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Regenerative Arthritis Care in Zurich

A doctor looks at your case and tests first, then PRP and SVF cell therapy can become part of arthritis care for the knee, hand, shoulder or other joints

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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?

An inflamed joint is the core of arthritis. Look for pain at night or when resting, stiffness in the morning for longer than half an hour, swelling, and a joint that is red and warm. The cause can be autoimmune (rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis), gout, infection or a long-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 the treatment suits you is decided by a doctor after 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: skin inflammation over the target joint, or a fever, a cold or flu

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 doctor decides on the procedure only after examining the joint and reviewing your X-rays, MRI or ultrasound. You are welcome to send any scans you have before the appointment.

Blood sample for PRP2

Blood sample for PRP

From a small amount of blood drawn from a vein, platelet-rich plasma with growth factors is prepared later on.

Adipose tissue sample3

Adipose tissue sample

About 30 ml of adipose tissue is taken through a puncture on the abdomen or inner thigh, under local anaesthetic; the puncture needs no stitches.

Processing in a centrifuge4

Processing in a centrifuge

In a centrifuge the sample separates into layers; the stromal vascular fraction is then isolated and mixed with 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

No crutches and no hospital stay. The doctor stays in touch after the procedure and follows how the joint responds.

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

No synthetic or donor material is involved — only your own adipose tissue and blood

Cell therapy (SVF) from your own adipose tissue

The affected joint receives an injection of the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) — a set of cells involved in tissue repair, isolated from a small sample of your adipose tissue — combined with your own plasma.

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

Its effect on local inflammation and tissue repair is why it is used in inflammatory arthritis, after 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

From a small amount of your blood, plasma rich in growth factors and platelets is separated and injected into the joint. It helps to calm inflammation and creates better conditions for repairing tissue.

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

It may be recommended for rheumatoid and other inflammatory arthritis 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

Any size of joint, large or small: your scans are reviewed first, then the doctor settles on the joint, the method and the number of injections

  • KneeKneePain on stairs or after walking, cartilage wear and meniscus problems
  • HipHipEarly hip osteoarthritis, groin pain, limited rotation
  • ShoulderShoulderPain when raising the arm, wear of the joint and surrounding tendons
  • ElbowElbowOveruse or sports-strain pain and wearing of the joint surfaces
  • Hand and wrist jointsHand and wrist jointsStiffness and pain in the small joints of the fingers and wrist
  • 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

No synthetic or donor material is involved — only your own adipose tissue and blood

No crutches

No crutches

Punctures in place of incisions, under local anaesthetic, without a long rehabilitation

Second opinion

Second opinion

Send X-rays, MRI results or reports and a doctor will assess them independently and free of charge

Support after the procedure

Support after the procedure

After the injection day we stay in touch and keep following the result

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

Price depends on the joint, the method and your type of arthritis, and the doctor names 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 Zurich residents

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

Pain usually eases over the first month, and mobility improves over about three months. For patients from Zurich, the full effect develops over around six months, and its duration differs from person to person.

Book a free consultation in Zurich to find out whether PRP or SVF could help your arthritis. The doctor names the price after examining the joint.

Reading flares against a damp, changeable climate

Inflammatory arthritis rarely follows a calendar, but people who live with it often wonder whether the weather plays a part. In Zurich there is plenty of weather to observe. The long-term normal from the Zürich-Affoltern station shows an annual mean temperature of 9.9 °C, about 1,021 mm of precipitation spread over 125.2 rain days, and a mean relative humidity of 77.7%. January averages 1.0 °C, with a mean minimum of −1.9 °C, and there are about 87 frost days a year. July is the opposite end: a mean daily maximum of 25.1 °C and about 7.6 hours of sunshine a day.

Medical literature does not give a firm rule that a given weather type triggers a flare, and the doctor will not promise one. What you can do is collect your own evidence. If a swollen knee or a stiff wrist seems worse in a wet May (the city's second-wettest month, with 115 mm on average) or during the dark weeks of December, when sunshine falls to about 1.3 hours a day, write it down. After a few months the diary shows whether the pattern is real or whether it was coincidence, and the doctor can then weigh it accordingly.

Weather is only one variable, so the diary should not stop there. A flare of an autoimmune, gout-related or infectious joint can follow a cold, a missed medication dose, an unusual meal, a poor night or a physical strain. The aim is to separate those factors from the climate so that you do not blame the rain for something else.

A reminder about what an inflamed joint looks like, because the signs matter for timing. Pain at night or at rest, morning stiffness lasting longer than half an hour, swelling, and a joint that is red and warm all point towards inflammation rather than simple wear. The doctor first confirms which type of arthritis you have. Injections are never given during a severe flare or an active joint infection, so a clear record of when the joint was hot and swollen helps to choose a calmer window.

