Joint Preservation

What is joint preservation?

Joint preservation includes various therapies to preserve a deteriorating or damaged joint, usually targeting the knees, hips, and shoulders.

Your personalized joint preservation plan is designed to protect healthy tissues, heal damaged tissues, and slow progressive joint degeneration. The goal is to avoid or delay joint replacement by restoring optimal joint health.

Most patients can return to their usual activities without limitations after undergoing joint preservation.

Am I a good candidate for joint preservation?

You may qualify for joint preservation if you have joint pain but don’t have severe arthritis. Nearly everyone with joint damage can qualify for joint preservation as long as they get medical care before arthritis or joint damage reaches an advanced stage.

Many young and middle-aged adults have slowly degenerating joints, causing occasional or mild pain. Because their symptoms are mild, they often don’t seek medical care. By the time pain sends them to an orthopedic specialist, it may be too late for preservation therapies.

Seeking early treatment for knee, hip, or shoulder pain is the best way to ensure you can consider joint preservation.

What should I expect during joint preservation?

Dr. Ihn identifies the problem and uses advanced imaging to determine the severity of the joint damage. Then, he discusses your options and develops a tailored plan for joint preservation.

If your joint isn’t ready for preservation, he closely monitors the joint with regular appointments. This allows Dr. Ihn to detect changes inside the joint and choose the best time to begin.

Joint preservation includes non-surgical and surgical treatments. Dr. Ihn recommends one or more to correct your joint problems, restore joint movement, and maintain cartilage and bone health.

Your joint preservation may include any of the following:

• Physical therapy
• Hyaluronic acid injections
• Corticosteroid injections
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
• Bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) injections
• Cartilage repair or transplant
• Meniscus transplant
• Joint resurfacing
• Marrow-stimulating techniques (to promote bone growth)
• Arthroscopy (to remove damaged tissue and repair injuries)
• Osteotomy (to cut, reshape, and reposition bones)
• Osteochondral transplant (replaces damaged articular cartilage and underlying bone with healthy tissues)
• Chondrocyte implantation (harvest cartilage cells from another body area and implant them in the joint)

To learn if you’re a good candidate for joint preservation, call Hansel E. Ihn, MD, or schedule an appointment online today.