New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia received a stem cell injection in his right knee to deal with a degenerative condition in the cartilage. James Andrews, M.D., told the Yankees that the repair to the knee would take a minimum of six weeks if it works.
Yankee Pitcher’s Knee Gets Stem Cell Shots
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Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman is quoted by writer Del Veddhio as saying, “Our dialogue with Andrews has been good and given the small sample of stem cell procedures, the results are very successful. But he has to be pain free before strengthening, so there is a way to go. Because he is a starter it will take longer. I have no idea how long it will be and if it will be successful. We are hoping it is six weeks to a major league return.”
Sabathia is the highest-paid pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. Currently in his 13th year as a major league pitcher, Sabathia has never had more losses than wins in a season. Sabathia played the first seven and a half seasons of his career with the Cleveland Indians, where he won the 2007 Cy Young Award. He played the second half of the 2008 MLB season with the Milwaukee Brewers, leading them to the Wild Card, their first playoff appearance in 26 years. Sabathia is regarded as one of the most durable pitchers in Major League Baseball, having averaged over 200 innings pitched per season during his career.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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