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Arthritis Treatment in Bilbao with PRP and SVF

Cell therapy (SVF) and PRP as one element of arthritis care — knee, hand, shoulder and other joints, with a doctor reviewing your tests beforehand

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Knee joint: regenerative treatment without surgery
Joint treatment without surgery. Free consultation and review of your scans

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What it is

What is arthritis
and when does this treatment fit?

Arthritis means an inflamed joint. It usually shows as pain at rest and at night, stiffness in the morning lasting over half an hour, swelling, redness and a warm joint. Causes differ: autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis, gout, an infection or a past injury.

  • No surgery — an injection instead of an operation
  • Own tissue — your blood and adipose tissue
  • Ultrasound guidance for every injection
Knee joint: an injection under ultrasound guidance

Who the treatment suits

Whether this treatment fits you is a doctor's decision, made after an examination and a scan review

Suitable

A doctor reviews knee X-rays with a patient
  • Pain, crunching or stiffness in a joint
  • Painkillers only help for a short time
  • Recovery after injuries and surgery
  • You need a second opinion on your scans
  • You want to avoid or postpone joint replacement
  • Early or moderate arthrosis or arthritis
  • High load on the joints — sport or physical work

Not suitable

A doctor examines a patient's knee
  • Cancer
  • Pregnancy
  • Blood clotting disorders
  • Acute infections, including infection in or near the joint
  • Flare-up of a serious chronic illness
  • Temporary contraindications: a cold, flu or fever, or skin inflammation over the joint to be treated

Not sure the treatment is right for you?

Leave your number — the coordinator will ask for your scans (X-ray, MRI or ultrasound), and the doctor will tell you whether treatment without surgery suits you.

Find out if it suits me

What we treat

Conditions we treat

How it works

How the procedure goes: step by step

Consultation and scan review1

Consultation and scan review

The joint is examined and your X-rays, MRI or ultrasound are reviewed by the doctor, who then decides if the procedure is suitable. Scans you already hold can be sent before the visit.

Blood sample for PRP2

Blood sample for PRP

A little blood is drawn from a vein, and from it platelet-rich plasma containing growth factors is later prepared.

Adipose tissue sample3

Adipose tissue sample

Under local anaesthetic, a small portion of adipose tissue (about 30 ml) is taken through a puncture on the abdomen or inner thigh. No stitches are needed.

Processing in a centrifuge4

Processing in a centrifuge

The sample goes into a centrifuge and separates into layers; next, the stromal vascular fraction is isolated and combined with the platelet-rich plasma.

Injection into the joint5

Injection into the joint

Guided by ultrasound for accurate placement, the doctor injects the prepared material directly into the affected joint.

Follow-up6

Follow-up

The doctor follows how the joint responds and stays in touch after the procedure — and you need no crutches or hospital stay.

Book a consultation

Call or message us — our coordinator will contact you shortly and book your consultation

A doctor talks with a patient about joint treatment
Book a consultation
A doctor talks with a patient about joint treatment

Results

After the procedure

  • Doctor talking warmly with a patient after the procedure

    1 week

    The joint may ache a little more — this is an expected reaction.

  • Doctor consulting an older patient one month after treatment

    1 month

    The pain usually eases.

  • Doctor explaining progress to a patient using a knee joint model

    ~3 months

    Mobility and activity improve.

  • Doctor and patient walking together at a follow-up visit

    ~6 months

    The full effect develops.

How long it lasts differs from person to person and depends on the stage of the condition, body weight, activity and other factors — no one can promise a fixed result.

Comparison

Methods we use

Nothing donor or synthetic — only your own blood and adipose tissue are used

Cell therapy (SVF) from your own adipose tissue

A little of your adipose tissue is collected and processed so that the stromal vascular fraction (SVF), a mixture of cells that help tissue repair, can be isolated. Together with your own plasma it is injected into the joint that is affected.

A doctor explains SVF cell therapy for the knee to a patient on a tablet

In inflammatory arthritis it is used for its effect on local inflammation and tissue repair, once the acute flare has settled.

Material
Your adipose tissue and plasma
How it is given
Into the joint, under ultrasound
Duration
The whole procedure is done in one day.

PRP — platelet-rich plasma from your own blood

Plasma rich in platelets and growth factors is separated from a small amount of your blood and injected into the joint. It helps calm inflammation and creates better conditions for tissue repair.

A doctor explains PRP therapy for joints to a patient on a monitor

Rheumatoid and other inflammatory arthritis may call for it as one part of the overall treatment plan.

Material
Your blood from a vein
How it is given
Into the joint, under ultrasound
Duration
The whole procedure is done in one day.

