# Does stem cell therapy work when prepared marrow is used? *Prepared Marrow and Results | cellular therapy Mesa* > Does stem cell therapy work? This cellular therapy Mesa page explains marrow taken at the pelvis, spun, and placed near a sore joint. Does stem cell therapy work when marrow is drawn, spun, and placed near a sore joint? Some people report less aching afterward, but nobody can promise your result. The doctor keeps a smaller mixture after spinning the marrow. That mixture is the part used during joint care. The knee has been studied more than the hip or shoulder. Even knee results don't tell what relief your joint may get. Why you hurt also affects the likely result from care. An exam must identify that cause before you compare procedures. ## Why can two people feel different results? One person may have mild wear and strong muscles around the joint. Another may have deeper wear, weak muscles, or a sore tendon. Their joints don't begin in the same condition. Daily activity and general health can also change recovery. The procedures may differ even when the names sound alike. PRP starts with blood, while marrow care starts with a pelvis draw. Those mixtures contain different blood parts and cells. Results from one kind can't prove that another kind works the same way. ## What can you do before choosing a procedure? Reduce the motion that starts the ache, while keeping gentle movement each day. This can limit sharp strain without letting stiffness take over. Build strength slowly as your doctor reviews medicine, bracing, or physical therapy. Stop an exercise if swelling grows quickly. Keep notes on how far you walk before the ache makes you stop. Write down whether stairs, sleep, or reaching have become harder. These notes won't predict a result, but they show your starting point. You can then judge whether daily life truly changed. ## What can an exam tell you about the likely benefit? An exam can't predict the amount of relief you may feel. It can find the likely cause and show how much wear is present. Ask whether the proposed care uses blood or marrow. Then ask how that exact procedure has helped similar joints. Ask about cost, recovery, and the contact for worsening soreness. Find out whether physical therapy or surgery will remain open later. Don't accept a broad treatment name without the exact steps. QC Kinetix calls them regenerative treatments when medical providers prepare your blood or marrow for use near the joint in hopes of easing soreness. ## Sources 1. In a 480-patient, four-arm, multicenter randomized phase 2/3 trial, none of three orthobiologic cell injections - autologous bone marrow aspirate concentrate, autologous adipose stromal vascular fraction, or allogeneic umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells - was superior to any other, or to a corticosteroid injection control, on pain at 12 months. Mautner K, et al. — [Cell-based versus corticosteroid injections for knee pain in osteoarthritis: a randomized phase 3 trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37919438/). *Nat Med*, 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02632-w. 2. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 8 randomized trials in 502 patients found intra-articular mesenchymal stem cells improved WOMAC scores versus control at 6 months (MD 7.44, 95% CI 1.45-13.42) and 12 months (MD 10.31, 95% CI 0.96-19.67), with wide confidence intervals and a small pooled sample. Cao M, et al. — [Efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cells in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40055739/). *Stem Cell Res Ther*, 2025. DOI: 10.1186/s13287-025-04252-2. 3. A phase III double-blind placebo-controlled trial in 261 patients with Kellgren-Lawrence grade 3 knee osteoarthritis tested a single injection of autologous culture-expanded adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells - a product that cannot legally be sold outside a clinical trial in the United States because culture expansion is more than minimal manipulation. Kim KI, et al. — [Clinical Efficacy and Safety of the Intra-articular Injection of Autologous Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Phase III, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37345256/). *Am J Sports Med*, 2023. DOI: 10.1177/03635465231179223. 4. A phase 3 placebo-controlled trial of 146 patients using allogeneic bone marrow-derived MSCs (25 million cells) plus hyaluronic acid reported significant WOMAC improvement versus placebo at 6 and 12 months, with a roughly 24 percent relative change - one of the more favourable trials, and it used a culture-expanded product administered with hyaluronic acid rather than a same-day clinic preparation. Gupta PK, et al. — [Efficacy and Safety of Stempeucel in Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Phase 3 Randomized, Double-Blind, Multicenter, Placebo-Controlled Study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37366164/). *Am J Sports Med*, 2023. DOI: 10.1177/03635465231180323. 