The Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Injection Versus Physical Therapy Intervention on Womac Scores in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate if stem cell injection is more effective than PT intervention on WOMAC scores for persons with knee OA at 6 months or at a 1-year follow-up. It was hypothesized that MSC injections have a greater effect on WOMAC scores for patients with knee OA than physical therapy interventions at long-term follow-up. METHODS: This study utilized PRIZMA guidelines for the procedure and searches of the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institute s of Health (PubMed), Elsevier, the Journal of American Medical Association, MEDLINE, EBSCOhost and Wiley online library search engines beginning in August of 2017. RESULTS: Six studies were identified that fit the PICO. PEDro scale scores ranged from 5--10. Both MSC injections and PT interventions had large effect sizes at 1 year, with MSCs having greater effects than PT interventions. However, all findings were heterogenous resulting in acceptance of the null hypothesis. CONCLUSIONS: MSC injection appears to be more effective than PT interventions at 1 year on total WOMAC score, but further studies need to be conducted to verify this result. Future research needs to be conducted to improve the quality and quantity of studies for both PT interventions and MSC interventions on knee OA, and the additive benefits of PT in patients who underwent MSC injection needs to be explored.