It’s hard to miss the buzz around regenerative medicine. Clinics tout “miracle injections” and “next generation cell therapies” across websites, glossy advertisements, and social media, promising to heal joints, reverse arthritis, regrow cartilage, and even restore youth. For patients in pain, or simply hoping to turn back the clock, it can feel as if the future of medicine has already arrived.

But as an orthopedic surgeon and researcher, I have to say what the ads won’t: Regenerative medicine isn’t there yet. The science is promising, but the marketing is sprinting too far ahead.

I’m reminded of this almost daily, especially during the NFL season. As head team physician for the New York Giants, I routinely have athletes asking about supposed “breakthrough” stem cell treatments they’ve seen promoted at offshore clinics in Panama, Colombia, and other countries. The truth is: Many of these treatments are unproven and unregulated, which makes it impossible for me, or any physician, to give objective medical advice about them.

I’ve seen the harm that can follow these procedures though. Patients have spent tens of thousands of dollars chasing miracle cures — sometimes flying abroad for procedures unavailable in the United States — only to return with dashed hopes or devastating complications. Reports of blindness, tumor formation, and severe infections have followed experimental injections.

This gap between hype and reality not only puts patients at risk, it threatens the credibility of the field itself. Regenerative medicine may one day deliver transformative therapies, but without safeguards, salesmanship will drown out science. Patients, physicians, and policymakers must approach the field with caution to ensure its promise is realized responsibly.

The best evidence shows that current therapies are symptom-modifying at best. Treatments like platelet-rich plasma therapy, where a patient’s own blood is spun down to concentrate platelets and growth factors, and bone marrow-derived injections, in which cells are harvested and reinjected into joints, may reduce pain or swelling for some patients.


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What remains elusive, despite marketing claims, is the proven capacity to regrow cartilage or reverse arthritis. Research shows injected cells rarely survive or integrate into tissue; instead, they act by releasing signals that can dampen inflammation. That distinction matters: easing inflammation is valuable, but it is not true tissue regeneration.

Yet many clinics — here in the United States and abroad — continue to promise exactly that. Patients like my football players, whose livelihood is tied up in their health, are lured by claims of miracle cures that are poorly controlled or outright fraudulent.

Some even advertise “exosome blowout sales,” despite the fact that exosomes — tiny packets released by cells that carry proteins and genetic material — remain experimental. Currently, there are no exosome therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Others market cell therapy cures, even though most of these “stem cell” injections do not contain true stem cells by any scientific standard. I’ve seen professional athletes pay upward of $40,000 out of pocket for unproven “regenerative” treatments.

Whether through medical tourism or domestic profiteering, too many patients are left worse off, robbed of their savings — and their health.

Patients have suffered serious complications from unregulated injections, including blindness and retinal detachment after “stem cell” injections into the eye, tumor growth and neurological harms linked to unapproved products, and life-threatening infections from contaminated treatments. The FDA has issued warnings and pursued some domestic cases, but enforcement loopholes and limited resources have left patients exposed.

This Wild West atmosphere undermines legitimate researchers in regenerative medicine.

In my own field of musculoskeletal medicine, the science is advancing — in measured steps. Researchers are testing mesenchymal stromal cells, which can reduce inflammation and may one day aid in tissue repair. Early trials are also exploring induced pluripotent stem cells — adult cells reprogrammed into a stem-like state — for repairing cartilage.

Other strategies are equally promising. Gene therapy and CRISPR gene editing are being studied for musculoskeletal disease. Immune-based approaches, adapted from cancer care, could help control damaging inflammation in joints and tendons. And exosome research is shedding light on cell-to-cell communication and could ultimately guide new approaches to regenerative medicine.

That makes the path forward clear.

First, regulators must enforce existing rules and close loopholes that allow clinics to market unapproved therapies. The FDA has taken action in some cases, but enforcement staff have been stretched thin as the number of providers has increased.

Second, physicians and researchers need to speak plainly. Vague, market-tested buzzwords like “stem cells” or “regenerative” blur the line between symptom-modifying relief and proper structure-modifying tissue repair. Patients deserve clarity.


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Third, industry and government must come together and invest in the science of regenerative medicine — by supporting long-term clinical trials, establishing biospecimen registries, and creating standardized reporting systems. At the Hospital for Special Surgery, we are building this infrastructure, but it must become a national priority.

Fourth, regenerative medicine must move toward precision medicine. Healing depends on complex interactions among cells, immune responses, and the tissue environment. These therapies will only succeed if tailored — the right treatment, for the right patient, at the right time — not sold as one-size-fits-all miracles.

Arthritis, tendon injuries, and other musculoskeletal conditions rob millions of Americans of mobility and independence. Regenerative medicine could ease that burden — but if charlatans define the field, patients will be harmed and progress stalled.

The way forward is honesty, rigor, and a commitment to protecting hope from exploitation.

Scott Rodeo, M.D., is an attending surgeon and vice chair of orthopedic research at the Hospital for Special Surgery and head team physician for the New York Giants.