What activity restrictions apply after BMAC or MFAT?

What You Need to Know

Because BMAC and MFAT involve a harvest step (bone marrow aspiration or a small fat harvest) in addition to the injection itself, patients can expect a few extra days of soreness at the harvest site on top of the usual injection-site recovery — generally resolving within a week for most patients.

The Full Answer

The harvest site (typically the back of the pelvis for bone marrow, or the abdomen/flank for fat) is usually the more noticeable source of soreness in the first few days, more so than the injection site itself. Strenuous activity is typically limited for about a week, with a gradual return to normal activity after that, following the same general relative-rest-then-gradual-loading approach used after PRP.

What the Current Evidence Shows

Who May Benefit

When Surgery May Be More Appropriate

Dr. Tortland's Perspective

Patients are walked through what to expect from both the harvest site and the injection site separately, since conflating the two can lead to either unnecessary worry or under-resting. Follow-up visits (typically 6 to 10 weeks out) are used to check progress against an individualized plan.