A symptom diary built around the Zurich year

A useful diary is short enough that you keep filling it in. Five lines a day are better than a page you abandon after a week. Note the time you woke and how long the stiffness lasted, rating it against the half-hour mark that doctors use as a signpost. Add which joints were swollen, red or warm, a pain score from 0 to 10, what you took for it, and anything unusual that day.

The city's own rhythm gives you reference points that make entries easier to compare. Summers are warm, with about 51 summer days and 11–12 hot days a year, while winters bring around 16 days when the temperature never leaves freezing. If you record the weather beside your joint notes, that is a handful of words: "cold and dry", "mild and rainy", "hot and sunny". Over a year you will have a record spanning the whole range that the climate offers.

Local events can also show up in the diary, as they change routine rather than the joint itself. Sechseläuten falls on the third Monday of April, and the afternoon is a half holiday for city employees. The Street Parade is usually held on the second Saturday in August along the Zürichsee and draws around 900,000 visitors. A day with unusual standing, walking, crowds or late nights is a day on which a flare may follow for reasons unrelated to climate, so mark it.

The terrain gives a few more entries. Zurich sits at 409 m above sea level, and the city's height range runs from 391 m to 870 m at the Uetliberg. If slopes or stairs are the movement that provokes your knee or ankle, say which ones. "Pain after walking uphill" tells the doctor more than "pain when walking".

Include photographs. A phone picture of a swollen knuckle taken on the worst morning is more convincing than a description given a week later when the swelling has settled. Take the pictures in the same light and from the same angle, and keep them with the diary.

Basic insurance, specialist access and what an online opinion adds

Switzerland requires everyone staying in the country to hold health insurance. The basic (OKP) benefits are the same nationwide for all insured people and cover illness, accident and maternity. Insurers must offer the basic plan to everyone regardless of age or health status, so a chronic joint disease does not close that door.

There is a cost-sharing structure behind the basic plan: an annual deductible that the insured person chooses from a range of options, followed by a percentage co-payment up to a yearly cap. Inpatient stays carry a daily contribution for people who do not live with family members. The exact amounts change and depend on the plan you chose, so check your own policy documents instead of relying on a general figure. It is worth reading what your policy says about specialist visits, imaging and physiotherapy before you decide how to use them.

Two further points are relevant for someone considering regenerative joint treatment. Basic insurance does not generally pay for dental care except in special exceptional cases, which shows that the basic package has defined edges, and what falls outside it is a matter to clarify beforehand with your insurer. Since 2017, various complementary medicine therapies have been reimbursed. We cannot tell you whether PRP or SVF injections are covered under your plan. Ask your insurer in writing and keep the answer. Our coordinators can give you the exact name of the procedure and the medical description to quote when you ask.

Where does an online consultation fit? Rheumatoid, psoriatic and other systemic arthritis stays in the hands of a rheumatologist. PRP and SVF do not cure those diseases and are not a replacement for the treatment prescribed. An online conversation with our doctor is an additional, independent view of your scans and test results. It can help in these situations:

- You want a second opinion on an X-ray, MRI or ultrasound.

- Painkillers help only for a short time and you wonder whether treatment without surgery is realistic.

- You wish to understand whether and when injections could be added to the plan your rheumatologist already follows.

Coordinators are available around the clock on WhatsApp and Telegram, so you can send material when it suits you, whatever your shift or study schedule. Zurich has a large student community, with 28,476 students at Universität Zürich in 2024 alone and a similar order of magnitude at ETH, so many people are used to managing appointments between lectures and work. The same applies to arranging a video call.

Assembling your file for the first video conversation

This section is a practical checklist for the days before the call. Unlike a visit in person, nobody can feel the joint, so the file has to speak for you.

First, scans. Send X-ray, MRI or ultrasound images and, where possible, the written report as well. If you only have a disc or a portal link from the imaging centre, ask them for a file you can forward. Our coordinator will ask for these before the consultation so that the doctor has already looked at them.

Second, blood tests and letters. Inflammation markers and any autoimmune or uric acid results, if you have them, help the doctor place your arthritis in the right category: autoimmune (rheumatoid or psoriatic), gout, infection or the aftermath of an old injury. A letter from your rheumatologist describing the diagnosis and current medication is very useful, because the doctor needs to know what the injections would be added to.

Third, the diary described above, with at least a few weeks of entries and the photographs.

Fourth, a list of medicines and supplements, including anything that affects blood clotting, since a clotting disorder is one of the situations in which the procedure is not carried out. Also mention any fever, cold or flu in the last days and any skin inflammation over the joint in question, because those are temporary contraindications.

