1
Age-Related Wear
Cartilage gradually wears down over the years, particularly after the age of 40, or sooner with a sedentary lifestyle.
Joint Preservation in Gurgaon
Protect your natural joint with advanced regenerative orthopaedics at OSSO
Treat joint damage early and keep your own joint working longer. At OSSO, joint preservation focuses on delaying or avoiding replacement through the gentlest effective care, from strengthening and inflammation control to regenerative treatment and structured rehabilitation.
We care for everything from early joint wear to focused cartilage damage. Book your appointment today with our orthopaedic specialists at OSSO for comprehensive care and advanced solutions to protect your natural joints.
Book Appointment
What is joint preservation?
Joint preservation is an approach to joint care that aims to keep your natural joint working and delay or avoid replacement by treating the problem early and in the right order.
Rather than waiting until replacement becomes unavoidable, joint preservation asks a different question: what is the gentlest effective way to protect this joint and keep you moving? Depending on your condition, the answer may involve strengthening the muscles that support the joint, calming inflammation, supporting repair with your body's own healing mechanisms, or rebuilding damaged cartilage so your natural joint stays in place.
It works best when started early. Joints with early to moderate wear, partial tears or focused cartilage damage have far more options than joints that are completely worn out. That is why a proper diagnosis comes first at OSSO, always.
Joint preservation is most often used for the knees and hips.
Knees
Hips
Why Joints Wear Down
Understanding what puts your joints under strain helps you act early, before damage becomes harder to manage.
2
Past Joint Injury
Earlier fractures, ligament or meniscus tears, and activities that repeatedly strain the joint can speed up cartilage damage.
3
Structural Imbalances
Poor alignment, weak muscles or other musculoskeletal differences place extra stress on a joint and can make wear progress faster.
4
Genetic & Hormonal Factors
A family history of arthritis, together with factors like gender, occupation, activity levels, diet and bone density, raises the risk. This is why early diagnosis matters.
Signs Your Joint Needs Attention
If you notice persistent discomfort or reduced mobility, recognising these common signs can help you seek care early.
Pain or aching during activity, after long periods of movement or at the end of the day
Morning stiffness, or stiffness after resting
Limited range of motion that eases gradually with movement
Clicking, grinding or popping when the joint bends
Swelling around the joint
Weakness or instability, including a joint that gives way or "buckles"
These signs call for a timely evaluation, particularly if they affect everyday activities.
Is Joint Preservation Right for You?
These patterns often suggest that protecting your joint is worth exploring.
Early to moderate arthritis
Pain, stiffness or grinding, but the joint is not yet bone-on-bone.
Joint replacement advised
Consider getting a second opinion to see if preservation is still an option, especially if you are under 65–70. A replacement joint typically lasts around 15 years, so having one done too early may mean a revision surgery later in life.
A focused cartilage defect
Damage in one area of an active, younger knee, rather than widespread arthritis.
Partial tendon or ligament tears
Or chronic tendinopathy that has not settled with rest, medication or basic physio.
Early-stage avascular necrosis (AVN)
Early AVN of the hip or knee, where the aim is to keep the joint.
An active lifestyle
You want to keep walking, running, playing sport or travelling without limits.
Treatment Options by OSSO
OSSO offers many treatment options for joint preservation, and the three below are the most commonly used. A personalised, evidence-based step-up approach is followed: treatment starts with the most conservative option and moves up only when clinically necessary. Every plan is chosen after a doctor's diagnosis and reviewed against measurable markers.
Image-Guided Orthobiologics Procedure
Orthobiologics use your own blood or bone marrow to support healing in cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. At OSSO, these include PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma), GFC (Growth Factor Concentrate), BMAC (Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate), and mesenchymal stem cell therapy. They are delivered under ultrasound (USG) or C-arm guidance, so the treatment reaches the exact area that needs it.
- What it involves: A small sample of your own blood or bone marrow is taken and concentrated. The concentrate is then injected into the affected joint, tendon or ligament under live imaging.
- Who it is for: Early to moderate arthritis, partial tears, and chronic tendon problems that have not settled with rest, medication, or basic physiotherapy.
- What to expect: Usually a day-care procedure. Improvement is gradual, as tissue repair takes time, and results vary from person to person.
- Best results: Orthobiologics work best alongside physiotherapy. The injection supports a healing environment, and rehab guides the tissue as it heals and rebuilds strength around the joint.
Subchondral BMAC (Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate)
Pain in an arthritic joint does not always come from the cartilage alone. The bone just beneath the cartilage, the subchondral bone, can develop bone lesions. Subchondral BMAC treats that bone directly.
