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Arthritis in Bochum: When This Treatment Fits

PRP and SVF cell therapy as part of arthritis care for the knee, hand, shoulder and other joints. A doctor reviews your case and tests first

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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 is inflammation of a joint. Typical signs are pain at rest and at night, morning stiffness that lasts longer than half an hour, swelling, redness and warmth over the joint. The causes vary: autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis, gout, infection or an old 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

Suitability is decided by a doctor following an examination and a review of your scans

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: fever, flu or a cold, or inflamed skin over the joint being 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

After examining the joint and reviewing your X-rays, MRI or ultrasound, the doctor decides whether the procedure is right for you. Scans you already have can be sent ahead of the visit.

Blood sample for PRP2

Blood sample for PRP

A small blood sample is taken from a vein. Later, platelet-rich plasma with growth factors is prepared from this blood.

Adipose tissue sample3

Adipose tissue sample

Under local anaesthetic we take roughly 30 ml of adipose tissue through a single puncture on the abdomen or the inner thigh — no stitches required.

Processing in a centrifuge4

Processing in a centrifuge

Centrifuging the sample separates it into layers, after which the stromal vascular fraction is isolated and mixed into the platelet-rich plasma.

Injection into the joint5

Injection into the joint

The prepared material goes directly into the affected joint, with ultrasound guidance helping to place it accurately.

Follow-up6

Follow-up

You go without crutches or a hospital stay, while the doctor keeps in touch after the procedure and follows the joint's response.

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

The treatment relies only on your own blood and adipose tissue, not on donor or synthetic material

Cell therapy (SVF) from your own adipose tissue

SVF, or stromal vascular fraction, is a mix of cells involved in tissue repair, isolated by processing a small amount of your adipose tissue. It is combined with plasma from your own blood and injected into the affected joint.

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

In inflammatory arthritis, after the acute flare has passed, it is chosen for how it acts on local inflammation and tissue repair.

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

Your blood, in a small amount, provides plasma rich in platelets and growth factors; injected into the joint, it helps ease inflammation and creates better conditions for repair of the tissues.

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

It may form one part of the overall treatment plan in rheumatoid and other types of inflammatory arthritis.

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

The doctor looks at your scans and then chooses which joint to treat, which method to use and how many injections — for large and small joints alike

  • KneeKneeWorn cartilage, meniscus issues and pain climbing stairs or after a walk
  • HipHipEarly hip osteoarthritis, groin pain, limited rotation
  • ShoulderShoulderPain lifting the arm, with wear of the joint and its surrounding tendons
  • ElbowElbowPain after overuse or sports strain, wear of the joint surfaces
  • Hand and wrist jointsHand and wrist jointsStiffness and aching in the wrist and in the small finger joints
  • AnkleAnklePain and stiffness after sprains and old injuries

Advantages

Why patients choose City Medical Centre

Treatment without surgery that sets out to keep your own joint instead of replacing it

Your own tissue

Your own tissue

The treatment relies only on your own blood and adipose tissue, not on donor or synthetic material

No crutches

No crutches

Punctures, not incisions; local anaesthetic; and rehabilitation that is not long

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

We remain in contact after the procedure and follow the result, well beyond the injection day

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

Since the price depends on the joint, the method and the type of arthritis, the doctor gives it after the consultation

FAQ

Joint treatment: frequently asked questions

About the conditions

More about these conditions

Other services of our clinic

How PRP and SVF work in arthritis for Bochum residents

We work with inflammatory joint conditions of the knee, hand and wrist, shoulder, elbow, hip and ankle. Patients from Bochum can send their test results and scans for a free review.

Treatment starts with a consultation and a review of your scans and tests. Then blood and a small adipose tissue sample are taken, processed in a centrifuge and injected into the joint under ultrasound guidance. For patients from Bochum, it is done in one day.

A consultation is the first step for every patient from Bochum. It is free, and after it you know whether the treatment fits, the method and the cost.

Damp Ruhr winters and why they belong in a joint diary

Bochum sits on the flat-hilly Bochumer Landrücken, with the Ruhr to the south and the Emscher to the north. The annual mean relative humidity is 77.7%, and the city records 866 mm of precipitation across 195 rainy days a year. December is the wettest month at 93 mm, followed by January and August at 88 mm each. Sunshine averages 1.3 hours a day in December and 1.5 hours in January, against 7.0 hours a day in July.

None of this proves that weather causes arthritis flares. Many people with inflammatory joint disease believe it does, though, and a belief is easy to test if you write things down. The climate figures give you a reference frame. If your knuckles are worst in the darkest, wettest weeks, a diary will show it. If they flare in a dry July, it will show that instead. Either answer helps the doctor, because it separates a pattern from a coincidence.

