abilities joint lubricationa new generation of drugs and supplements treat the disease of arthritis not just the symptoms at the stone clinic we use two treatments to increase the bodys natural production of joint lubrication the first is simply to drink glucosamine joint juice the second is to administer an injection of the lubricant hyaluronan or the equivalent synvisc hyalgan supartz orthovisc we have found that 1500 mg of glucosamine daily effectively stimulates cartilage repair inhibits cartilage breakdown builds the natural lubricant of the knee called hyaluronan and helps to hydrate all tissues glucosamine may also be a natural performance enhancer promoting faster recovery after intense exercise with less pain and stiffness although glucosamine comes in pills or liquid formulas we have found that drinking it in products like joint juice provides the most efficient method of absorption into ones body and the compliance is higher than pillshyaluronan is a lubricant that is normally found in joints however as we age we produce less natural joint lubricant injections of hyaluronan stimulates the joint lining cells to produce more natural lubricant inhibits the enzymes that cause the breakdown of cartilage and keeps the active joints healthy and moving smoothly in addition to joint lubrication the stone clinic designs exercise programs that strengthen the whole body focusing on the extremities and the core when combined with assistive devices such as heel wedges to help unload the knee muscle strengthening gait training and controlling ones body weight many patients can delay surgical intervention for years despite having severe arthritis when pain management is needed we prefer to use natural antiinflammatory medications such as glucosamine and newer pain management programs that carry few side effects biologicnot bionicjoint replacementwhen surgery is inevitable we recommend doctors perform the least invasive procedures first it is far less invasive to do a biologic joint replacement than it is to do an artificial one unfortunately many physicians still believe that cartilage cannot be repaired they believe if there is boneonbone there is nothing that can be done other than an artificial joint replacement fact is cartilage is to be stimulated to produce repair tissues which even if not perfectly normal provide excellent pain relief when this is combined with a minimallyinvasive meniscus replacement a new biologic joint replacement is createdregrowing articular cartilagethere are multiple methods of stimulating repair of articular cartilage the most common are called microfracture where holes are made with an ice pick into the arthritic bone to stimulate fibrocartilage repair mosaicplasty where plugs of cartilage and bone are taken from one part of the knee and transplanted to another similar to a hair transplant autologous cartilage implants also called carticel where cartilage cells are taken from the knee in one procedure grown in tissue culture and then in an open surgery put back into the knee and covered with a periosteal flap only the carticel procedure has required fda approval since the other techniques do not involve an implant or device none of these procedures grow