The benefits and timings shown are averaged and given for guidance: the plan and recovery depend on your joint and individual features, and the doctor confirms them at the consultation.

At the consultation the doctor will review your scans and suggest a treatment plan

Free consultation

Book a consultation

Joints

Joints we treat

From large joints to small ones — which joint, which method and how many injections is decided by the doctor once your scans are reviewed

  • KneeKneePain on stairs or after walking, cartilage wear and meniscus problems
  • HipHipEarly hip osteoarthritis, groin pain, limited rotation
  • ShoulderShoulderWear of the joint and the tendons around it, pain on raising the arm
  • ElbowElbowOveruse or sports-strain pain and wearing of the joint surfaces
  • Hand and wrist jointsHand and wrist jointsPain and stiffness in the small joints of the wrist and fingers
  • AnkleAnklePain and stiffness after sprains and old injuries

Advantages

Why patients choose City Medical Centre

Treatment without surgery: our work is about keeping your own joint, not replacing it

Your own tissue

Your own tissue

Nothing donor or synthetic — only your own blood and adipose tissue are used

No crutches

No crutches

Punctures instead of incisions, local anaesthetic, no long rehabilitation

Second opinion

Second opinion

Send your X-rays, MRI or reports and a doctor will give an independent assessment free of charge

Support after the procedure

Support after the procedure

Not just the day of the injection: we stay in touch afterwards and follow how the result develops

About the clinic

A clinic where you can feel at ease

Modern equipment, comfortable rooms and care for every patient

A doctor and a patient at the clinic

Contact us the way that suits you

We will answer your questions and find a convenient time for a consultation

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Request a free call

Price

Arthritis treatment prices

Cost varies with the joint, the arthritis type and the method, so it is named by the doctor after the consultation

FAQ

Joint treatment: frequently asked questions

About the conditions

More about these conditions

Other services of our clinic

Everything about joint inflammation treatment in Bilbao

Growth factors released by platelets influence the immune response and tissue repair. For patients from Bilbao with rheumatoid and other inflammatory arthritis, PRP may be one part of the overall plan.

The procedure is also not done with cancer, blood clotting disorders or during a flare-up of a serious chronic illness. The doctor checks this for every patient in Bilbao at the consultation.

The cost of arthritis treatment depends on the joint, the type of arthritis and the method, so the price is set at the consultation. For patients from Bilbao, the first consultation and review of your scans are free. Leave your name and phone number to book.

Sirimiri, 71 % humidity and what a joint diary can show

Bilbao has an oceanic climate. The 1991-2020 normals give 1,158 mm of precipitation a year, spread over 124.4 days. November is the wettest month, with 171 mm over 13.7 days, and January and December follow with 130 mm and 127 mm. Average humidity is 71 %. The very fine drizzle known locally as sirimiri adds to this, so many days are damp without being properly rainy. For someone with an inflamed joint, that raises a practical question: are the bad days really tied to the weather?

Nobody can answer that from memory, and the doctor cannot answer it from a single description either. A symptom diary can. Each evening, write down a few points in the same order: how long the morning stiffness lasted, whether pain woke you at night, whether the joint looked swollen, and whether it felt red or warm. Morning stiffness lasting longer than half an hour is one of the signs the doctor looks for, so a figure in minutes is far more useful than "stiff again". Add a line about the weather (dry, drizzle, heavy rain), what you did that day, and which painkillers you took.

After a month or two the diary shows patterns. January and February are the coldest months, with average highs of 13.5 and 14.2 °C and lows around 5 °C. Sunshine is scarce too, with only 81 hours in December and January against 186 in July. If your worst weeks fall in those months, that is worth telling the doctor. But a flare that starts in a dry July week points elsewhere, for example an infection, a change in medication or an overworked joint. The diary keeps you from blaming the weather for everything, and it keeps the doctor from missing a trigger.

Keep the diary entries factual. "Right knee swollen, warm to the touch, stiffness 40 minutes, no rain" is more useful than "terrible day". If you photograph a swollen finger or knee on a flare day and again on a calm day, the doctor will see the difference at once during the online consultation. Dates matter as well. A flare that began on a specific day, and what happened in the days before it, helps the doctor decide whether the joint is in an acute phase or has settled.

Waiting lists in Euskadi and why a second opinion fits into the gap

Public care in the Basque Country performs better than most of the national system on surgical waiting times. On 31 December 2025, Euskadi had 24,069 patients waiting for surgery, which is 10.81 per 1,000 inhabitants. The average wait was 64 days, one of the shortest in the national health system. In traumatology, 6,638 patients were waiting for surgery, with an average of 78 days. Across the whole country the picture is heavier: the average surgical wait was 121 days, and 21.6 % of patients had waited more than six months. This was the initial publication, and a later correction exists for data from Castilla-La Mancha.

