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Arthritis Management

At Springwell we offer advanced treatment options for lameness cases, in particular patients with osteoarthritic joints.

About Arthritis Management

A stance analyser is a force plate tools which allows us to quantify the proportion of weight being distributed through each limb. This can be a very useful tool to demonstrate improvement and response to treatments. There are a variety of intra-articular treatments that can be used to treat osteoarthritic joints which will modify to environment within the joint, reduce inflammation and therefore reduce pain. The different options that we can offer at Springwell are listed below:

Platelet Rich Plasma

  • Autologenous biologic therapy, the platelets are concentrated from the patients venous blood. Platelets contain thousands of growth factors. It is growth factors that stimulate healing and manage pain.
  • Management of osteoarthritis joints has become a key area for PRP in small animals either as a sole agent or multi-modal therapy (with stem cells).
  • Growth factors- regulate secretion and synthesis of collagen, cause cell proliferation and angiogenesis, stimulates proliferation of undifferentiated MSC, promotes growth and differentiation of chondrocytes and osteoblasts, and promotes cartilage regeneration.
  • Usually the injection is repeated after 4-6 weeks. The patient may need injecting every 6-12 months, especially with osteoarthritic joints.
  • An improvement in lameness is expected within 2 weeks of injection if the treatment is successful.

Stem cells

  • Stem cells generate new tissue, supplement growth factors, make extracellular matrix, contribute to angiogenesis, are anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, participate in regeneration of injured/diseased tissue via cell differentiation.
  • Stem cells can replace diseased cells by engrafting and differentiating into the required cell type.
  • Stem cells orchestrate a healing response by stimulating recipient cells to change their behaviour. In this way the effect persists even when donor cells are no longer there.

Polyacrylamide hydrogel

  • Acts as a dynamic tissue scaffold that integrates into the synovial lining and its immediate surrounding tissue of the inner capsule by a combination of cell migration and vessel in growth.
  • Lubricates the joint and acts as a shock absorber.