Yeah I've heard that PRP and stem cell treatment/injections are not covered by insurance, and they are not cheap. Not sure why. The ins. cos. may be thinking that it's better to just get the knee replaced.

@heyjoe415 @sueinmn @melaniemae @laughlin1947 I just wanted to chime in that one of my top drawer arthritis surgeons at Ucsd. Dr. Abrams warned me about torn ligaments, tendons, that they are not repairable like muscles and that we must take extreme precaution not to tear them when we are older — to stop stressing them when we do tear them so they can heal which takes very a long time. Of course that contradicts the exercise that you want to give the surrounding joints, doesn’t it in that case a consultation with maybe a kinesiology doctor might be best. As far as the PRP and the stem cell injections what I was told about that during my cervical spine surgery by the UCSD team of surgeons was that most of the private doctors selling that stuff is money thrown out the window, which is why insurance doesn’t cover it. And that what those private doctors are offering doesn’t have enough of the right stuff to do any good. I remember I was really jealous that an acquaintance. really jealous that an acquaintance husband was going for PRP and stem cell replacement and I was not; my orthopedic department wasn’t recommending it and I couldn’t understand so they explained that it’s just people willing to take your money and not giving you the quality that needs to be offered. The quality that needs to be off offered is probably too expensive for anyone to be able to buy. So I guess it’s in the research stage still and hasn’t been produced in a way that they can make it affordable to the public.
Knowing that I have connective tissue issues as a problem in my degenerative arthritis condition means that I slow down a lot more when I do any kind of resistance exercise. I make sure my knees and wrists are well supported, and if they start to hurt, like on my stationary exercise bike, I take extra measures to redistribute my weight away from my knees and to the balls of my feet instead; when I open a lot of mail or do weeding, I take care to not overly extend my wrists and keep them in line with my arm, elbow and shoulders, so I can redistribute the weight away from the connective tissue in my wrists. here is something really interesting: scar tissue can be helpful! My left knee is immune to stress created by exercising. It is my only joint that seems to be unscathed from pains. When I was a kid, I felt so many times and my left knee took the brunt of my falls and developed so much scar tissue when I was young that it protects me from problems as I age! As far as the original poster’s problem my suggestion would be to confer with the orthopedic department at a teaching hospital, where their decisions are not based on private motivations or the latest trends, but rather teaching doctors the most advanced medicine. As well, they have different departments and teams to refer you to so you can get a complete picture of what is going on with your particular body. I find that other specialty private doctors are limited to the equipment they bought and what they think Medicare will pay for. It’s hard to get really good medical care these days because of all the politics and money interests involved. You definitely have to take your time have a lot of patience and have to become your very own doctor!

I believe that some of the protocols out there are superior to others. You have to be a savvy consumer when shopping. Keep in mind they should be using your blood. If you are not in great health consider that as an opportunity to be better.