Knee Stem Cells and Basketball

Basketball imparts many stressors to the knee. These include a variety of ways to sustain traumatic injury. The knee in basketball is vulnerable to meniscal tears and the troubling anterior cruciate ligament tear (ACL). The patellar tendon, quadriceps tendon, patellofemoral joint, medial and lateral collateral all are subject to injury.

Surgery is often performed for these injuries. Sometimes surgery fails to improve knee pain symptoms. In these circumstances, or in cases where patients wish to avoid knee surgery, stem cell treatments may be an option.

Athletes in sports such as basketball require their knee to function optimally. Many professional athletes and basketball players, have commented upon having undergone Regenerative Medicine therapies for their knees. These athletes have commented upon Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and Stem Cell Therapy. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is a technique in which the patients own blood is concentrated by centrifugation leaving a highly concentrated form of platelets. The platelets in PRP are a rich source of growth factors, which may help in repair. At times PRP is unable to fully accomplish repair, as the PRP has no stem cells in it. Stem cells are capable of more directly controlling inflammatory responses and preventing cartilage breakdown. Additionally, stem cells can exert a reparative effect by forming new cartilage cells, and promoting cartilage matrix synthesis. These events leads to buildup rather than breakdown. Said another way, regeneration versus degeneration. A much more appealing consequence in athletes.