Knee Pain Doesn’t Have to Mean Knee Replacement: A New Option Gets Patients Moving Again. Orthopedic Surgeon discusses The KneeBar® Procedure with YourUpdateTV

Sports Medicine Expert and Professor of Orthopedics Dr. Brian Cole from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago recently offered his perspective on a new approach to addressing knee pain during a nationwide media tour in partnership with OSSIO Inc. and in conjunction with D S Simon Media. Conducted on September 18, the tour enabled Dr. Cole to explain how The KneeBar® Procedure delivers relief from knee pain and can improve function and quality of life for two main groups of patients with subchondral stress fractures of the knee – those with associated meniscus damage and others with mild to moderate arthritis in the joint. The procedure uses metal-free OSSIOfiber® implants to provide structural stability from the beginning and integrates into the natural bone during the healing process, leaving no permanent hardware behind.

NEW YORK, Oct. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Knee pain in active adults can feel like a countdown to knee replacement. But a new approach called The KneeBar® Procedure is challenging that assumption.

Indicated for patients with subchondral insufficiency fracture of the knee, which can often be associated with certain types of meniscus tears or in the early stages of osteoarthritis, The KneeBar® Procedure is a minimally invasive treatment option that can minimize downtime for rehabilitation and enable a return to an active pain free lifestyle within weeks.

Early results from clinical research are promising, with reproducible pain relief and restoration of function beyond two years of follow-up. The KneeBar® Procedure uses metal-free implants made from natural mineral fibers found in bone to support the knee, a technique known as raftering. OSSIOfiber implants gradually integrate with the patient’s own bone during the healing process, leaving no permanent hardware behind.

More than 100,000 OSSIOfiber implants have already been used in a variety of orthopedic procedures, not just for knees, and the company behind this medical technology envisions more applications in the future.

Brian Cole, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and professor at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago who specializes in sports medicine, conducted a media tour discussing The KneeBar® Procedure, who may benefit from it and other recent advances helping patients preserve mobility and stay active through joint sparing minimally invasive surgical techniques.

Here are his insights:

Many people have persistent knee pain but may not be ready for a knee replacement. What do we now understand about where that pain may be coming from?

As a sports medicine specialist and professor at Rush University Medical Center, my focus has traditionally been on shoulder, elbow and knee issues. More specifically, my work has centered on joint preservation—a subspecialty focused on cartilage repair and cartilage replacement.

What we’ve identified is that the bone itself may actually be responsible for the pain experienced by patients who come to us with cartilage disease. As a result, the focus of these treatments is increasingly shifting toward addressing the underlying bone pain and, in many cases, essentially sidestepping the cartilage problem, which may be too advanced to treat by the time patients see us.

What is The KneeBar® Procedure, and how is it different from treatments patients may have already tried?

The KneeBar® Procedure is designed to treat the bone problem I just discussed. It’s a minimally invasive procedure that uses a device placed through the bone, just below the cartilage surface, where the cartilage has just started to fail.

The goal is to share the load, provide structural support, and allow the device to become integrated with healthy bone over time. Prospective studies have shown that it provides structural support immediately after placement, reduces pain, and is associated with a healing response in which the device is eventually replaced by bone.

The procedure is often performed arthroscopically or with arthroscopic assistance, along with other minimally invasive procedures.

How much experience do we have with The KneeBar® Procedure today, and what are we seeing in patients who have undergone the procedure?

This innovation was introduced just over three years ago, and more than 1,200 patients have since undergone The KneeBar® Procedure.

We’ve studied the procedure prospectively, beginning with a pilot study focused on safety. We now have a multicenter study demonstrating efficacy, including reductions in pain and meaningful improvements in function for patients.

Those improvements have been sustainable, with follow-up extending beyond two years. We’ve also found that improvements in patient-reported outcomes have tracked with improvements seen on MRI and other measures of structural healing.

Who might be a candidate for The KneeBar® Procedure and what does recovery look like?

There are essentially two groups that we, as specialists, think about.

The first is a patient with a specific type of meniscus tear—a meniscal root tear, for example, where the meniscus itself is torn away from the bone. This can result in a sudden loss of meniscus function and is often associated with bone pain and signal changes within the bone itself, which can be similar to a fracture.

The second group is a patient with minimal to moderate arthritis, but not bone-on-bone arthritis, who may also have these structural findings on an MRI.

The rehabilitation process is actually very straightforward. For a patient who has a meniscus repair, we typically need to protect the knee for the first four to six weeks, during which the patient uses crutches. After that, they can gradually resume activities as tolerated.

For a patient who has a simple knee arthroscopy, where we clean out the knee and place the implant across the bony surface beneath the articular cartilage, they can typically bear full weight without a brace or crutches and resume activities as tolerated.

I think patients would be best served by seeking the advice of an orthopedic surgeon, specifically one who is trained in sports medicine. They may also see a joint replacement surgeon, who is an expert in hip and knee replacements.

One interesting thing about joint replacement surgeons is that they don’t always rely on MRI to make their decisions. X-rays can be very predictive of how a patient may do going forward. There is a subgroup of patients who have an intact joint space but definitely have some arthritis. Without an MRI, however, we wouldn’t necessarily know whether there are changes within the bone—what’s sometimes referred to as a fracture state, or a subchondral insufficiency fracture, where the bone begins to fail.

That’s why an MRI can be an important complement to X-rays when making the ultimate treatment decision.

For more information, visit KNEEBARDOC.COM

About YourUpdateTV:
YourUpdateTV is a property of D S Simon Media. The video included and release was part of a media tour that was produced by D S Simon Media on behalf of OSSIO.

Media Contact
Michael O’Donnell
D S Simon Media
212-736-2727
modonnell@dssimon.com

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4212f769-4b63-46d4-ac09-6a0169bd0a09