# What do people ask about a sore joint? *Questions Answered | Regenerative Medicine Queen Creek* > Straight answers about regenerative medicine Queen Creek readers ask, including soreness, PRP, cost, coverage, things to try and office visits. Which questions matter for an ache that keeps coming back? Most people ask why it hurts, what can help now, and whether a procedure is worth considering. The short answers below cover those points. During a QC Kinetix visit, the examiner looks at the joint and talks through care that doesn't use surgery. These answers won't identify your cause, but they can help you ask clear questions. ## Sources 1. FDA states plainly that no stem cell, exosome, stromal vascular fraction, umbilical cord blood, Wharton's jelly or amniotic-fluid product has been approved for the treatment of ANY orthopedic condition - it names osteoarthritis, tendonitis, disc disease, tennis elbow, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain and shoulder pain individually. The only FDA-approved stem cell products in the United States are cord-blood-derived blood-forming stem cells for disorders of the hematopoietic system, and there are currently no FDA-approved exosome products. US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research — [Consumer Alert on Regenerative Medicine Products Including Stem Cells and Exosomes](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/consumers-biologics/consumer-alert-regenerative-medicine-products-including-stem-cells-and-exosomes). *FDA*, 2020. 2. A cross-sectional study contacted 273 of 317 US centres offering direct-to-consumer stem-cell therapy, posing as a 57-year-old man with knee osteoarthritis. The mean advertised price of a unilateral same-day stem-cell knee injection was $5,156 (SD $2,446), and centres claimed a mean clinical efficacy of 82% (SD 9.6%) - a figure with no support in the published evidence. The gap between the quoted number and the trial data is the single most useful thing a patient can be told before a consultation. Piuzzi NS, et al. — [The Stem-Cell Market for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Patient Perspective.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28738432/). *The journal of knee surgery*, 2018. DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1604443. 3. Medicare's National Coverage Determination covers autologous platelet-rich plasma ONLY for chronic non-healing diabetic, pressure or venous WOUNDS, and only under Coverage with Evidence Development inside an approved clinical research study. There is no Medicare coverage pathway for PRP as a treatment for osteoarthritis or any other joint indication, which is why these injections are quoted as cash prices. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — [Autologous Platelet-rich Plasma (Coverage with Evidence Development)](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coverage/evidence/plasma). *CMS.gov*, 2012. 4. In January 2025 the Federal Trade Commission banned the co-founders of a stem cell institute and their companies from marketing stem cell treatments and ordered them to pay more than $5.1 million in refunds and civil penalties. Deceptive EFFICACY ADVERTISING, not merely unapproved manufacturing, is independently actionable - the FTC polices what a clinic promises as well as what it injects. US 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](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/stem-cell-institute-co-founders-companies-banned-marketing-stem-cell-treatments-ordered-pay-more-51). *FTC Press Release*, 2025. 5. The RESTORE trial - a participant-, injector- and assessor-blinded RCT of 288 adults aged 50+ with symptomatic medial knee OA (Kellgren-Lawrence 2-3) - compared three weekly intra-articular PRP injections against saline placebo, with co-primary endpoints of 12-month knee pain and medial tibial cartilage volume on MRI. PRP did not beat placebo on either. It is the single best-designed test of the specific claim that PRP changes joint structure, and it was negative. 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.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34812863/). *JAMA*, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.19415. 6. A four-arm, multicentre, single-blind phase 2/3 randomized trial of 480 knee OA patients (KL II-IV) compared autologous bone marrow aspirate concentrate, autologous adipose stromal vascular fraction and allogeneic umbilical-cord-tissue mesenchymal stromal cells against a corticosteroid injection control. At 12 months NONE of the three orthobiologic injections was superior to another, or to the corticosteroid control, and none of the four groups showed a significant change in MRI osteoarthritis score from baseline. No procedure-related serious adverse events occurred. Mautner K, et al. — [Cell-based versus corticosteroid injections for knee pain in osteoarthritis: a randomized phase 3 trial.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37919438/). *Nature medicine*, 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02632-w. 7. The 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline makes STRONG recommendations for exercise, weight loss in people with overweight or obesity, self-efficacy and self-management programs, tai chi, cane use, tibiofemoral bracing, topical NSAIDs, oral NSAIDs and intra-articular glucocorticoid injection in knee OA. Notably it does NOT strongly recommend any biologic injectable. Kolasinski SL, et al. — [2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31908163/). *Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)*, 2020. DOI: 10.1002/art.41142. ## Why is my knee, hip, or shoulder sore? Years of walking, lifting, and old injuries may leave a joint stiff or swollen. Weak nearby muscles can make it work harder. A tendon, the strong band joining muscle to bone, can also become sore. Consider an exam if the ache comes back often or limits your day. ## What can I do at home for joint soreness? Cut back briefly on work that makes the joint hurt much more, but don't stop moving completely. Try easy motion and short walks, then build strength slowly. Heat can ease stiffness; cold can settle swelling after use. Ask your doctor whether medicine fits your health and prescriptions. ## What is PRP? PRP is made by drawing your blood and spinning it to pack certain blood parts closer together. Those parts are platelets, tiny pieces that carry repair chemicals called growth factors. Some joint procedures use this prepared blood. Human research is mixed, so PRP can't promise relief or new cartilage, the smooth covering on bone ends. ## Does regenerative medicine work for knees? Regenerative medicine is a name for procedures that may use prepared blood in a sore joint. Some people report relief and easier movement, while others feel no better. Research doesn't show dependable rebuilding of worn joint covering. Ask whether the procedure beat exercise, a salt-water shot, or another treatment in human studies. ## How much does regenerative medicine cost in Arizona? There isn't one dependable price for every clinic or procedure. The total may change with the type of care, later visits, and the payment plan. Ask for a dated paper listing every fee and the rules for a refund. Add travel costs, then ask your insurer what it will pay. ## Does Medicare cover regenerative medicine? Medicare does not broadly cover PRP for aching joints. Have the clinic put the procedure's full name on paper. Read it to Medicare or your insurer and ask whether your policy pays any part. Make that call before agreeing to the clinic's price. ## When should joint soreness be checked? Consider an exam when soreness keeps returning, wakes you, causes swelling, or limits walking and dressing. Fever with a very hot joint needs prompt help. Get urgent care when a leg can't hold weight after a fall. New weakness also requires quick attention. ## What happens at a joint consultation? The examiner will ask what brought on the soreness and which movements hurt now. Expect checks of motion, strength, swelling, and tender areas. Some joints need an X-ray. Afterward, compare home care, exercise, procedures that don't use surgery, and an operation if the exam supports it. ## Would a joint exam help me choose? Take any recent X-rays and an up-to-date medicine list. Note how the soreness started and which activity now hurts. QC Kinetix can check the joint and talk through choices that don't use surgery. The office is at 1100 S. Dobson Rd., Suite 210, near the Loop 202 Dobson exit. Call (602) 837-PAIN to confirm the visit and ask which records to take. Book a free consultation: --- Straight answers for a joint that keeps hurting. Why joints ache, what can help at home, when to seek care and what a nearby clinic offers. Plain answers about sore joints and the choices that may help. This Queen Creek guide is operated by the owners of the QC Kinetix Phoenix-area clinics; because a booking can benefit their clinic business, readers should weigh that direct interest while checking the linked evidence. © 2026 Queen Creek Cost Ledger. General education only; personal diagnosis and treatment decisions require a qualified medical provider.