Table 1 Selection criteria
Inclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria |
|---|---|
18 years of age or older | Diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis or other lower extremities-affecting musculoskeletal diseases |
Clinically and/or radiologically confirmed diagnosis of knee OA (KL grade 1–4) in the past 6 months | Widespread pain |
Knee pain (≥2 on VAS scale) lasting for 6 months or longer | Cancer |
Willingness to discontinue analgesic medication for 48 h prior to each pain assessment | Knee surgery in the previous 6 months |
|  | Arthrocentesis or intra-articular conservative therapy injections in the last 3 months |
History of stem cell knee injections | |
Inability to provide informed consent |