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FOR DECADES , the standard treatment for knee pain due to arthritis has been surgical : arthroscopy , osteotomy , or even a knee replacement .

Now , however , it ’ s possible to treat arthritic pain with noninvasive stem cell treatments . Surgical techniques greatly increase risks of side effects . Using a patient ’ s own stem cells eliminates the risk that the patient ’ s immune system will reject the treatment .

Joe Fobear , one my patients , decided to give stem cell treatment a try . “ I was in pain for three years and wanted to do something about it ,” Joe says , “ but a friend told me to be careful what I had done . He ’ d had surgery on one knee and stem cell treatments on the other .

[“] The knee with the regular surgery worked in terms

of he no longer had pain , but he said he hardly had any feeling in that knee , whereas the stem cell knee felt like it was brand new .”

Although Joe was scheduled to have knee surgery , he changed his mind and came to Allure instead . “ The treatment didn ’ t take long , and it was heaven for me because there was no pain when the doctor injected the stem cells into my knee ,” he said .

He felt immediate relief , and the slight pain that remained was completely gone within two months . Joe says that “ after that , I went a whole year with no pain at all . And I ’ m 79 years old ! These days , I have no pain sitting down and no pain sleeping . Maybe after three hours of walking or working out , I get a little pain once in a while , or if I twist it , I get a little pain . I ’ m careful not to twist my knee . I ’ d say it ’ s about 80 % perfect .”

Stem cell treatments work by

supplying mesenchymal cells to the knee , enabling the body to rebuild knee joint cartilage , reduce inflammation , and encourage healing through improved circulation and cellular repair .

The mesenchymal stem cells ( MSCs ) used for the treatment are pluripotent , or “ multi-able ,” meaning they have the ability to become different types of established cells . In this case , the cells become cartilage in the knee which is essential for easy , pain-free movement .

“ We have never seen anything like this before . Instead of putting a Band- Aid on arthritis pain with drugs and shots , we ’ re actually able to regenerate the joint . So far , all of our patients have responded to stem cell treatments .” — Dr . Charles Mok