The temperature range is mild by continental standards. The mean daily maximum is 5.6 °C in January and 24.7 °C in July, and the January mean minimum is 1.2 °C. That means few days of deep frost but many days near the freezing point and damp. Cold on its own is not the question. The point is to record how a joint behaves after a day outdoors at 3 °C compared with a day indoors at 21 °C.

Altitude differs little across the city, from 43 m at the lowest point to 196 m at the highest, so you do not need to adjust for elevation. A simple note beside each entry is enough: indoor day, long outdoor day, rain, dry spell.

Entries that make a symptom log useful from the first call

An inflamed joint has a recognisable profile: pain at night or at rest, stiffness in the morning that lasts longer than half an hour, swelling, and a joint that looks red and feels warm. Build your diary around those features instead of a vague "bad day" score. Each morning, write down how many minutes the stiffness lasted. Count it from the moment you get up until the hand or knee moves freely.

Add a line for night pain: whether it woke you, and which joint. Note whether the joint is swollen, red or warm to the touch. A phone photo of a swollen finger or knee on the same day each week gives the doctor something to compare. It is easier to judge a trend from five photos than from a memory.

Also record what you did the previous day. Heavy lifting, a long walk, a late evening, a skipped medication dose and a cold or fever can all change how a joint feels. The service material is clear that a fever, a cold, flu or any skin inflammation over the joint planned for treatment are temporary reasons to wait, so log those too. If a cold ran through your household in the same week your wrist swelled, the doctor needs to know.

Keep the diary for several weeks before the consultation if you can. A start date such as 4 January 2027 works as well as any other. What matters is that it is continuous. Gaps are not a problem, and a note that says "no entry, bad week" is itself informative.

Statutory cover, specialist access and the place of injections

Germany's statutory health insurance (GKV) covers about 92% of the population. As of 2024, roughly 88% of the working population is insured through statutory funds and about 11% privately. Most readers in Bochum will therefore have a statutory insurer or a private one, and the paperwork differs between them.

The sources we rely on describe the general principle that health insurers cover treatment costs, with cosmetic surgery as the exception. They do not say how an insurer treats PRP or SVF injections for arthritis. We will not claim that these are covered, and we will not claim that they are not. That is a question for your insurer, and the answer may depend on your tariff and on the diagnosis. Ask in writing, and keep the reply with your other documents.

Systemic inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis is managed by a rheumatologist, and that does not change. The injections discussed here are not a replacement for that care. As the medical text puts it, PRP and SVF work alongside, not instead of, a rheumatologist's care. The online consultation is therefore a second layer. The doctor reviews your scans, asks about the type of arthritis, and says whether joint injections could reasonably be considered once an acute flare has settled.

A 2010 Commonwealth Fund survey found that 70% of Germans reported waiting less than one month for elective surgery. That figure is old and covers surgery, not rheumatology appointments, so do not read it as a promise about specialist waiting times. It does show that access to hospital-based care in Germany has generally been quick. If your own specialist appointment is far off, tell the coordinator. The doctor can still review scans you already have.

Between joint replacement figures and joint preservation

About five million people in Germany have osteoarthritis, and about 400,000 hip and knee joint replacements were performed in 2016. After an uncomplicated hip replacement, the stay in hospital lasts about six to eight days in most clinics, and follow-up rehabilitation is arranged during that stay. Those numbers show how common joint wear is and how established replacement is as a route.

Osteoarthritis is not the same condition as arthritis. Osteoarthritis is gradual wear of the cartilage, a degenerative problem. Arthritis is inflammation, with autoimmune disease, gout, infection or an old injury behind it. The distinction matters for your diary, because osteoarthritis tends to bring a dry crunch and aching pain on movement, while inflamed joints bring warmth, redness and pain at rest.

The approach on offer here aims to keep your own joint rather than replace it, using an injection instead of an operation. It uses your own blood for PRP and, for SVF, about 30 ml of your own adipose tissue taken under local anaesthetic through a single puncture. The doctor will say honestly if a joint is already too damaged. In badly damaged hips, for example, replacement may be the more realistic option. That is why scans come first.

Timing a one-day procedure around the Bochum calendar

The whole procedure, whether PRP or SVF combined with PRP, is done in one day. There are no crutches and no hospital stay. Even so, the first week matters. The joint may ache a little more, which is an expected reaction. Improvement is described in stages: after about a month the pain usually eases, around three months mobility and activity improve, and by about six months the full effect develops. These figures are averages, and how long the effect lasts differs from person to person.

