Joint Pain and Arthritis: Therapy Instead of Surgery

In the treatment of osteoarthritis, medicine increasingly relies on minimally invasive therapies. With success: pain is relieved and joints are preserved.

What is osteoarthritis and how does it develop?

Over the course of life, the cartilage layers of the joints wear down. The body cannot replace them itself. Due to wear and tear, the cartilage fibers out, over time the bones rub against each other. This causes chronic pain. The most common causes of osteoarthritis are aging and (sports) injuries.

How can osteoarthritis be treated?

Often a hyaluronic acid therapy helps. I use a preparation that usually only needs to be injected once a year and does not contain cortisone. This form of therapy has improved significantly in recent times. I have also been using SVF stem cell therapy successfully for several years. The treatment can relieve pain and the joints can be better loaded again.

SVF stem cell therapy, what is it?

SVF is a therapy that is mainly performed minimally invasively. The body's own fat or bone cells are removed and processed through a special procedure. They are then infiltrated into the corresponding joint and activate the body's own healing process there.

In the treatment of osteoarthritis, ACP therapy is also being used more and more frequently. You are one of the few ACP experts in Austria. What is ACP?

ACP therapy is used primarily for early-stage osteoarthritis and sports injuries and has a natural and biological approach to therapy. Activated growth factors, obtained from the patient's own blood, are introduced into various regions of the musculoskeletal system. The regeneration process is supported and can be accelerated. The application is becoming increasingly important in orthopedics and sports traumatology.

Which therapy is best suited for which patients?

Whether hyaluronic acid, stem cell, or ACP therapy is best suited, I advise the patients after an examination. A joint-preserving therapy is definitely advisable, even if surgery may still be necessary later, as the joint and muscles are better prepared and the healing process is shortened. I only recommend the use of an artificial joint if no other therapy can help.

Dr. Anton Wukovits treats you at TRINICUM

Dr. Anton Wukovits, specialist in trauma surgery, general medicine, sports medicine, and pain therapy, specializes in the treatment of pain and joint diseases, including osteoarthritis. In addition to pain therapy counseling and treatment, he mainly offers minimally invasive treatments at Trinicum.