Knee Program · Resource hub
Knee & orthobiologic glossary
The words on your imaging report, and the words in the advertising, translated into plain English. Where a term means something specific about what we do or do not offer, we say so.
In short
34 terms, in alphabetical order, covering knee anatomy, imaging report language and orthobiologic terminology. Four entries — stem cell therapy, exosomes, stromal vascular fraction and genicular artery embolization — are here mainly to state plainly that Innovare Tx does not offer them.
- A2M (alpha-2-macroglobulin)
- A large protease-inhibitor protein that occurs naturally in blood and can be concentrated from a patient's own sample. At Innovare Tx it is prepared autologously and delivered by image-guided injection. It is investigational and not FDA-approved for the treatment of any specific orthopedic condition.Read more
- ACL (anterior cruciate ligament)
- One of the two cruciate ligaments inside the knee, controlling forward movement and rotation of the shin bone relative to the thigh bone. ACL injuries often involve a pop, rapid swelling and a sense of the knee giving way.
- Aspiration
- Drawing fluid out of a joint with a needle, usually to reduce pressure or to send the fluid for analysis. Distinct from a bone marrow aspiration, which draws marrow rather than joint fluid.
- Autologous
- From you, for you. Biologic material taken from your own body and returned to it in the same appointment. Innovare Tx performs autologous procedures only — no donor, amniotic, umbilical, cultured or expanded material.Read more
- Baker's cyst
- A fluid-filled swelling at the back of the knee, usually a consequence of fluid produced inside the joint rather than a problem in its own right. Commonly seen on ultrasound.
- BMAC (bone marrow aspirate concentrate)
- A concentrate prepared from a patient's own bone marrow. A small aspirate is drawn under local anesthetic, usually from the pelvis, concentrated in a centrifuge, and delivered by image-guided injection in the same visit. Investigational; not FDA-approved for any specific orthopedic condition.Read more
- Bursitis
- Inflammation of one of the small fluid-filled sacs that reduce friction around the joint. Around the knee the prepatellar and pes anserine bursae are the ones most often involved.
- Centrifuge
- The device used to separate the components of a blood or marrow sample by spinning it at speed. Every autologous orthobiologic preparation is processed in a centrifuge.
- Chondromalacia
- Softening or wear of cartilage, most often described on the underside of the kneecap. It appears frequently on imaging reports and is not always the cause of a person's pain.
- Corticosteroid (cortisone) injection
- An anti-inflammatory medication injected into the joint. Intra-articular glucocorticoid injection is a strong recommendation for knee osteoarthritis in the 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline. Its effect is typically temporary.
- Crepitus
- The grinding, crunching or clicking felt or heard as the knee moves. Extremely common and, on its own, not a measure of how damaged a joint is.
- Effusion
- Excess fluid inside the joint — what most people call a swollen knee. How quickly it appeared after an injury is diagnostically useful.
- Embolic agent
- The material an interventional radiologist injects to reduce blood flow through a vessel. In genicular artery embolization these are commonly permanent microspheres of around 100 to 300 micrometres, or an ethiodized oil emulsion in some trial protocols.Read more
- Exosomes
- Cell-derived vesicles marketed by some clinics as an injectable product. Innovare Tx does not offer exosome products. Exosome products are not FDA-approved and the FDA has warned consumers about them.
- Fluoroscopy
- Live X-ray imaging used to guide a needle or catheter in real time. One of the two forms of image guidance used for orthobiologic injections, the other being ultrasound.
- Genicular arteries
- The network of small arteries supplying the tissues around the knee. They are the target of genicular artery embolization.
- Genicular artery embolization (GAE)
- An interventional radiology procedure in which a fine catheter is used to reduce abnormal blood flow to the inflamed lining of an arthritic knee. Performed by an interventional radiologist, not by Innovare Tx. Investigational for knee osteoarthritis.Read more
- Hyaluronic acid injection (viscosupplementation)
- An injection of a gel-like substance related to a natural component of joint fluid. Widely offered for knee osteoarthritis; guideline bodies differ on its place, and the 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline recommends against it conditionally for the knee.
- Image guidance
- Using ultrasound or fluoroscopy to place a needle under direct vision rather than by surface landmarks. It is a statement about accuracy of delivery, not about what is delivered.
- Intra-articular
- Inside the joint capsule. An intra-articular injection goes into the joint space itself, as opposed to into a tendon, bursa or the tissue around it.
- Kellgren-Lawrence grade
- The most widely used radiographic grading scale for osteoarthritis, running from grade 0 (no features) to grade 4 (severe, with marked joint space loss and bone changes). It describes the X-ray, not the symptoms, and the two correlate loosely.
- Meniscus
- Two C-shaped wedges of fibrocartilage that sit between the thigh bone and shin bone, distributing load. Tears may be traumatic or degenerative, and degenerative tears are common in people with no symptoms at all.
- Minimally manipulated
- A regulatory description of biologic material processed in a way that does not alter its relevant biological characteristics. Autologous orthobiologic preparations are described this way. Note that these preparations do involve an anticoagulant, which is itself a drug.
- Osteoarthritis (OA)
- Progressive change in a joint affecting cartilage, bone, the joint lining and surrounding soft tissue. The most common cause of chronic knee pain.Read more
- Osteophyte (bone spur)
- New bone forming at the margins of a joint, a standard radiographic feature of osteoarthritis. Its presence on a report does not by itself indicate how much pain a person should be in.
- Patellofemoral
- Relating to the joint between the kneecap and the thigh bone. Patellofemoral pain typically presents at the front of the knee and is worse on stairs, squatting and prolonged sitting.
- PPP (platelet-poor plasma)
- The plasma fraction separated from the same autologous blood draw that produces PRP, taken from a different layer of the centrifuged sample.Read more
- PRP (platelet-rich plasma)
- A concentration of the platelet fraction of a patient's own blood, prepared in a centrifuge and delivered by image-guided injection in the same visit. Investigational; not FDA-approved for the treatment of any specific orthopedic condition.Read more
- Stem cell therapy
- A term Innovare Tx does not use for its services and does not offer. The procedures we perform are autologous orthobiologic preparations from your own blood or bone marrow, described by what they are rather than by a cell type they are marketed as containing.
- Stromal vascular fraction (SVF)
- A fat-derived preparation regulated by the FDA as a drug. Innovare Tx does not offer adipose-derived SVF.
- Subchondral
- Beneath the cartilage. Subchondral bone changes, including marrow lesions and cysts, are common findings on knee MRI reports in osteoarthritis.
- Synovium (synovial lining)
- The membrane lining the inside of the joint, which produces joint fluid. Inflammation of the synovium — synovitis — is a significant source of pain in osteoarthritis and is the target of genicular artery embolization.
- Tibiofemoral
- Relating to the joint between the shin bone and the thigh bone, which is the compartment most people mean by the knee joint. Tibiofemoral bracing is a strong recommendation for knee OA in the 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline.
- Ultrasound (diagnostic)
- Live imaging of soft tissue using sound waves, used in our clinic to assess tendons, bursae and joint fluid and to guide needle placement. It does not assess joint space or grade cartilage the way X-ray and MRI do.Read more
PRP, PPP, BMAC, and A2M are autologous procedures prepared from your own blood or bone marrow. They are considered investigational and are not FDA-approved for the treatment of any specific orthopedic condition, including osteoarthritis. Individual results are not guaranteed. Any decision to pursue an orthobiologic procedure should be made with your provider after a clinical evaluation.
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