Common knee treatment claims have plain answers

Cortisone usually helps for a limited time

Cortisone can calm soreness for some people during the first several weeks. It doesn’t give every knee the same relief.

Cortisone shot side effects can include a brief rise in blood sugar. Before another dose, you’ll want to discuss past relief, timing and your health.

Gel doesn’t put new padding in the knee

Gel is meant to act like some fluid already inside your knee. It isn’t new padding, and it doesn’t replace worn cartilage.

Across many studies, average relief was small compared with a saline shot. That means plenty of people may not notice a worthwhile change.

Relief still matters when it isn’t complete or permanent. Your notes on sleep and walking can show whether the gel helped.

PRP means platelet-rich plasma made from your blood

Making PRP begins with a small blood sample. Staff spin the sample to gather platelets, and a clinician puts that concentrate into your knee.

Some studies found more comfort than gel after several months. Other studies found no better result than saline after a year.

One person’s good result can’t tell you what yours will be. You’ll want to know the full cost and when relief will be reviewed.

If soreness stays, the clinic can review your choices

At QC Kinetix, biologic therapies means non-surgical care prepared with blood taken from you. A medical provider will check your knee at the Chandler clinic before discussing a choice.

The visit may cover knee or hip surgery alternatives without promising an outcome. Your health, daily needs and past relief will guide that talk.

Sources

1. In a 2-year double-blind RCT of 140 patients with symptomatic knee OA and ultrasound synovitis, 40 mg intra-articular triamcinolone every 12 weeks produced significantly greater cartilage volume loss than saline (index compartment cartilage thickness change -0.21 mm vs -0.10 mm; between-group difference -0.11 mm, 95% CI -0.20 to -0.03) with no significant difference in knee pain.

   McAlindon TE, et al. — Effect of Intra-articular Triamcinolone vs Saline on Knee Cartilage Volume and Pain in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.. JAMA, 2017. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2017.5283.

2. A 2-year double-blind RCT of triamcinolone every 3 months versus saline found NO difference in joint space loss between groups and significantly improved pain and stiffness with repeated steroid injections, and the authors concluded that long-term intra-articular steroid injection is safe for the anatomical structure of the knee.

   Raynauld JP, et al. — Safety and efficacy of long-term intraarticular steroid injections in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.. Arthritis Rheum, 2003. DOI: 10.1002/art.10777.

3. A 2022 BMJ systematic review and meta-analysis of 169 trials (21,163 participants) found viscosupplementation produced only a small pain reduction versus placebo (SMD -0.08, 95% CI -0.15 to -0.02; about -2.0 mm on a 100 mm VAS), below the minimal clinically important difference, and trial sequential analysis indicated conclusive evidence of clinical equivalence with placebo since 2009.

   Pereira TV, et al. — Viscosupplementation for knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis.. BMJ, 2022. DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2022-069722.

4. The RESTORE randomized trial (288 participants, leukocyte-poor PRP, 3 weekly injections) found no significant difference from saline placebo at 12 months in knee pain (-2.1 vs -1.8 points; difference -0.4, 95% CI -0.9 to 0.2) or in medial tibial cartilage volume (-1.4% vs -1.2%), with 29 of 31 secondary outcomes also showing no between-group difference.

   Bennell KL, et al. — Effect of Intra-articular Platelet-Rich Plasma vs Placebo Injection on Pain and Medial Tibial Cartilage Volume in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: The RESTORE Randomized Clinical Trial.. JAMA, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.19415.

5. An analysis of 37 randomized PRP trials found no significant difference in qualitative conclusions or outcome scores between industry-affiliated and non-industry-affiliated studies; overall, 19 of 37 (51.4%) reported PRP as favourable and 18 (48.6%) found no difference from comparators.

   Ta CN, et al. — The Influence of Industry Affiliation on Randomized Controlled Trials of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Knee Osteoarthritis.. Am J Sports Med, 2023. DOI: 10.1177/03635465221140917.

