Hip or shoulder Location matters for bone marrow used in joint repair

Bone marrow is typically harvested from the iliac crest of the hip (the curved upper ridge of the pelvic bone), which provides large volumes of marrow. In theory, says Herna, this means it contains more stem cells and results in anecdotally better outcomes. For certain injuries such as rotator cuff tears surgeons can draw marrow from the humeral head of the shoulder (the ball-like end of the upper arm bone forming part of the shoulder joint), avoiding a second invasive procedure. Herna set out to determine if marrow from the shoulder was comparable to hip marrow.