Non-Surgical Joint Replacement™ (NSJR)
If you’ve been told “the next step is surgery,” you deserve a true second option. Non-Surgical Joint Replacement™ (NSJR) is Cornerstone Health’s advanced approach for degenerative joints—built to help the body shift from constant breakdown into rebuilding and repair, without incisions.
NSJR is designed for people with joint degeneration and arthritis who want:
- A non-surgical plan before committing to joint replacement
- A solution when injections or general PT haven’t worked
- Options when surgery isn’t ideal because of health history, timeline, or personal preference
- A clear, customized roadmap—that's persononalized to them
This is not a one-size-fits-all treatmnt. It’s a system: expert assessment + detailed diagnosis + targeted regenerative stimulation + a custom rehab plan to change how the joint is loaded and supported.
Alternative To Surgery
What is Non-Surgical Joint Replacement™?
The principle: tip the scale back toward repair
Your body is always breaking down tissue and rebuilding it. With age, stressors, and abnormal loading, breakdown can outpace repair—especially in joints like the knee, hip, and shoulder.
NSJR is built around a specific clinical goal:
help your body re-enter a state where repair outpaces breakdown in a degenerative joint.
That means we focus on:
- How your joint is functioning (not just what an image shows)
- What’s driving overload and irritation
- How to stimulate healing and support tissue remodeling
- What you need to do at home to maintain the shift
Non-Surgical Joint Replacement™ is an expert-guided plan that aims to shift a degenerative joint from ongoing breakdown into rebuilding—using a personalized evaluation, targeted non-invasive therapies, and a joint-specific rehab strategy.
How we’re different
Expert evaluation and innovative treatment.
Many people come to us after years of “quick looks” and standard protocols. NSJR starts with a thorough, expert-led assessment—because in degenerative joints, the details matter.
Patients often tell us:
- “This is the first time I’ve been thoroughly examined.”
- “No one has explained my problem this clearly.”
- “I finally have a plan that’s specific to me.”
At Cornerstone Health, your plan is not surface-level or generic. It’s built around:
- Your movement patterns and joint mechanics
- Your pain triggers and functional limits
- Your goals, timeline, and health context
- A step-by-step progression you can follow
Led by Dr. Benjamin Fergus
Expert care personalized to you
Dr. Benjamin Fergus is known for developing assessment and rehabilitation methods used by clinicians worldwide, with educational materials taught across multiple professional disciplines. He is the creator of the Non-Surgical Joint Replacement (NSJR) method, the developer and lead instructor of GRIP Approach, and an adjunct instructor for The Acadamy of Shockwave Excellence. At Cornerstone Health, that educator-level precision is applied directly to your case—so your plan is as individual as your joint.
Our entire clinical team at Cornerstone Health is thouroughly trainied and certified in The Non-Surgical Joint Replacment and even frequenlty contribute to educating other providers.
What therapies may be part of NSJR?
NSJR may include a combination of advanced, non-invasive therapies and joint-specific rehabilitation—selected based on your exam findings and goals. Common components may include:
- Shockwave Therapy (radial + focused)
- EMTT / Magnetolith (extracorporeal magnetotransduction therapy)
- Joint capsule treatment
- Targeted mobility + stability programming
- Load management and progressive strengthening including BFR
- Nutritional planning and medication review
- Education on pacing, flare control, and joint protection
Important: not everyone needs every therapy. The method is matching the right tool to the right joint problem.
Who is a good candidate?
You may be a fit for NSJR if you:
- Have osteoarthritis or degenerative joint changes
- Want to avoid or delay surgery (when appropriate)
- Have persistent pain, stiffness, or loss of function
- Feel like prior care didn’t identify the real driver
- Want a plan that includes both in-office care and a structured home strategy
- Are motivated to stay active and get back to doing the activities you love
When surgery may be the better choice
Some joint presentations are too far advanced for a non-surgical approach to meet your goals. If that’s the case, we’ll tell you—and help you make the right referral decision. NSJR is about the best decision for your body, not forcing a one-size-fits-all answer.
Expected Outcomes
Our aim is to help you:
- Reduce pain and flare frequency
- Improve walking tolerance, stairs, and daily activity
- Increase joint confidence and stability
- Build a plan you can maintain—not a temporary fix
Results vary based on severity, complete health status, and the specific joint factors involved. Your evaluation is where we define what’s realistic for you.
97% of our patinets experience meaningul improvement in their degenerative joints, with improved comfort, function, and ability to do the activies they need and want to do.
Next steps
Start with the right exam
The most important first step is a comprehensive joint evaluation to determine:
- What’s driving your symptoms
- How severe the degeneration is functionally
- What your goals are following treatment
- Whether NSJR is a reasonable option
- What your personalized plan would include
At your exam you'll learn about your body, gain clarity about your condition and what you can do about it, and review a clear actionable plan for your next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Explore This Breakthrough Approach
No. NSJR is an expert-led system that may include multiple therapies and a structured rehab strategy. The plan is built around your exam findings, not a single procedure. In-fact, cortizone injections damage the tissue they are injected in to which can cause long-term complications even if they provide short-term releif.If indicsted, your doctor may discus other forms of injections that could compliment the NSJR approach and will be knowlegeable ablout gel injections, prolotherapy, PRP, and stem-cell therapy.
Joint tissues, including cartilage, can remodel. Outcomes vary and are visible over time (months to years), while functional and symptoms improvement is acheived over weeks. Our goal is to help your joint shift toward repair and improved function, and we’ll outline realistic expectations based on your presentation.
NSJR is designed to be non-invasive and typically does not require downtime. Your specific activity guidance depends on how reactive your joint is and what we’re treating. Most patients report less then 24 hours of post-treatment soreness, which is managable without any medication.
Many people with that label still have options, but not everyone is a candidate. We’ll evaluate function, irritability, mechanics, and goals to determine whether a non-surgical plan is reasonable.
It depends on severity, chronicity, and adherence. Your evaluation is where we map phases and milestones. 8 weeks our running clinic average.
Many patients struggle to fully recover following joint repair or joint replacement surgery. This is an important factor in determing what should be done next. We are proud to help many patients acheive a more complete recovery after a prior surgery has stalled improvement.
As insurance plans vary, we individually verify insurance benefits for all patients and work with you to get the best coverage possible. When out of pocket costs are expected we'll provide a clear cost estimate so that there are no suprises.
