Abstract
BACKGROUND: Preliminary research suggests that bone marrow concentrate (BMC), which contains mesenchymal stem cells and platelets, is a promising treatment for knee osteoarthritis. The aim of this study was to build on this preliminary research by reporting the short-term progress of 15 patients (20 knees) with knee osteoarthritis through 4 BMC treatments. METHODS: Patients underwent four sequential BMC treatments with mean injection times of 13.80 days after the first treatment, 21.40 days after the second treatment, and 33.50 days after the third treatment. The last follow-up was conducted a mean 86 days after the first treatment. Baseline and posttreatment outcomes of resting pain, active pain, lower functionality scale, and overall improvement percentage were compared after each treatment. RESULTS: Patients experienced statistically significant improvements in active pain and functionality score after the first treatment. Additionally, patients experienced a mean decrease in resting pain after the first treatment, yet outcomes were not statistically significant until after the second treatment. On average, patients experienced an 84.31% decrease in resting pain, a 61.95% decrease in active pain, and a 55.68% increase in functionality score at the final follow-up. Patients also reported a mean 67% total overall improvement at study conclusion. Outcomes at the final follow-up after the fourth treatment were statistically significant compared to outcomes at baseline, after first treatment, after second treatment, and after third treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These results are promising, and additional research with a larger sample size and longer follow-up is needed to further examine the treatment effectiveness of multiple BMC injections for knee osteoarthritis.