Outpatient consultations tell a different story. Nationally, 84.42 of every 1,000 people were on the waiting list for a first specialist consultation, with an average wait of 102 days. Traumatology had the longest consultation wait of any specialty, at 132 days. For a joint that is swollen, warm and painful today, those numbers matter. A person with a suspected inflammatory arthritis cannot calmly wait several months to find out what is happening, because the sooner the type of arthritis is established, the sooner the rheumatologist can build the plan.

Here is where an online consultation fits. It does not replace the rheumatologist, and the treatment described by the doctor does not cure a systemic disease. PRP and SVF are used alongside the care of a rheumatologist, and only once an acute flare has calmed. What the online consultation can offer, while you wait for a public appointment or between visits, is a free review of the scans and tests you already have. The doctor looks at your X-rays, MRI, ultrasound or blood test results and tells you whether regenerative treatment could suit your type of arthritis, or whether other steps should come first.

The waiting figures for joint replacement are also worth knowing if you are weighing options. Nationally, hip prosthesis surgery had an average wait of 98 days, with 13.7 % of patients over the maximum period of 180 days. For knee prosthesis it was 105 days and 15.9 %. People who want to postpone replacement sometimes ask whether an injection-based approach is realistic. In early or moderate disease the doctor may consider it. In a badly damaged joint replacement may be the more realistic route, and the doctor will say so honestly after seeing the scans.

Arthritis or arthrosis: reading the national health survey correctly

The 2020 European Health Survey run by Spain's national statistics institute found that osteoarthritis (artrosis) is the third most common diagnosed chronic problem in people aged 15 and over. It affects 14.4 %, behind high blood pressure at 19.0 % and high cholesterol at 15.3 %. Low back pain was reported by 13.7 %. These figures are useful context, because many people with aching joints are told "it is just arthrosis" when their pattern does not quite fit.

The difference matters. Osteoarthritis is gradual wear of the cartilage covering the ends of the bones. It is degenerative, not inflammatory. It is usually noticed as a dry crunch and an aching pain when the joint moves. Arthritis means an inflamed joint. The signs are pain at night or at rest, morning stiffness longer than half an hour, swelling, and a joint that is red and warm. The cause may be autoimmune (rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis), gout, infection, or an old injury.

In practice the two can coexist, and a knee can show both. This is one reason the doctor starts with an examination and a review of your scans. If the knee is red, warm and clearly swollen and tender to the touch, inflammation is the leading suspicion. If it mostly crunches and aches on movement, wear is more likely. Both are listed among the conditions treated, together with gonarthrosis, coxarthrosis, meniscus problems and avascular necrosis. But the plan differs depending on which one is in front of the doctor.

The doctor's approach to inflammatory arthritis is cautious. The procedure is never done during a severe flare or an active joint infection. For psoriatic arthritis, which is a chronic disease with no complete cure, the aim is long remission: keeping inflammation in check and preventing deformity. Regenerative injections are only one possible part of that plan. When you describe your symptoms, mention any diagnosis you already have, the medication you take and who prescribes it. The doctor needs that to judge the right moment.

What to put in the folder before the video call

An online consultation works best when the doctor has material to look at. Gather the following into one folder on your phone or computer, so the coordinator can pass it on through WhatsApp or Telegram, where answers come round the clock.

First, imaging: X-rays, MRI or ultrasound of the affected joint, as image files if you have them and as written reports in any case. Second, blood test results and any report from a rheumatologist, especially if the diagnosis is rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis or gout. Third, a list of current medicines with the dates you started them. Fourth, the symptom diary described above, or at least a few weeks of it. Fifth, photographs of the joint on a bad day and a calm day.

Also be ready to answer a few direct questions, because they decide whether treatment is possible at all. Do you have a fever, a cold or flu at the moment? Is there any skin inflammation over the joint? Is there any chance of pregnancy? Have you had cancer, or do you have a blood clotting disorder? Is the joint currently in a flare? These are listed as reasons why the procedure is postponed or not done. A temporary fever or skin inflammation over the joint only delays things, while an active infection in or near the joint rules out the procedure until it is treated.

It also helps to think about what you want from the consultation. Some people want a second opinion on scans. Some want to avoid or postpone a joint replacement. Others have pain that painkillers only ease for a short time. Tell the doctor which applies. If you live with a high load on the joints, through sport or physical work, say so, because it affects both the plan and the recovery.