6. A meta-analysis of 14 placebo cohorts (1,076 patients) found intra-articular NORMAL SALINE alone produced statistically and clinically meaningful improvement in VAS pain and WOMAC scores lasting up to 6 months - meaning a large share of the improvement people attribute to an injection is not attributable to the drug in the syringe.

   Saltzman BM, et al. — The Therapeutic Effect of Intra-articular Normal Saline Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Meta-analysis of Evidence Level 1 Studies.. Am J Sports Med, 2017. DOI: 10.1177/0363546516680607.

7. An analysis of 896 stem-cell clinic websites found 95.9% contained at least one statement of misinformation, averaging 4.65 such statements per site, ranging from errors in basic stem-cell science to outright false claims of clinical effectiveness; practices with an orthopaedic surgeon carried 22% fewer.

   Kingery MT, et al. — Online Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Stem Cell Therapy for Musculoskeletal Injury and Disease: Misinformation and Violation of Ethical and Legal Advertising Parameters.. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 2020. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.19.00714.

8. The 2025 Cochrane living review of stem cell injections for knee OA (25 trials, 1,341 participants) found stem cell injection MAY slightly improve pain and function up to six months versus placebo (pain 1.2 points better on a 0-10 scale; function 14.2 points better on 0-100), but rated the evidence LOW certainty for both, downgraded for indirectness and suspected publication bias, with up to three larger RCTs withdrawn before reporting results.

   Whittle SL, et al. — Stem cell injections for osteoarthritis of the knee.. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2025. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013342.pub2.

9. FDA's HCT/P guidance sets out the minimal-manipulation and homologous-use criteria that decide whether a human cell or tissue product is regulated solely under 21 CFR Part 1271 (section 361) or requires a biologics licence; cell-based orthopaedic injections that fall outside those criteria are unapproved drugs and biological products, and no cell-based product is FDA-approved to treat osteoarthritis.

   U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Regulatory Considerations for Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products: Minimal Manipulation and Homologous Use - Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2020.

10. Medicare Part B claims show hyaluronic acid injections rose from 1,090,503 services in 2012 to 1,209,489 in 2018 and total costs from $290.10 million to $325.02 million (2020 dollars) - utilisation and spending both increased despite the AAOS recommendation against routine use.

    Zhu KY, et al. — Hyaluronic Acid Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis: Has Utilization Among Medicare Beneficiaries Changed Between 2012 and 2018?. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 2022. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.21.00832.

11. In a placebo-surgery-controlled trial of 180 patients with knee OA, neither arthroscopic debridement nor arthroscopic lavage outperformed placebo surgery at ANY time point over 24 months on any of five self-reported pain/function scales or an objective walking and stair-climbing test.

    Moseley JB, O'Malley K, Petersen NJ, et al. — A controlled trial of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee.. New England Journal of Medicine, 2002. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa013259.

12. In a double-blind, sham-controlled trial of 146 patients aged 35-65 with a degenerative medial meniscus tear and NO knee osteoarthritis, arthroscopic partial meniscectomy produced no significant benefit over sham surgery on any primary outcome at 12 months (Lysholm 21.7 vs 23.3 points; WOMET 24.6 vs 27.1; pain after exercise 3.1 vs 3.3).

    Sihvonen R, Paavola M, Malmivaara A, et al. — Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus sham surgery for a degenerative meniscal tear.. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1305189.

13. In January 2025 the FTC and the Georgia Attorney General obtained federal court orders permanently BANNING the co-founders of the Stem Cell Institute of America and related companies from marketing stem cell therapy, plus $5,155,146 in civil penalties and consumer refunds. The court found on summary judgment that the defendants published false and misleading advertisements about the efficacy and approval of stem cell injections for conditions including osteoarthritis; the affiliated clinic had charged up to $5,000 per injection, almost exclusively to elderly and disabled consumers.

    Federal Trade Commission — Stem Cell Institute Co-Founders and Companies Banned from Marketing Stem Cell Treatments and Ordered to Pay More Than $5.1 Million for Refunds and Civil Penalties. FTC Press Release, 2025.