- What it involves: Bone marrow is drawn from your own body and concentrated into BMAC, which is rich in mesenchymal stem cells. Under C-arm guidance, the concentrate is delivered into the subchondral bone of the affected joint.
- Who it is for: Selected patients with moderate to advanced (but not end-stage) knee arthritis, or bone lesions beneath the cartilage, where the aim is to keep the natural joint. Your surgeon confirms suitability after an examination and MRI.
- What to expect: Image-guided and minimally invasive. Improvement builds over weeks to months and is supported by structured rehabilitation.
- What it aims to do: The goal is to halt the progression of arthritis. BMAC helps repair and regenerate damaged tissue, reducing symptoms and helping delay joint replacement significantly.
Keyhole Cartilage Repair Surgery
When damage is focused in one area of the joint, it can often be repaired through small incisions using arthroscopy (keyhole surgery), so your own joint stays in place.
- What it involves: Arthroscopic repair of damaged cartilage and meniscus, and cartilage regeneration such as MACI (Matrix-Induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation), which uses your own cartilage cells to rebuild the defect. ACL surgery with regenerative enhancement is also done by keyhole technique.
- Who it is for: Typically younger, active patients with a focused cartilage defect rather than widespread arthritis. Your surgeon confirms suitability after an examination and MRI.
- What to expect: Smaller incisions and a faster recovery than open surgery, followed by a structured rehabilitation programme.
Head of Orthopaedics · Joint Preservation
Dr. Karan Raj Jaggi
MBBS (Gold Medalist), MS (Orthopaedics), DNB (Orthopaedics), MCh (Regenerative Orthopaedics, UK)
Triple board-certified and internationally trained, Dr. Jaggi super-specialises in regenerative orthopaedics, sports injuries and joint preservation. He performs image-guided orthobiologics, subchondral BMAC and keyhole cartilage repair, including MACI.
OPD: OSSO Centre for Surgical & Regenerative Orthopaedics
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11am – 1pm
Plot No 222, opposite Amity International School, Sector 51, Gurugram, Haryana 122018
When a joint needs replacement
Some conditions still need surgery, such as complete ligament ruptures in active patients, severe end-stage arthritis with major disability, and unstable fractures. If that is your situation, we will tell you plainly. An early evaluation at OSSO helps identify the right treatment pathway.
Your treating orthopaedic surgeon will give you an honest opinion on whether joint preservation is still an option for you. If it is not, the path forward is joint replacement. Knee and hip replacement on a fast-track protocol means walking on Day 1 and going home in 2 to 3 days.
Rehabilitation & Recovery
Rehabilitation plays a crucial role in protecting your joints. After minimally invasive procedures, recovery is much faster than after joint replacement or open surgery. At OSSO, recovery programmes include:
01
Tailored Physiotherapy Sessions
Doctor-led, one-on-one sessions built around your condition, not a generic protocol.
02
Strengthening & Stretching Routines
Targeted work to build muscle support, improve flexibility and reduce the load on the joint.
03
Balance & Gait Training
Proprioception and movement retraining to improve stability and the way you walk.
04
Post-Injection & Post-Surgery Rehabilitation
Structured rehab after regenerative injections or surgery, with progress tracked at regular reviews.
What to Expect from Joint Preservation Treatment
Joint preservation is not a promise that you will never need joint replacement surgery. Here is what to expect.
Better Odds When Started Early
Early arthritis and partial tears are more likely to respond than advanced bone-on-bone arthritis or complete ligament ruptures.
Support for Healing
Orthobiologic injections such as PRP and GFC are protective in nature: they reduce symptoms and support healing but do not fully regrow worn-away cartilage. BMAC goes further and can help repair and regenerate damaged tissue. Results vary from person to person.
Gradual Improvement
Improvement is gradual, because tissue repair takes time, but recovery is much faster than after open surgery.
Your Lifestyle Matters
Weight, smoking and alcohol can all affect how well your body responds.
Hear from Our Patients
Joint preservation or replacement? S.'s journey with BMAC
S.K.K.'s journey with GFC treatment
S.'s journey at OSSO
Frequently Asked Questions
Find out whether your joint can be preserved.
Book a consultation with our orthopaedic specialists. You will get a clear diagnosis, a transparent answer on whether surgery is indicated, and a plan that starts with the most conservative option that works.
Call us directly: +91-9220531100
Visit us: 7011, 1st Floor, DLF Phase-4, Gurugram, Haryana – 122002
Open: Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm · Saturday 10am to 6pm