pain but none of this could have cured OA only reduced swelling or pain symptoms..

[Mr.Qaili]

Hi, I am not sure about that and have not been on here in awhile.  I have bad arthiritis that has been severly worsened by injections I had in Germany and was told about cartilage transplants, have you looked into that?

Thanks for your though post dear AndyB .
The only thing which makes me doubt about treatment healing of arthritis is that , exist many types of arthritis . So it has a big difference between osteoarthritis (wear of cartilage in old people) and arthritis caused from injure of knee (traumatic), from bowed legs , etc .
What kind of injjections have u used , and why they were not helpful ? Have u done cartilage transplant in Germany ?

I have also heard about chondrocyte implnatation which means cartilage transplant but i dont know how is that helpfull in severe cases i have read that help in traumatic injure and in small area .
Greetings

[Mr.Qaili]

Hi

I have grade 4 OA medial compartment and you can see the ops I have had below..

I am no expert but don't believe you can cure OA surely you can only slow it down.. once you have arthritis everything afterwards becomes a measure to slow down its progress.

If im totally on the wrong lines with this then please correct me guys... I had injections previously to ease pain but none of this could have cured OA only reduced swelling or pain symptoms..

Hello dear silverghost , thanks for ur post
Really i m in doubt about the treatment because lot of doctors say different words and therapy and this makes me doubt about everything . I also agree with u OA can be slowed not stoped (but when i read in internet some dr say that with stem cells they can regrow cartilage and stop further degradation)
OA (is wear of cartilage in older people) but i think that arthritis is little different

What kind of injections have u used till now and how much had helped u? Were injections painfull ?

Greetings

[silverghost]

Hi Dr

Stem cell research is still a fairly new procedure and therefore I doubt enough info can be collected yet to show if they can prevent OA using these techniques.. I believe OA develops in the joints affecting the circulation of blood and fluid which in turn affects bone growth and then degradation. In my case OA has caused bones to degrade and gradually erode the cartilage.  With no cartilage bone on bone has occurred and then bowing of the leg as no cushion was present. 

I originally had about 5 cortisone shots (1 every 4 months) into the joint, a reasonably big needle and yes they hurt.. the first 3 helped and eased the pain.  After the 5th doc advised couldnt have anymore as joint was full of cortisone.. guess no where for it to go!! and needed to look at surgery..

I gather shots are just for pain relief and to ease the joint rather than fix anything..

[Mr.Qaili]

Hi Dr

Stem cell research is still a fairly new procedure and therefore I doubt enough info can be collected yet to show if they can prevent OA using these techniques.. I believe OA develops in the joints affecting the circulation of blood and fluid which in turn affects bone growth and then degradation. In my case OA has caused bones to degrade and gradually erode the cartilage.  With no cartilage bone on bone has occurred and then bowing of the leg as no cushion was present. 

I originally had about 5 cortisone shots (1 every 4 months) into the joint, a reasonably big needle and yes they hurt.. the first 3 helped and eased the pain.  After the 5th doc advised couldnt have anymore as joint was full of cortisone.. guess no where for it to go!! and needed to look at surgery..

I gather shots are just for pain relief and to ease the joint rather than fix anything..

Thanks again for ur post
So below i read 12' HTO, meniscus transplant and microfracture , have u done all the operations during one year ? If yes, where you did meniscus transplant and has microfracture helped u ?
Can u explain about post op recovery !
About HTO i hope that is done to unload weight bearing from affected side .

Thanks again
Greetings
best wishes

[silverghost]

Hi

I had all the procedures done on the 6th June this year. The op lasted over 8 hours and the surgeon was close to calling it a day at one point and getting me back in to complete... but they managed to get them all done.

Obviously I'm still early days recovery wise 10 weeks so I can only say that doc said scans look good and acl revision is holding well.

The post op rehab guidelines are difficult I guess when you have had menisus transplant, HTO and microfracture. I have just finished 8 weeks non weight bearing and in the last 2 weeks have got my knee to about 110 degrees flexi and full extension.  Obviously at 38 years old the emphasis is on getting the knee to bend as much as possible as soon as possible but the 6-8 weeks was a big no no and the leg was locked for 2 weeks in a brace which I could remove at night after 2 weeks. I am now also down to taking only diclofenac and a few paracetomol so pain levels are manageable.

