Preparing properly for stem cell therapy can help reduce avoidable risks and make the treatment day run more smoothly. Your instructions will depend on the procedure you are having, so the most important rule is to follow your clinician’s individual guidance rather than making medication or lifestyle changes yourself.

Do Not Stop Medicines Without Medical Advice

Before treatment, give your clinical team a complete list of everything you take. This includes prescription medicines, over-the-counter painkillers, vitamins and supplements.

Blood-thinning medicines such as warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, aspirin and clopidogrel are particularly important to mention before any procedure involving injections or tissue collection. NHS guidance for joint procedures advises patients to tell their clinician about anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines because the treatment team may need to consider bleeding risk.

However, do not stop blood thinners yourself. Suddenly discontinuing prescribed anticoagulants can carry serious risks, and any changes should come directly from the clinician responsible for your care.

Some regenerative treatment protocols may also ask patients to avoid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen or naproxen, for a period around treatment. For example, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital guidance for PRP injections advises avoiding anti-inflammatory medicines beforehand. PRP is not the same as stem cell therapy, however, so you should follow the specific instructions given for your procedure rather than applying PRP rules automatically.

Avoid Hiding Illness or Changes in Your Health

Tell your treatment team if you become unwell before your appointment.

An active infection, fever or course of antibiotics may affect whether an elective joint procedure should go ahead. NHS injection guidance advises patients to rearrange certain procedures if they have an active infection or are currently taking antibiotics.

You should also inform your clinician about any new medical diagnosis, medication or significant change in your health since your initial consultation.

Do not assume a minor illness is irrelevant. It is better to contact the clinic and allow the medical team to decide whether your stem cell therapy should proceed as planned.

The same applies if you develop new swelling, redness or unexplained pain around the area that is due to be treated.

Avoid Making Last-Minute Lifestyle Changes

Preparing for treatment does not usually require extreme diets, supplements or “detox” programmes.

Instead, follow the eating and drinking instructions supplied by your clinic. Whether you need to fast may depend on how the cells are obtained, whether sedation or another anaesthetic is involved and what additional procedures are planned.

Do not assume that instructions for a simple joint injection will apply to a more involved cell-harvesting procedure.

It is also sensible to avoid excessive alcohol before a medical procedure. Smoking may affect general healing and recovery, so tell your clinician if you smoke rather than trying to conceal it or making sudden changes without discussing them.

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital advises patients receiving PRP to avoid smoking and excess alcohol before treatment, although preparation requirements for cell-based procedures can differ.

You also do not need to push yourself through strenuous exercise immediately before treatment. If intense activity aggravates the joint being treated, arriving with significantly increased pain or swelling could make your symptoms harder to assess.

Avoid Going Into Treatment Without Clear Expectations

Preparation is not only physical.

Before agreeing to stem cell therapy, make sure you understand what cells are being used, how they are collected and processed, what evidence supports the treatment for your condition and what recovery may involve.

For osteoarthritis specifically, NICE notes that evidence for intra-articular stem cell injections remains limited and considers the treatment experimental within its current guidance. This makes an evidence-based discussion about expected benefits and alternatives particularly important.

Ask what you should do before the procedure, whether you need someone to take you home, when you can return to work and what activities should be avoided afterwards.

You should also know who to contact if you develop unexpected symptoms following treatment.

Prepare for Stem Cell Therapy Safely

Before stem cell treatment, avoid making independent changes to prescribed medication, ignoring signs of infection or following generic preparation advice that may not apply to your procedure.

Your preparation should be based on your medical history, the type of treatment being performed and instructions from your clinical team.

If you are considering stem cell therapy for ongoing joint pain, contact Regenesis for a specialist assessment to discuss whether treatment may be appropriate and what you should do before and after the procedure.