Regenerative Orthopedics · Miami, FL
Hip Arthritis & Stem Cell Treatment in Miami
Physician-led evaluation and regenerative orthopedic care for hip arthritis and chronic hip pain. We identify the true pain generator, assess joint severity and mechanics, and determine whether PRP or stem cell therapy is appropriate or when hip replacement may be the better option.
Can Stem Cell Therapy Help Hip Arthritis?
Yes. Although hip arthritis has historically been more challenging to consistently manage in regenerative medicine, we have spent many years studying treatment approaches, cellular dosing and outcomes to maximize the likelihood of a successful and sustained result.
The hip is a unique joint. It is one of the largest joints in the body, carries tremendous load with standing, walking and activity, and must still allow a wide range of movement. That combination of load, mobility and repetitive stress can make hip arthritis particularly complex to solve.
Hip pain also does not always come from one structure. The labrum, tendons, bursa and even the low back may contribute to pain in the hip region, which is why identifying the true pain generator is critical before deciding what should be treated.
When treatment is appropriate, precision of delivery matters. Dr. Karli has more than 25 years of experience performing image-guided orthopedic procedures and uses fluoroscopic X-ray guidance for every intra-articular hip injection at Karli Health. These procedures are performed in our state-of-the-art, in-office procedure suite, giving him immediate access to fluoroscopy rather than relying on ultrasound alone. Ultrasound remains an important tool and is often used in conjunction with fluoroscopy when surrounding tendons, bursae or other soft tissues also need to be evaluated or treated.
Is Your Hip Pain Actually Coming From Hip Arthritis?
Not always. Hip pain can be difficult to diagnose because pain felt in or around the hip may come from several different structures, and sometimes from outside the hip altogether.
Arthritis and cartilage degeneration may be the primary problem, but labral tears, gluteal or other tendon injuries, bursitis and surrounding soft-tissue problems can produce very similar symptoms. Pain from the lumbar spine can also refer into the hip, buttock or groin and may overlap with true hip-joint pain.
Where you feel pain can provide clues, but location alone does not make the diagnosis. Groin pain is commonly associated with the hip joint itself, while pain along the outside of the hip may involve tendons or the bursa. Buttock or posterior hip pain may come from the hip, surrounding soft tissues, the sacroiliac region or the lumbar spine.
This is why we do not begin with the question, “What should we inject?” We begin by determining where the pain is actually coming from. Your history, physical examination, imaging and movement patterns are evaluated together before Dr. Karli recommends treatment.
Do Stem Cells Work for Bone-on-Bone Hip Arthritis?
Yes. Stem cells can work in bone-on-bone hip arthritis. But “bone-on-bone” does not have one universal degree of severity, so the phrase alone does not tell us how likely you are to respond.
The term can sound as though two bones are simply grinding against each other and that treatment would have to completely rebuild the lost cartilage to work. In reality, the amount and pattern of cartilage loss, remaining joint motion and mechanics, and other structures contributing to pain can vary considerably from one patient to another.
Even when the likelihood of improvement is lower than it would be with earlier-stage arthritis, that does not automatically make treatment unreasonable. A patient may decide that a meaningful reduction in pain, better function, or even a period of improvement that delays or helps avoid hip replacement is worth pursuing.
If Dr. Karli believes your probability of success is lower, he will tell you that. Our job is to explain the likelihood of benefit, limitations of treatment and probability of a return on financial investment as clearly as possible so you can decide whether treatment is worth pursuing.
What Is Intraosseous Treatment for Hip Arthritis?
In some patients with more advanced hip arthritis, degeneration is not limited to the cartilage or joint space. The subchondral bone beneath the cartilage may also show degenerative changes, bone marrow edema (inflammation) or cystic changes and can become part of the problem.
When imaging and diagnosis indicate that the bone itself should be treated, Dr. Karli may add an intraosseous treatment, placing the regenerative product directly into the affected bone under fluoroscopic guidance rather than treating only the joint space. He has used this approach selectively for approximately 15 years.
This is not part of every hip procedure. The decision depends on the imaging, anatomy, severity of degeneration and what Dr. Karli believes is driving the problem. In some patients, intraosseous treatment is combined with an intra-articular hip injection so both the joint and the underlying bone can be addressed.
Am I a Candidate for PRP or Stem Cell Therapy for Hip Arthritis?
Yes, you may be. The key is determining exactly what is causing your pain, how advanced the arthritis is, and whether PRP or stem cell therapy has a reasonable likelihood of helping you.
We also look at remaining motion and joint mechanics, imaging, previous treatments, overall health and what you hope to achieve.
The goal is not simply to decide whether we can inject your hip. It is to determine which treatment makes the most sense and what outcome is realistic.
PRP vs. Stem Cell Therapy ffor Hip Arthritis
Both PRP and stem cell therapy can be effective in treating arthritis. The better choice depends on what is injured, how advanced the arthritis is, and what we believe is most likely to provide a meaningful and lasting result.
PRP can be extremely effective in the right patient and, for certain injuries or stages of disease, may be the better treatment. Cell-based therapies may provide a longer-lasting response in some patients, particularly when the arthritis is more advanced.
Cost also matters. A patient may be a good candidate for cell therapy but choose PRP because of the difference in financial investment. Other times, the diagnosis may strongly favor one treatment over the other.
At Karli Health, the diagnosis drives the treatment. We explain the advantages, limitations and expected outcome of each option so the patient can make an informed decision.
Can Stem Cells Regrow Hip Cartilage?
Stem cell therapy may help reduce pain and improve function, but we cannot promise that it will regrow cartilage that has already been lost.
Feeling better and regrowing cartilage are not the same thing. A patient may have significantly less pain, better movement and improved function even though the damaged cartilage seen on imaging has not returned to normal.
Some research has shown encouraging structural changes after cell therapy, but the evidence is not validated enough to tell a patient that stem cells will rebuild an arthritic hip.
At Karli Health, we focus on what treatment can realistically accomplish: improving pain, function and quality of life without making promises the science cannot support.
Can Stem Cell Therapy Help Delay or Avoid Hip Replacement?
Yes. For some patients, stem cell therapy can improve pain and function enough to delay hip replacement. In some cases, that improvement may allow a patient to continue without moving forward with surgery.
That does not mean surgery will never be necessary. A successful result may mean staying active, maintaining function and gaining meaningful time before an irreversible surgery.
Dr. Karli’s goal is to help patients avoid surgery when possible, but not to avoid it when delaying surgery could cause additional damage or make the eventual outcome worse.
The decision is also deeply personal. Over more than 20 years, Dr. Karli has treated hundreds of patients who understood that their likelihood of success with regenerative treatment might be low but still wanted to know they had explored every reasonable option before undergoing an irreversible surgery.
These discussions are not based on opinion alone. We consider published research, what we are seeing across the regenerative medicine field, and long-term outcomes tracked through the Greyledge Data Cloud, including patients followed for two to three years after treatment when that data is available.
That is why we diagnose carefully and counsel patients honestly and transparently. Our role is to explain the likelihood of benefit, the limitations, the alternatives and the risks so you can make the choice that is right for you, while we do everything we can to support that decision and do what is best for your long-term health.
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Considering Hip Arthritis & Pain?
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Medically reviewed by David Karli, MD, MBA · Harvard-trained physician, researcher and published author
Last reviewed: September 30, 2026