From reading lots of research and reviews on here I think I had the most surgery of anyone in one go.. Obviously surgeon said each one of the surgeries reduces the chances of the others working as they are all extensive but he is hopeful of this working..

It will be interesting to see how well things go as I have had to pack up my job (manual work) and am completely 100% committed to my knee improving.

The HTO was done as I was in considerable varus alignment and yes I think to off load the weight on that side and to be able to implant the new cartilage from the cadaver.

Any more info please feel free to ask.

regards

[Mrsmac]

Yes, the recent research is that OA can reverse itself if you take the pressure off the part of the joint that is wearing out,  which is why treatments like apos are so good. It changes the way you put weight through the knee and therefore hopefully allows the damaged part a chance to heal and repair itself eventually. I should think that individually tailored shoes inserts, targeteted physio etc would do the same thing.

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/arthritis-today-magazine/156-spring-2012/osteoarthritis.aspx

[silverghost]

Hi Mrs Mac

Interesting article to read from arthritis uk and it does kind of say about reversing effects of OA.  Whilst I agree you can maybe reduce OA at an early stage I think that once you are at Stage 3 or 4 and OA is present all you can do is sideline it within the joint.. I asked my OS about this initially and he advised that once you have OA you have OA you can only stem the flow and like you have said if you remove weight off and area it will not get worse than it is.

OA does seem to be a bit of a difficult task to address by everybody within the medical circuit that is why I think anyone with OA is not helped with benefits and support within the UK, in other words its not really a recognisable condition and articles like this one don't really help the cause and skirt around the issues.  The article does state that all of its recommendations do not provide a 'magic bullet'. I hope within the years to come they do find one of these cos more and more people are gonna develop it!


SG

[Natalie.D]

Oh how we all wish they would find a cure for OA!!  Just wanted to pick up on Silverghost's comment regarding help and support in the UK for people with OA, I find there is none, especially if you are under the age of 65 - I'm 44 and have severe OA (bone on bone, bone spurs etc) in both knees and it has now started in both my hips and one ankle    I have been to several doctors/surgeons/ specialists etc and they all say the same thing - "nothing else can be done as the joints are too far gone, only option now is TKR but I'm too young!"  So, short of doping myself silly with strong painkillers every day which I don't want to do, my only option is to get on with it - and cry!  Never thought I would be saying, can't wait until I'm old!!!

[Vickster]

Have you tried the specialist orthopaedic hospitals - Stanmore, Oswestry, Birmingham, possibly others?  Perhaps you might get relief from a hyaluronic acid injectionif not already tried?  Speaking to a pain specialist or a rheumatologist may also help.

All the best

[silverghost]

Hi Natalie

I got exactly the same response from the Birmingham hospitals and that is why i had to write around the country to get an OS who might look at me and help.  It seems to be only the University Hospitals that have the funding to do these surgeries from what I can see in the UK.

I agree that there seems to be a massive gap in this country between the age of about 25 and 60 in relation to medical help.  Under 25 they jump at you cos they know your cheap to repair and recovery is a lot quicker and better results can be obtained.. over 60 and they gotta do summat as people are generally on their last legs with conditions and will take anything better than they have had, i.e less complaints and comeback...

I think the UK definately needs to throw some cash and funding towards supporting the working age population as it is these taxpayers that keep all of the wheels turning and if people can't work then they don't get the funding! Is this what has happened?

Either way OA is going to be a ticking timebomb as more people become either more active and then inactive throughout their lives and until a cure is developed the govt aren't going to see helping the cause as worthwhile.

Rant over!

SG

[Natalie.D]

SG - You are exactly right, its the people who are working and paying who seem to suffer the most with lack of services available and if they would just pump some into it we would all benefit in the long run as the pressure on resources like doctors and physio appts not to mention the revenue lost through sick days etc would significantly decrease but thats too sensible an option for the gov't to consider!

Vickster - yeah unfortunately I've tried just about every injection/treatment available but nothing has really worked for me, I did get very slight relief for a very short time with hyaluronic acid injections but nothing significant.  I have recently moved to another area so am going to check out what specialist orthopaedic surgeons there are here and see if I can get to see one of them, maybe they will be able to suggest something to tide me over the next 20 years  until I am old enough for TKRs!!!