Fifth, your own questions and goals. Do you want to postpone a joint replacement? Return to sport or physical work? Walk without pain at night? Concrete goals let the doctor say honestly whether regenerative treatment can help with them.

For the call itself, choose a quiet room with good light and a camera that lets you show the joint. Wear clothing that exposes the knee, shoulder, elbow, hand or ankle without effort. Have your documents open on the screen and the diary within reach.

After the flare settles: how injections fit in

The doctor works to a simple order. First comes confirmation of the type of arthritis. Then comes waiting for the right moment, because the procedure is not done during a severe flare or an active infection in or near the joint. For inflammatory arthritis, SVF is applied after the acute flare has calmed, since it acts on local inflammation and tissue repair. PRP may be advised for rheumatoid or other inflammatory arthritis, always as one part of the overall plan.

Both methods use only your own material: blood for PRP, and adipose tissue for SVF. For PRP, a small amount of blood is taken from a vein and platelet-rich plasma with growth factors is prepared from it. For SVF, roughly 30 ml of adipose tissue is taken under local anaesthetic through a single puncture on the abdomen or inner thigh, without stitches. A centrifuge separates the sample into layers, the stromal vascular fraction is isolated and added to the plasma, and the material is injected into the joint under ultrasound guidance. The whole procedure is done in one day, with no crutches and no hospital stay.

Afterwards, the pattern the service describes is this. In the first week the joint may ache a little more, which is an expected reaction. After about a month the pain usually eases. Around 3 months mobility and activity improve, and by about 6 months the full effect develops. These are averaged timings given for guidance, and no one can promise a fixed result. How long the effect lasts depends on the stage of the condition, body weight, activity and other factors.

Here the diary pays off again. Keep entering the same lines after the procedure, so that you and the doctor can compare the same measures before and after, such as morning stiffness, night pain and swelling. The doctor stays in touch after the procedure and follows how the joint responds.

Some people are not suitable: those with cancer, pregnancy, blood clotting disorders, acute infections or a flare of a serious chronic illness. In those cases the doctor postpones the procedure or suggests another option, and you will hear that frankly after your scans have been reviewed.

Does the weather in Zurich make arthritis worse?

There is no firm rule that a particular weather type triggers a flare, and the doctor will not promise one. What the city offers is a wide range to observe: an annual mean of 9.9 °C, about 125 rain days, humidity around 78% and about 87 frost days. Write the weather beside your joint notes for a few months and the pattern, or its absence, will become visible.

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

A few weeks of entries are already useful, and a few months are better. Record morning stiffness against the half-hour mark, swollen or warm joints, a pain score, the medication you took and anything unusual that day. Add photographs of the joint on a bad morning, since images are persuasive in a video call.

Will my Swiss basic insurance pay for PRP or SVF injections?

We cannot say, because it depends on your own plan and your insurer's decision. Basic benefits are identical nationwide and cover illness, accident and maternity, but the package has defined limits. Ask your insurer in writing, and our coordinator can give you the medical name and description of the procedure to quote.

Can I use the online consultation alongside my rheumatologist?

Yes, and that is the intended use. For rheumatoid, psoriatic and other systemic arthritis, the rheumatologist leads the treatment. Our doctor gives an additional view of your scans and tests and assesses whether injections could be added once the acute flare has calmed, without replacing what has been prescribed.

Do seasons or local events affect when I should book?

The procedure depends on the state of your joint, not the calendar. It is not carried out during a severe flare, an active infection, a fever, a cold or flu, or skin inflammation over the joint. If you plan a busy period such as the Street Parade weekend in August or the Sechseläuten holiday afternoon in April, tell the coordinator and the timing can be arranged around a calm phase.

What should I send the coordinator first?

Send your X-ray, MRI or ultrasound images with the written reports, any blood test results, and a letter from your rheumatologist if you have one. Add a list of medicines, including anything that affects blood clotting, and your diary. Coordinators answer round the clock on WhatsApp and Telegram, so you can send everything at a time that suits you.

How soon after a flare can injections be considered?

Only once the acute flare has calmed. For inflammatory arthritis SVF is applied after the flare has settled, and PRP is advised as one part of the overall plan. The doctor decides after reviewing your scans and the history in your diary, and will postpone if there is a severe flare or joint infection.

What changes can I expect to notice, and when?

The averaged timings are as follows. In the first week the joint may ache a little more, which is expected. After about a month the pain usually eases, around 3 months mobility and activity improve, and by about 6 months the full effect develops. These are guidance only, and no one can promise a fixed result. Continuing the diary lets you compare the same measures before and after.