5. A controlled randomized phase I/II trial in 26 patients found repeated dosing of culture-expanded umbilical cord-derived MSCs at baseline and 6 months produced lower WOMAC pain at 12 months (1.1 +/- 1.3) than hyaluronic acid (4.3 +/- 3.5), while a single MSC dose did not separate from hyaluronic acid. Matas J, et al. — [Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) for Knee Osteoarthritis: Repeated MSC Dosing Is Superior to a Single MSC Dose and to Hyaluronic Acid in a Controlled Randomized Phase I/II Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30592390/). *Stem Cells Transl Med*, 2019. DOI: 10.1002/sctm.18-0053. 6. A phase IIb double-blind randomized trial of just 24 knees reported WOMAC improvement at 6 months after a single autologous adipose-derived MSC injection while saline controls did not improve - a positive but very small trial, of the kind that dominates this literature. Lee WS, et al. — [Intra-Articular Injection of Autologous Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Phase IIb, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30835956/). *Stem Cells Transl Med*, 2019. DOI: 10.1002/sctm.18-0122. 7. A 2023 appraisal of 15 randomized and 11 non-randomized trials of culture-expanded MSCs for knee osteoarthritis found function improved relative to control in 11 of 15 RCTs and cartilage protection or repair reported in 18 of 21 imaging studies, but noted the total sample of 610 patients limits any definitive conclusion. Copp G, et al. — [Culture-expanded mesenchymal stromal cell therapy: does it work in knee osteoarthritis? A pathway to clinical success](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37095295/). *Cell Mol Immunol*, 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s41423-023-01020-1. 8. A systematic review of 13 phase I/II randomized trials of MSC injections found 10 of 11 studies reporting cartilage outcomes described a benefit on cartilage volume, morphology or quality - but 16 eligible trials remained unpublished, which is exactly the pattern that inflates an apparent effect. Gong J, et al. — [Effect of Stem Cell Injections on Osteoarthritis-related Structural Outcomes: A Systematic Review](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33004537/). *J Rheumatol*, 2021. DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.200021. 9. A meta-analysis of 14 placebo cohorts across 13 Level I trials in 1,076 knee osteoarthritis patients found that intra-articular saline - the placebo - produced pain and function improvements exceeding the minimal clinically important difference at 3 and 6 months. Saltzman BM, et al. — [The Therapeutic Effect of Intra-articular Normal Saline Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Meta-analysis of Evidence Level 1 Studies](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28027657/). *Am J Sports Med*, 2017. DOI: 10.1177/0363546516680607. 10. A 2025 meta-analysis of 73 double-blind placebo-controlled injection trials in 5,895 knee osteoarthritis patients found placebo responder rates above 50 percent at 1, 3 and 6 months, declining by 12 months - which is why any uncontrolled 'our patients improved' claim from a clinic is uninterpretable. Previtali D, et al. — [Placebo response to intra-articular injections in knee osteoarthritis: magnitude, evolution over time, and influencing factors. A systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41031623/). *EFORT Open Rev*, 2025. DOI: 10.1530/EOR-2025-0022. 11. FDA states in its consumer alert that the only FDA-approved stem cell products in the United States are blood-forming stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood, approved for disorders of the blood-forming system, and that NONE of these products - stem cells, stromal vascular fraction, umbilical cord blood, Wharton's jelly or amniotic fluid - has been approved for the treatment of any orthopedic condition, including osteoarthritis, tendonitis, disc disease, tennis elbow, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain or shoulder pain. US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research — [Consumer Alert on Regenerative Medicine Products Including Stem Cells and Exosomes](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/consumers-biologics/consumer-alert-regenerative-medicine-products-including-stem-cells-and-exosomes). *null*, 2020. ## Would an exam help you choose? An exam can check sore areas, movement, strength, and swelling. Bring medicine names, earlier X-rays, and notes about the tasks that hurt. Call (602) 837-PAIN to ask about an appointment with the QC Kinetix clinic team. Talk to the clinic team: --- Understand the soreness and each choice before you decide. cellular therapy Mesa means care using blood or marrow that is prepared for a sore joint, along with home care and nearby clinic details. Plain help for sore joints in Mesa. This site is operated by the owners of the QC Kinetix Phoenix-area clinics, who benefit when readers book with the clinic team; use the cited sources to evaluate the first-party recommendation. Copyright 2026 The Mesa Trial Ledger. General health education, not medical advice; urgent symptoms require prompt medical assessment.