Bone Marrow Concentrate Injection Treatment Improves Short-term Outcomes in Symptomatic Hip Osteoarthritis Patients: A Pilot Study

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States, the hip being the second most affected weightbearing joint. Autologous bone marrow concentrate (BMC) is a promising alternative therapy to conventional treatments, with the potential to mitigate inflammation and improve joint function. Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness of a single intra-articular BMC injection for patients with symptomatic hip OA. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A total of 24 patients diagnosed with symptomatic hip OA who elected to undergo a single BMC injection were prospectively enrolled in the study. Patients were excluded if they reported a preinjection Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score for pain with activity of <6 points out of 10. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Hip Outcome Score-Activities of Daily Living (HOS-ADL), 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), and NRS pain scores were collected before and after the procedure (6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months). Joint space and Tonnis OA grade scores were recorded on preinjection anteroposterior pelvis radiographs. Results: A total of 18 hips from 16 patients (7 male and 9 female) (mean age, 57.6 +/- 11; mean body mass index, 25.9 +/- 3.6 kg/m(2)) were used in the final analysis. Significant improvements were observed in NRS pain with activity (from 8 to 4.5; P < .001) and without activity (from 5 to 1; P < .001), WOMAC (from 31 to 16; P = .006), mHHS (from 63 to 80; P = .004), and HOS-ADL (from 71 to 85; P = .014) over 6 months. At 6 months, all patients maintained their improvements and did not return to preprocedure status. BMI significantly correlated with baseline WOMAC scores (P = .012) and inversely correlated with 6-month SF-12 Physical Component Summary (P = .038). Tonnis grades 2 and 3 were inversely correlated with 6-week SF-12 Mental Component Summary (P = .008) and 3-month pain with activity (P = .032). No serious adverse events were reported from the BMC harvest or injection procedure. Conclusion: A single BMC injection can significantly improve subjective pain and function scores up to 6 months in patients with symptomatic hip OA. Further studies are warranted to evaluate BMC treatment against other therapeutics in a larger sample size and compare the biological signature profiles that may be responsible for the therapeutic effect.