Throughout August 2025, a rumor circulated on Facebook and other social media sites that German scientists had recently developed a gel to regrow cartilage in damaged joints without surgery. The scientists, according to the posts, were "preparing regulatory approval across Europe, with plans to offer the therapy in clinics by 2026."
The Facebook page Forest Hunts seemingly first posted the claim in early August (that post has since been deleted), and other Facebook accounts and pages (archived) followed suit. The claim also spread on social media sites such as LinkedIn (archived). Snopes readers searched the site and emailed asking if the story about German scientists was true.
One Facebook post (archived) received more than 150,000 reactions. An Instagram post (archived) was liked more than 35,000 times.
(Facebook user Taniya Chattarjee)
However, the gel described by the posts has been on the market since 2013, so we've rated the claim as outdated. Additionally, the posts exaggerated the convenience and outcomes of the treatment.
The posts appeared to reference ChondroFiller, a gel treatment designed to help damaged joint cartilage regrow. According to its website, ChondroFiller launched into the market in 2013. It's manufactured in Germany and was developed in collaboration with scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, which is located in Stuttgart, Germany. Meidrix, the pharmaceutical company behind ChondroFiller, said the gel is injected as a liquid in a short, minimally invasive surgery.
Although the social media posts claimed that the gel removes the need for post-operation immobilization, Meidrix's leaflet for patients says that after surgery, "the joint is immobilised with an orthosis for 48 hours."
The posts also claimed that the gel came with no risk of rejection or infection. However, that same leaflet said, "hypersensitivity reactions to collagen such as allergic or inflammatory reactions can occur." The leaflet also warned that while there were no known complications with the gel, "in principle there is always the possibility of the patient reacting to collagen." The gel is made from a collagen solution; collagen is a protein that can be found in your body's bones and connective tissues.
As of August 2025, Meidrix's website said that its gel had treated more than 20,000 patients worldwide.
Researchers around the world have continued working on developing and improving gel-based joint treatments for decades. These new gel products still need to undergo the same testing any other new medication would have to, including animal studies before advancing to human clinical trials. Duke University announced the release of an animal study for a cartilage gel developed by its researchers in 2022, and Northwestern University did the same for a different gel developed by its own researchers in 2024.
In fact, one of the paragraphs from the Facebook posts resembled a paragraph from the 2022 Duke University announcement.
"Because the material biodegrades naturally after healing, there's no need for surgical removal. And unlike synthetic implants, there's no risk of long-term wear, infection, or rejection. It's especially promising for younger patients or athletes seeking non-invasive recovery," the Forest Hunts Facebook post read.
"Generally considered a last resort, total knee replacement is a proven way to relieve pain. But artificial joints don't last forever, either. Particularly for younger patients who want to avoid major surgery for a device that will only need to be replaced again down the line, [lead researcher Benjamin] Wiley said, 'there just aren't very good options out there,'" the 2022 Duke announcement said.
This was not the first claim from the Forest Hunts Facebook page that Snopes has fact-checked. It previously made a false claim about a floating greenhouse, which similarly existed long before Forest Hunts portrayed it as a new development.