Titans team physician pushes regenerative knee care as replacements surge

By AI, Created 5:14 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – A Tennessee orthopedic surgeon says more active adults in their 50s and 60s are asking whether they can preserve their natural knees before choosing replacement surgery. Dr. Ethan Kellum argues regenerative treatments may help the right patients delay or avoid knee replacement as U.S. procedures are projected to rise sharply by 2030.

Why it matters: - U.S. knee replacement volume is projected to rise 85% to 1.26 million procedures a year by 2030. - Patients younger than 65 are projected to make up as much as 62% of all knee replacements by 2030. - The shift is pushing more active adults to ask whether regenerative care can buy time before a joint replacement.

What happened: - Dr. Ethan Kellum, a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon and Tennessee Titans team physician, outlined a “surgery-sparing” approach centered on regenerative orthopedic treatments. - His Franklin, Tennessee practice uses platelet-rich plasma (PRP), bone marrow concentrate (BMC), and alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) injections to treat joint pain and arthritis. - Kellum framed the approach as an option for the right patient, not a universal substitute for surgery.

The details: - Peer-reviewed research by Sloan, Premkumar, and Sheth in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery projected total knee arthroplasty growth of 85% by 2030. - Research presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2023 annual meeting projected that patients under 65 could represent up to 62% of knee replacements by 2030. - Kurtz and colleagues, in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, projected that the 45-to-54 age group is the fastest-growing knee replacement cohort, with procedures rising seventeen-fold between 2006 and 2030. - Kellum said his strongest regenerative candidates usually have earlier-stage osteoarthritis, preserved alignment, enough remaining cartilage, no advanced inflammatory disease, and a willingness to follow rehabilitation. - Kellum said patients with end-stage osteoarthritis, major bone-on-bone deformity, or pain from problems regenerative injections cannot address are not good candidates. - Kellum completed his sports medicine and arthroscopy fellowship at New England Baptist Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. - During fellowship training, he served as assistant team physician for the Boston Celtics, Harvard, and Tufts athletics. - Kellum also serves as team physician for USA Basketball.

Between the lines: - The knee replacement market is getting younger, and that changes the decision-making calculus. - Younger, more active patients may face a longer timeline of wear, revision risk, and recovery tradeoffs after replacement. - Kellum said regenerative orthopedics has a credibility problem when providers say yes to every patient, making candid screening a key part of the pitch. - The tension is not between surgery and non-surgery alone. It is between timing, durability, and matching the treatment to the patient.

What’s next: - More active adults are likely to keep asking for alternatives before committing to replacement surgery. - Kellum said the goal for the right patient is to delay surgery, and in some cases avoid it, by preserving the natural joint longer. - The field will keep leaning on long-term outcome data as more patients seek regenerative options earlier in the disease process.

The bottom line: - Regenerative knee care is gaining attention because the replacement population is getting younger, and the best decision may be postponing surgery for patients who are not yet at the end stage.