Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment: What the Latest Guidelines Say

Experts Agree: Current Guidelines Lag Behind New Treatments

This comprehensive review examines how major medical organizations approach knee osteoarthritis treatment. The authors found significant disagreement among professional societies about which treatments work best. Importantly, newer biological therapies like mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) injections—the type of regenerative cells found in Lipogems®—show promising results but haven't been fully included in most guidelines yet.

250 Million People Worldwide Live with Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis affects roughly 250 million people globally. The knee is the most commonly affected joint. About 10% of men and 13% of women over age 60 experience knee osteoarthritis. These numbers continue to rise each decade. The condition causes ongoing pain and limits how well your knee moves and functions.

Standard Medications Offer Limited Relief

Current treatments focus mainly on managing symptoms rather than healing damaged tissue. Common options include:

• Pain relievers like acetaminophen (with mixed recommendations)

• Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for short-term use

• Opioid medications (generally recommended against or only as a last resort)

• Steroid injections for temporary pain relief

The review notes that guidelines often contradict each other on these treatments. What one organization recommends, another may advise against.

Cell-Based Therapies Show Promise for Better Outcomes

The authors highlight that biological options, including platelet-rich plasma and mesenchymal stem cell injections, "have shown good results in the treatment of osteoarthritis symptoms, greatly increasing the patient's quality of life." These treatments work especially well when combined with other therapies.

MSCs are the same type of regenerative cells preserved in the Lipogems® process. Unlike medications that only mask symptoms, these cells support your body's natural healing response.

Guidelines Haven't Caught Up with Emerging Science

A key finding from this review is that current guidelines don't adequately address newer regenerative treatments. The authors state that the "non-inclusion of the latter therapies in the guidelines" points to a need for larger, well-designed studies. They call for updated guidelines that reflect the growing body of evidence for these approaches.

Some organizations recommend against PRP and MSC treatments—not because they don't work, but because of "non-standardized formulations" and the need for more consistent research methods. As preparation techniques become more standardized, like the patented Lipogems® process, evidence quality continues to improve.

What This Means for Your Treatment Decisions

If you have knee osteoarthritis, this review confirms several important points:

• Joint replacement remains the only proven solution for end-stage arthritis. However, many patients aren't ready for surgery or want to delay it.

• Current medications mainly address symptoms. No approved drug stops osteoarthritis from progressing.

• Regenerative options deserve consideration. MSC-based treatments show real benefits for quality of life, even though guidelines are slow to incorporate them.

• Personalized treatment matters. The review discusses how genetic differences affect how patients respond to various medications.

The gap between emerging science and official guidelines creates an opportunity. Treatments using your own adipose tissue (body fat) containing MSCs may offer benefits that traditional approaches cannot. Since Lipogems® uses your own cells—called an "autologous" approach—there's no risk of rejection or disease transmission from donors.

Talk with your doctor about whether regenerative medicine might help you manage knee osteoarthritis symptoms and potentially improve your quality of life before considering surgery.

Source: Primorac et al., Pharmaceuticals, 2021.