Finally, understand what the procedure involves so that nothing surprises you later. For PRP, a small amount of blood is taken from a vein. For SVF, about 30 ml of adipose tissue is taken under local anaesthetic through a single puncture on the abdomen or inner thigh, with no stitches. The sample is processed in a centrifuge, and the prepared material is injected into the joint under ultrasound guidance. The whole procedure is done in one day, with no crutches and no hospital stay.

Planning treatment around the calendar, from the hills to Aste Nagusia

Bilbao sits about 16 km south of the Bay of Biscay, in a town centre ringed by two modest mountain chains of roughly 400 m, with Mount Ganeta at 689 m as the highest point. The estuary is some 15 km long, formed where the Nervión and the Ibaizábal meet. The average elevation of the city is only 19 m. It is a compact place of about 40.65 km2, and the municipality counts 347,342 inhabitants, so many daily routines involve walking and stairs. For a person with knee, hip or ankle arthritis, this terrain is relevant. Hilly streets and steps can be hard on inflamed joints, and the doctor will want to know how much of your day involves them.

The calendar matters too. Aste Nagusia, the Great Week, lasts nine days from the first Saturday after 15 August and opens with the chupinazo from the Teatro Arriaga. Late August is also warm, with the highest monthly averages of the year: 26.3 °C maximum in August, 16.1 °C minimum. If you plan to be on your feet for long days, think about the timing of any injection. After the procedure, the sensible expectation is that the joint may ache a little more for about a week, which is an expected reaction. The pain usually eases within a month, mobility and activity improve by around three months, and the full effect develops around six months. These timings are averages. They depend on the stage of the condition, body weight, activity and other factors, and no one can promise a fixed result.

So it is worth asking your doctor to think backwards from the dates that matter to you: a family event, a busy work season or a holiday period. The doctor also needs the joint to be out of a flare, so a plan made in a calm stretch is easier to follow than one rushed during a bad week. The university calendar can matter for students and staff too. The main campus of the University of the Basque Country in Bizkaia is at Leioa, 11 km from the centre, and daily commuting adds to the load on hips and knees. Mention it if it applies to you.

Because the consultation is online and coordinators reply 24/7, you can ask your questions at whatever time suits you and send the folder when it is ready. The doctor keeps in touch after the procedure and follows how the joint responds.

Does the damp Bilbao weather make inflammatory arthritis worse?

The climate here is humid, with an average of 71 % and 124.4 rainy days a year, and many people with joint disease feel the weather. This cannot be proven for any one person without data, which is why a diary is useful. Record stiffness in minutes, swelling and night pain along with a note on the weather. After a few weeks you and the doctor can see whether flares cluster in the wet months or are unrelated to them.

Which months are usually the hardest for joints in Bilbao?

The coldest are January and February, with average highs of 13.5 and 14.2 °C, and November is the wettest month at 171 mm. Winter also has the least sun, only 81 hours in December and January. Whether those months are harder for you depends on your own pattern, so compare them with your diary entries instead of assuming.

Can I wait for a public rheumatology or traumatology appointment and still use an online consultation?

Yes. The online consultation is a free review of your scans and results, and it does not replace the rheumatologist. National figures from 31 December 2025 show an average wait of 102 days for a first specialist consultation, and 132 days in traumatology. During that wait you can ask the doctor whether your scans suggest that regenerative treatment could fit, and what to prepare.

Does the doctor treat a joint that is in a flare?

No. The procedure is not done during a severe flare or an active joint infection. For inflammatory arthritis, the cell therapy is applied after the acute flare has calmed. If you are in a flare when you contact the coordinator, the doctor will advise on timing and may postpone the procedure.

How do I know whether my problem is arthritis or osteoarthritis?

Signs of arthritis include pain at night or at rest, morning stiffness longer than 30 minutes, swelling, and redness and warmth over the joint. Osteoarthritis is cartilage wear, usually felt as a dry crunch and aching pain on movement. The two can overlap, so the doctor examines the joint and reviews your imaging before suggesting anything.

Which documents should I send first?

Start with X-ray, MRI or ultrasound images and the written reports, then any blood tests and rheumatologist letters, and your current medication list. Add a short symptom diary and photographs of the joint on a good and a bad day. If something is missing, the coordinator will tell you what the doctor needs.

Will I need crutches or a hospital stay after the injection?

No. The procedure uses punctures instead of incisions, under local anaesthetic, with ultrasound guidance for the injection. There are no crutches and no hospital stay, and the whole procedure is done in one day. The joint may ache a little more for about a week, which is an expected reaction.

Can I plan the procedure around a busy period like Aste Nagusia?

You can raise it at the consultation. The doctor will consider the state of the joint first, and then the dates that matter to you. Remember that the effect develops over months: pain usually eases around one month, mobility improves at about three months and the full effect develops around six months. Averages vary between people.