# What did recent research find about joint shots? *Recent Research | Cellular Therapy Tempe* > Recent cellular therapy Tempe research in plain words, including which joint shots were compared and what the result means. Tempe's public pickleball courts combine quick turns with overhead reaches. Those motions can trouble your knee, hip, elbow, or shoulder, but research about one joint doesn't answer for another. Most recent work examined knees with arthritis. The main comparison was easy to follow. One group received a steroid shot; the remaining groups got shots made from marrow, body fat, or cord tissue from donors. People in every group reported some improvement, but the newer shots did no better than the steroid shot. ## What did the larger knee study find? The large knee study tested four kinds of joint shots. Steroids filled one shot; the other shots came from marrow, body fat, or cord tissue given by donors. All four groups reported less soreness or better movement, yet none of the three newer shots beat the steroid shot. That result applies only to the arthritic knees in the study. It doesn't settle questions about your shoulder, hip, elbow, or back. Some people did improve, but the study found no extra benefit from the three newer shots. ## Why do results differ between studies? A joint shot may contain prepared blood, marrow, body fat, or tissue from a donor. Clinics don't always handle each source the same way, and studies include people with different amounts of joint damage. Both differences can change the result you see. A fair study gives every group the same care except for the shot being tested. Researchers compare how much each group changed afterward. That comparison accounts for relief from time, rest, exercise, or the office visit. A treatment has shown added benefit only when its group improves more than the other group. ## What matters before you choose? Start with your sore joint, its likely cause, and any movement you've lost. The exam may support more home care or point to an X-ray or another doctor's opinion. Research can't replace that first step. Ask whether the shot begins with blood, marrow, body fat, or tissue from a donor. Find out how the clinic collects and prepares the named source. The person doing the procedure should explain later care, total price, and likely limits. Any certain promise is at odds with the mixed research. ## Sources 1. In a 480-patient, four-arm, multicenter randomized phase 2/3 trial, none of three orthobiologic cell injections - autologous bone marrow aspirate concentrate, autologous adipose stromal vascular fraction, or allogeneic umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells - was superior to any other, or to a corticosteroid injection control, on pain at 12 months. 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/). *Nat Med*, 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02632-w. 2. On 27 September 2024 the Ninth Circuit held in United States v. California Stem Cell Treatment Center that stromal vascular fraction produced by enzymatically digesting a patient's own fat IS a drug under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and that the same surgical procedure exception does not apply because the removed fat and the implanted SVF are not the same thing. The district court's ruling for the clinics was reversed. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — [United States v. California Stem Cell Treatment Center, Inc., No. 22-56014 (9th Cir. Sept. 27, 2024)](https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/09/27/22-56014.pdf). *null*, 2024. 3. On 18 December 2024 FDA approved RYONCIL (remestemcel-L-rknd), the first mesenchymal stromal cell therapy ever approved in the United States - for steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease in pediatric patients 2 months and older, given as eight intravenous infusions. It is not an orthopedic product and does not make any joint injection approved. US Food and Drug Administration — [FDA Approves First Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Therapy to Treat Steroid-refractory Acute Graft-versus-host Disease](https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-mesenchymal-stromal-cell-therapy-treat-steroid-refractory-acute-graft-versus-host). *null*, 2024. 4. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 8 randomized trials in 502 patients found intra-articular mesenchymal stem cells improved WOMAC scores versus control at 6 months (MD 7.44, 95% CI 1.45-13.42) and 12 months (MD 10.31, 95% CI 0.96-19.67), with wide confidence intervals and a small pooled sample. Cao M, et al. — [Efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cells in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40055739/). *Stem Cell Res Ther*, 2025. DOI: 10.1186/s13287-025-04252-2. 5. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 6 randomized trials found microfragmented adipose tissue and PRP both reached the minimal clinically important difference on most outcomes to 12 months, with no clear superiority of the fat-derived preparation despite its higher price. Park YB, et al. — [Microfragmented Adipose Tissue as an Alternative to Platelet-Rich Plasma for Intra-articular Injection in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40990578/). *Am J Sports Med*, 2025. DOI: 10.1177/03635465251337759. 6. A 2025 meta-analysis of 73 double-blind placebo-controlled injection trials in 5,895 knee osteoarthritis patients found placebo responder rates above 50 percent at 1, 3 and 6 months, declining by 12 months - which is why any uncontrolled 'our patients improved' claim from a clinic is uninterpretable. Previtali D, et al. — [Placebo response to intra-articular injections in knee osteoarthritis: magnitude, evolution over time, and influencing factors. A systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41031623/). *EFORT Open Rev*, 2025. DOI: 10.1530/EOR-2025-0022. 7. In orders issued 26 December 2024 and announced 8 January 2025, a federal court permanently banned the co-founders of the Stem Cell Institute of America and their companies from marketing any regenerative medicine treatment, and ordered $5,155,146 in refunds and civil penalties. The court found on summary judgment that they published false and misleading advertisements about the efficacy and approval of stem cell injections for osteoarthritis, neuropathy and joint pain; their clinic charged up to $5,000 per injection and the customers were almost exclusively elderly and disabled people. 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). *null*, 2025. 8. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of allogeneic culture-expanded adipose MSCs in stage III knee osteoarthritis kept blinding for 12 months and followed the treatment arm to 60 months, reporting only mild transient adverse events - but only 29 subjects completed, 8 of them in the placebo arm. Jafar H, et al. — [Intra-articular allogeneic adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cell injections for stage III knee osteoarthritis: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial with 60-month follow-up](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42049633/). *Stem Cells Transl Med*, 2026. DOI: 10.1093/stcltm/szag018. 9. A 2025 randomized trial of 66 knee osteoarthritis patients compared a single adipose stromal vascular fraction injection, conventional rehabilitation alone, and the two combined over 12 months - a design that treats exercise-based rehabilitation as a genuine comparator rather than an afterthought. Lu J, et al. — [Intraarticular injection of the stromal vascular fraction for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40750958/). *Sci Rep*, 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-09398-w. ## What if the soreness doesn't settle? QC Kinetix offers consultations for joint soreness and regenerative treatment options. Here, regenerative means a nonsurgical joint shot prepared from your own blood or bone marrow. Medical providers are the licensed clinic staff who examine the joint and discuss possible choices. The office is at 1100 S. Dobson Rd., Suite 210, Chandler, AZ 85286. McClintock Road continues into Dobson Road from much of Tempe. Call (602) 837-PAIN to speak with the clinic team. Book a free consultation: --- Clear answers for a sore joint. Plain answers for cellular therapy Tempe readers about aching joints, home care, warning signs, office exams, and nearby treatment choices. A plain Tempe guide to aching joints, self-care, reasons to call, and local help. This site is operated by the owners of the QC Kinetix Phoenix-area clinics, including the Chandler office it recommends, so the publisher can benefit when a reader books. Copyright 2026 The Tempe Cell Research Desk. General education only, not medical advice or a diagnosis; discuss your own symptoms with a qualified clinician.