Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC) vs Corticosteroid Injection

Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate vs Corticosteroid Injection for Symptomatic Osteoarthritis (OA) of the Knee: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Prospective single-masked (study participant will be masked), randomized controlled trial to examine the influence of BMAC on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with primary knee osteoarthritis.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of BMAC on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with primary knee osteoarthritis and compare that to patients receiving corticosteroid injections with six-month follow-up.

All patients who sign the consent form will be enrolled in the study and randomized to one of the two treatment arms. This study will aim to recruit and enroll a total of 100 patients (50 per group). Treatment arms include BMAC injections (ARM1) and corticosteroid injections (ARM 2). Patients in the corticosteroid injection group (ARM 2) will receive a sham incision. Follow-up will be up to six months (12-months if crossover (ARM 3)).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients between the ages of 18-70
• Long standing knee pain from osteoarthritis (KL grade 2-3) despite conventional treatments such as activity modification, weight loss, physical therapy, analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or injection therapy for at least 6 weeks
• 7-day average pain score of at least 4 on VAS scale

Exclusion Criteria:

• Systemic diseases (Diabetes, malignancies, infections, etc.)
• Post-traumatic arthritis
• Patient had intra-articular injection on affected knee in last three months