Gold Standard
Regenerative
Treatments that target joint damage at its source: reducing inflammation, slowing cartilage loss, and helping you move better.
Joint degeneration is a category of conditions where the tissue inside and around a joint slowly breaks down. It includes osteoarthritis (OA), degenerative disc disease, and tendinopathy. In osteoarthritis, the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones wears away. This triggers inflammation, bone spurs, and narrowing of the joint space. The process feeds itself: as cartilage thins, more stress is placed on the bone beneath it, which speeds up the damage and worsens pain and stiffness.
At the cellular level, the joint loses its balance between breakdown and repair. Inflammatory molecules build up and damage cartilage cells, breaking down the proteins that give cartilage its structure. At the same time, cartilage has very little blood supply, which limits the body's ability to deliver healing cells and growth factors to the damaged area. The result is a joint environment that promotes more damage instead of recovery.
Standard treatments like anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid injections, and joint replacement focus mainly on pain relief. They work in the short term but do not stop cartilage loss or fix the underlying cellular damage. Regenerative medicine works differently. It is being studied for its potential to influence the underlying processes of joint degeneration, though effects vary and are not guaranteed.
Our treatment plans are customized to your specific joint, how severe the damage is, and your individual biology.
Knee OA is one of the most common forms of joint degeneration. It causes cartilage loss, chronic inflammation, and declining function. Regenerative treatments are being studied for their potential to influence joint inflammation and cartilage health. Effects vary between individuals, are not guaranteed, and these therapies are not FDA-approved.
Hip degeneration causes reduced range of motion, hip or groin pain, and a change in how you walk. Image-guided injections of stem cell or exosome-rich preparations target the inflammation inside the hip joint. This may help delay the need for surgery in the right patients.
Rotator cuff problems, including partial tears and tendon degeneration, involve both tissue damage and changes in how the joint moves. Without the right biological support, these conditions tend to get worse. Ultrasound-guided injections deliver growth factors to the damaged area, supporting repair and reducing the inflammation that slows natural healing.
Degenerative disc disease happens when the discs between your vertebrae dry out and lose their structure. Tendinopathy occurs when tendons like the Achilles or patellar fail to heal properly. Both conditions affect areas with poor blood supply. Regenerative treatments are being studied for their potential to support repair and reduce inflammation in these tissues; results vary and are not guaranteed.
A structured, evidence-based plan from your first visit through long-term follow-up.
We start with a thorough review of your joint history, how your symptoms have progressed, and your past treatments. We also review your current imaging, like X-ray or MRI, to assess the damage and identify the best treatment target. This step confirms whether regenerative therapy is the right fit for you.
Based on your specific condition, the treating provider selects the best regenerative preparation. Placenta-derived stem cell preparations are used for cases needing a stronger cellular response, or exosome-rich preparations when a cell-free approach is preferred. All preparations come from vetted suppliers and are verified for quality before use.
The preparation is injected into the target tissue using ultrasound or imaging guidance. This precision ensures the treatment reaches the right area and makes the most contact with the damaged tissue.
After the procedure, we guide you through a structured recovery plan. This may include activity adjustments and physical therapy. We schedule follow-up appointments to track your progress over a 6 to 12 month period and determine if additional treatment is needed.
Not sure whether this applies to your case? Candidacy is determined by medical review of your history and imaging, not by a form. The consultation is complimentary.
See If You QualifyRegenerative results build over months, not days. Knowing the timeline helps you set realistic expectations.
The treated joint may feel mildly sore or swollen as the preparation starts working. This is a normal response. Most patients can stay lightly active but should avoid high-impact activity during this time.
Over this period, some patients report gradual changes in comfort and range of motion, though individual responses vary and no outcome is guaranteed. The pace depends on the severity of the damage and your individual biology.
This is typically when patients see the most improvement. Tissue remodeling is maturing and functional gains become more consistent. Follow-up imaging and assessments help track your progress during this period.
For the right patients, improvements from month six often last beyond one year. Ongoing monitoring helps us catch any additional needs early and maintain your gains through rehabilitation and lifestyle support.
Regenerative treatment for joint degeneration is investigational. It is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this use, and it is still being studied in clinical trials rather than settled in clinical practice. Most of the published research concerns osteoarthritis of the knee, so evidence for other joints is thinner still.
A 2022 systematic review in Stem Cells International pooled 28 randomised controlled trials covering 1,494 patients who received mesenchymal stem cell injections for osteoarthritis. It found no statistically significant difference in adverse events between the treatment and control groups, and reported no serious adverse events.
The same authors described the overall body of evidence as generally low quality and said their findings should be generalised with caution. The trials differ in cell source, dose and protocol, which makes them difficult to compare, and follow-up beyond twelve months is limited. Published effect sizes for pain and function also vary considerably between reviews, and how much of the improvement is attributable to the cells themselves remains an open question in the literature.
What that means in practice: the safety signal so far is reassuring, but effectiveness is not established, and no honest account of this research can promise that a degenerating joint will improve. Whether it is appropriate for you is a decision for a physician who has reviewed your history and imaging.
Sources: The Effectiveness and Safety of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of 28 Randomized Controlled Trials, Stem Cells International, 2022. Contextual effects of mesenchymal stem cell injections for knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, Frontiers in Medicine, 2025.
Joint degeneration is the gradual breakdown of cartilage and surrounding tissue in a joint, most often in the knees, hips, shoulders and spine. As cartilage thins, bones move with less cushioning between them, which can cause pain, stiffness and reduced range of motion. Osteoarthritis is the most common form.
Cartilage has a very limited blood supply, which is why it repairs poorly on its own. Whether any regenerative approach meaningfully restores cartilage in humans is still being studied and is not established. Published trials in this area report on symptoms such as pain and function rather than demonstrating cartilage regrowth.
It is not a replacement for surgery, and it is not appropriate for every case. Advanced joint collapse or bone-on-bone changes generally call for surgical assessment. Some patients explore regenerative options earlier in the course of degeneration, but that decision belongs to a physician who has reviewed your imaging and history.
Knees, shoulders, hips and ankles are the joints most often discussed. Suitability depends far more on the degree of degeneration and your overall health than on which joint is involved.
Through medical review. A physician examines your history, imaging such as X-rays or MRI, previous treatments and your goals. Not everyone qualifies, and a form or questionnaire cannot make that determination.
Connect with our coordination team to explore whether regenerative therapy may be available for your joint condition and goals through an independent provider.
CHECK IF YOU QUALIFY →Medically reviewed by Dr. Karla Chavira, MD, Regenerative Medicine Physician and CEO of CMCells (Cédula Profesional on file).
Last reviewed: July 2026