When you plan, look at your calendar for what you cannot easily move. Bochum Total, the free open-air festival begun in 1986, is usually held on the first July weekend. The Christmas market runs through December downtown. The Ruhr-Universität Bochum has 37,653 students in the winter semester 2025/26, and the city has nine universities or branches of universities. Their term dates shape the working year of many households.

None of these events is a medical factor. If you have a long standing-heavy day at a stall or a festival, or a demanding week of lectures or exams, the first week after the procedure is better kept quiet. Avoid scheduling it just before such days. Also avoid scheduling it during a severe flare or an active joint infection, when the doctor will not proceed in any case.

Remember that the doctor decides the moment. For inflammatory arthritis, SVF is applied after the acute flare has calmed. You cannot choose a date by calendar alone, and the diary helps here too. A run of calmer weeks on paper is better evidence than a feeling.

What to have ready when the online consultation begins

The coordinator will ask for your scans: X-ray, MRI or ultrasound, whichever you have. Send them before the call if possible so the doctor can look at them in advance. Reports from a rheumatologist, blood test results and a list of current medicines belong in the same folder. A second opinion on existing scans is part of the service, and you do not need to commit to treatment in order to ask for one.

Prepare short answers to the questions the doctor will almost certainly ask. Which joint or joints hurt, and since when? Do they hurt at night or at rest? How long does morning stiffness last? Has the joint been red, warm or swollen? Is there a known diagnosis such as rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis, or gout? Have you had an injury or an operation on that joint in the past?

Be ready to say whether any of the following applies, because they affect suitability: cancer, pregnancy, a blood clotting disorder, an acute infection (including one in or near the joint), or a flare of a serious chronic illness. Mention a fever, cold or flu in the last days, and any skin inflammation over the joint. Honest answers here protect you. The doctor will postpone or suggest something else if the moment is wrong.

Coordinators answer round the clock on WhatsApp and Telegram, so you can send photos and files at any hour and the doctor will see them when the case is reviewed. Write your questions down in advance, including the practical ones: how many injections, which joint first, what contact follows after the procedure.

Does Bochum's damp climate make arthritis worse?

The service material makes no claim that weather causes flares, and we will not make one. Bochum does have high humidity (77.7% as an annual mean), 195 rainy days a year and very little winter sun, so a diary that records weather next to morning stiffness and swelling is a fair way to test your own experience. The doctor will look at the pattern, not at a general belief.

How long should I keep a symptom diary before the consultation?

As long as you can, ideally several weeks without a break. Record the minutes of morning stiffness, night pain, swelling, and any redness or warmth over the joint. Add notes on rain, long days outdoors, a cold or fever, and missed medication. A short diary is still better than none, and the coordinator can tell you what to add.

Will my statutory health insurance pay for PRP or SVF?

We cannot say. About 92% of people in Germany are covered by statutory insurance, and the general principle is that insurers pay for treatment except cosmetic surgery. Whether a specific injection for arthritis is reimbursed depends on your insurer and tariff. Ask your fund in writing before you decide, and keep the reply.

I already see a rheumatologist in Bochum. Do I need to stop that?

No. For rheumatoid, psoriatic and other systemic arthritis, the rheumatologist's care stays in place. PRP and SVF are considered alongside it, not instead of it, and only after an acute flare has settled. Tell the doctor which medicines you take, and send any recent letters or blood test results.

What if my flare is active on the day of the procedure?

The procedure will not go ahead during a severe flare or an active joint infection. A fever, a cold, flu or skin inflammation over the joint are temporary reasons to wait as well. Tell the coordinator as soon as your symptoms change, and the doctor will move the date.

Could a busy week, such as a festival weekend or exam period, affect recovery?

The first week after the procedure can bring a little more aching in the joint, which is an expected reaction. It makes sense to keep that week free of heavy demands. There is no need to avoid ordinary life, but avoid placing the procedure just before a physically demanding stretch. The doctor will discuss timing with you.

Are joint replacement and this treatment alternatives?

Sometimes, at early or moderate stages. The aim here is to keep your own joint and perhaps postpone replacement. If a joint is already badly damaged, replacement may be more realistic, and the doctor will say so after seeing your scans. Hip replacement in Germany usually involves a hospital stay of about six to eight days, while this procedure is done in one day without crutches.

Which documents should I send first?

Send your X-rays, MRI or ultrasound images, any reports, recent blood test results, a list of current medicines and your diary. Photos of the swollen joint taken on the same day each week are useful too. The coordinator will tell you if anything is missing, and the doctor will review it all free of charge as part of the second opinion.