Nonoperative Pharmacological and Biologic Strategies for Osteoarthritis

Conservative management is usually the first approach for osteochondral treatment: It can be used as a first-line treatment in early cartilage nonsurgical lesions or combined with other treatments. However, due to the limited regenerative capacity of cartilage, it is essential to consider pharmacological treatment as an aid. The main goal is to decrease the osteoarthritis pro-inflammatory effect, protect the subchondral bone, and decrease patients’ pain and symptoms. This chapter aims to review and analyze emerging trends in nonoperative treatments available for osteoarthritis, from the less invasive pharmacological approach to mesenchymal stem cell infiltration.