Biologics

There are broad categories of injections such as potent anti-inflammatories (steroids), gel injections (hyaluronic acid), and biological (growth factors and/or stem cells from your own body). Most of these injections are comprised of natural constituents of your body. Steroid injections utilize cortisol, a hormone in the body that reduces inflammation for pain relief (among several other functions). A lubricant injection involves hyaluronic acid. This is one of the main molecules that forms cartilage (the coating of the bone within the joint). Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is an injection derived from your own blood that has been centrifuged (blood is spin down in a special machine) to obtain platelets with proteins that can aid in healing. Finally, stem cell procedures include a procedure known as bone marrow concentrate (BMC or BMAC): a sample of your own marrow undergoes the same process as PRP to obtain not only important proteins for healing (also known as growth factors) but also a small amount of stem cells, which were originally intended to regenerate cartilage, although it has not been proven to do this, as least in vivo.