Joint Preservation
Not every painful joint needs replacing. In the early stages of arthritis, and in younger and more active patients, protecting the cartilage that remains can delay a replacement by years, or avoid it altogether.
Joint preservation treats the hip and knee as joints worth keeping. Dr. Nighot offers it alongside replacement surgery, so every option is on the table when you consult him.
Who it helps
Early to moderate arthritis of the knee or hip. Cartilage injuries in active patients. Pain that has not settled with rest and physiotherapy, but does not yet call for a replacement.
What it involves
Orthobiologic injections prepared from your own blood, which concentrate the body's healing signals in the joint. Targeted physiotherapy to correct how the joint is loaded. A plan for weight and activity that protects the cartilage you have. Where a procedure is needed, the aim is the least that will work.
Recovery
Most treatments are done in the clinic or as day procedures, and you walk out the same day. Relief from injections builds over weeks, and each treatment is reviewed so that the plan changes if your joint does.
Common questions
Do orthobiologic injections work?
For the right patient in early arthritis, they can reduce pain and improve function for months at a time. They do not regrow cartilage, and they cannot reverse advanced arthritis. If a replacement would serve you better, Dr. Nighot will say so.
How do I know if my arthritis is still early?
Standing X-rays of the joint, and sometimes an MRI, show how much cartilage remains. How you feel matters as much. Pain that comes with activity and eases with rest is often early. Constant pain, night pain, and a joint that has changed shape point towards replacement.
When is replacement the better choice?
When the cartilage is gone and the pain governs your days. At that point preservation buys little, and a replacement gives a faster and more certain return to life. Dr. Nighot will explain where your joint sits on that spectrum.
Other procedures
Total Knee Replacement · Partial Knee Replacement · Total Hip Replacement