Osteoarthritis Is Not Only a Knee Condition
Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability and of societal cost among older adults.[1] Stem cell studies have covered several joints.[4] Studies have given or registered cell injections into the knee, hip, ankle, shoulder and thumb joints,[4][13][15]. This guide covers the condition across joints and the research landscape. The knee has its own guide, stem cell research and the knee, and it is not repeated here.
A 2024 review of the year's clinical osteoarthritis research, built from a MEDLINE search run between March 2023 and March 2024, grouped the field's themes into epidemiology and therapy.[2] For the hand, a narrative review puts the lifetime risk of symptomatic hand osteoarthritis at 39.8%, with one in two women and one in four men developing it by age 85. The same review notes that intra-articular treatment is one of the options used to ease symptoms.[3]
What the Reviews Cover Across Joints
A 2018 systematic review covered intra-articular stem cell therapy in the human joint across joints. It included 28 studies: 14 in osteoarthritis and 14 in focal chondral defects, with 584 people in total. Counted by joint, the cells went into 523 knees, 61 feet or ankles and 5 hips, and the mean follow-up was 24.4 months. The authors concluded that autologous intra-articular mesenchymal stem cell therapy is safe, with generally positive outcomes. All 28 studies reported improvement from baseline on at least one clinical outcome measure, but a comparison with baseline alone cannot show how much of that change the cells caused.[4]
A 2021 systematic review and network meta-analysis pooled 13 randomized trials of cell-based therapy for osteoarthritis. It found no significant reduction in the WOMAC score at 6 months, but significant improvement on the KOOS score at 12 months and significant pain relief. The authors reported no safety concerns.[5]
A 2022 systematic review and network meta-analysis compared intra-articular mesenchymal stem cell injection with cell-free treatment. It found the cell injections more effective for pain and function, and it also flagged potential complications from cell injection that the authors said should be emphasized.[7]
The Hip
The hip has its own guide, stem cell research and the hip, which covers that joint in more depth. Intra-articular mesenchymal stem cell injections into the hip have been studied in small numbers.[6][9] A 2024 systematic review included 10 studies with 316 patients. It reported favorable changes in function, pain and cartilage on MRI or radiographs, with few adverse events, and its authors noted that high-quality studies are limited.[6]
A narrative review of stem cell injections for hip osteoarthritis found limited data, and six studies met its criteria.[9] A 2026 narrative review on adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells for early hip osteoarthritis describes cells delivered into the joint to target early disease and focal cartilage damage, and it says long-term randomized evidence is scarce.[10]
Registered hip studies are small.[11][12] A phase 1 study of mesenchymal stem cells for hip osteoarthritis, started in 2010, enrolled 6 people and is listed as completed.[11] A second phase 1 study of autologous culture-expanded adipose-derived cells in painful hip osteoarthritis enrolled 24 people, with its status listed as active, not recruiting. Its registration asks whether the injections are safe and efficacious and, if so, which dosing regimen is most effective.[12]
Multi-Joint Trials
Several registrations test one cell product across more than one joint.[13][14][15] A registered study of stromal vascular fraction, a mixed cell preparation from fat, planned 500 people with osteoarthritis of the hip, knee, ankle and thumb, and its status is listed as unknown.[13] A phase 1 and 2 study of Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells planned 100 people with hip, knee or glenohumeral osteoarthritis.[14] A phase 2 study of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells planned 300 people with osteoarthritis of the knee, hip and shoulder, randomized within each joint.[15]
For the ankle, the 2026 scoping review of cell-based therapies found that in nine of 11 clinical studies the cells were given alongside a surgical procedure, so the cells' own contribution could not be separated from the operation.[8] The ankle is covered in more detail in stem cell research and the ankle and Achilles.
How to Read a Study Across Joints
- The joint. Check which joint each study treated, since the 2018 review counts knees, feet and ankles, and hips separately.[4]
- The cell source and dose. Bone marrow, fat, umbilical cord and stromal vascular fraction are different preparations,[4][7][13] and the reviews above show results vary with the source.[7]
- The comparison. Whether the control was a sham, a placebo or a standard injection, and whether the study randomized people to groups.
- The outcome. Pain scores, function questionnaires, imaging and adverse events each answer a different question.
Where to Find These Studies
Registered studies are listed publicly on ClinicalTrials.gov. Published results are on PubMed. Every source in this guide is listed under References with its PubMed, DOI and registry links.
For the general service, see stem cell therapy at GIOSTAR.
Further reading: the FDA's consumer page on regenerative medicine therapies, fda.gov (a regulator page; not a numbered reference).
Regulatory Status
Stem cell clinics and stem cell use are arguably subject to FDA oversight, and a 2026 review of biologics regulation says that oversight has been enforced unevenly.[16] Our stem cell therapy is not approved by the FDA.
