Is this the year we finally take a new approach to treating joint & back pain?

TREATING JOINT AND BACK PAIN

As technologies continue to change and evolve, the treatment of joint replacement and osteoarthritis has remained stagnant. Osteoarthritis, a joint degradation that leads to cartilage death and thickening of the joint lining, is the third leading cause of disabling pain as we get older.

Arthritis is a disease that progresses with age. It is not stationary to one area. Instead, a complete cellular process takes place that affects our entire system, not just the painful joint.

Traditional treatments for joint pain have included injections such as steroids and hyaluronic acid that are injected into the site of pain. However, these tend to provide short-term relief. An article in 2019 found that steroids worsened disease progression. As for hyaluronic acid, 28% of patients had surgery within 7 months of receiving the injection.  

Surgery has been another method, as knee replacement surgery is one of the leading procedures done in the United States. A British medical journal analyzed all of the available orthopedic medical surgeries, including knee replacement, and found only one to be viable and useful, which was carpal tunnel release. A similar type of surgery, known as arthroscopic surgery, goes in and “cleans up” the area around the joint. However, it has been banned in other countries outside the US after being found to worsen conditions instead of healing. Though there is a time and place for surgery, it should be analyzed on a personal basis that takes into account the drawbacks and data – and not the initial “go-to” solution.

While traditional methods focus on a target area of the body, next generation regenerative medicine focuses on healing the cellular processes that lead to pain throughout the body. Within our bodies, inflammaging, mitochondrial dysfunction, and damaged senescent cells can all lead to pain. When in balance, all of these processes play a critical role in healing and supporting our immune system. For example, mitochondria produce ATP to aid in the healing process and autophagy helps to reduce the impact of damaged, senescent cells (think of taking out the trash). However, when our immune system is not in balance, mitochondria may accumulate too many reactive oxygen species, which lead to too many damaged proteins for autophagy to get rid of, leading to pain. Next generation treatments to help these processes include pharmaceuticals, hormone support, and peptide therapies.

Pharmaceuticals and hormonal support have a wide range of uses and types. One type of pharmaceutical includes repurposed drugs. This includes medications that are FDA approved for certain purposes but can aid in the healing of other conditions as well. For example, a compelling option includes PPS, or Pentosan Polysulfate, which is currently being used in other countries as a common treatment for osteoarthritis to reduce inflammatory cytokines and improve cartilage functions.

Peptide therapies also serve as an option to target cellular processes. Peptides are good for repair because they have specific coding for specific actions, including promoting longevity. One example of a peptide includes BPC-157, which is found in our gut, that promotes healing. AOD-9604, another type of peptide, paired with supplements such as hyaluronic acid (HA), can help complete cartilage regeneration.

Overall, arthritis is a disease that is not stationary to one part of the body, nor is it an inevitable result of “wear-and-tear” as we age. Instead, there is a complete cellular process taking place affecting our entire body, not just the joint. It is for this reason that next generation regeneration therapy such as pharmaceuticals and peptides should be considered as treatments to rebalance these cellular processes and reduce joint and osteoarthritis pain.