An Alternative Treatment Option
Many people come to our clinic looking for treatment options for arthritis other than cortisone injections or knee replacements. A2M, which stands for Alpha-2-macroglobulin, is a great injection option for more moderate or moderate-to-severe arthritis.
How A2M Works
A2M is something that occurs naturally in our bodies but is unable to get into the joints. So, we do a blood draw and process the A2M, and then we inject it back into the injured or arthritic area.
What it does is help eliminate the enzymes, or proteases, in a joint that are causing cartilage breakdown.
A2M as a Bug Killer in a Garden
I like to think of it as a bug killer in a garden. If you have a garden with bugs that are eating away at your plants, that’s similar to the proteases in a joint eating away at the cartilage.
The A2M will actually engulf those proteases and get them out of that joint, just like a bug killer would get the bugs out of your garden. It’s a great injection option. It helps with pain, and it helps to get those proteases out of the joints.
Pairing A2M With PRP
We will oftentimes pair this injection with PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, about six weeks after the A2M injection. At that point, PRP is more like a fertilizer. It also helps with pain and inflammation.
