The TRUTH About Regenerative Medicine
Join us at the exclusive Michigan Osteopathic Association Spring Convention, the largest medical conference in Michigan, this Friday, May 17th at 3-4 pm for a presentation by Dr. Jeff Pierce titled Regenerative Medicine, Pros & Cons. We’ll be discussing our cutting-edge approach at keeping everyone from top athletes to business executives at peak performance using prp therapy and autologous stem cell therapy.
Regenerative Medicine in Michigan: What is it, and how does it benefit patients?
Our bodies have innate healing processes. When we get a cut or a scrape, our body repairs itself on its own. When we get hit with a cold, our bodies respond and get us back to good health again.
Regenerative medicine is a discipline of medicine focused on utilizing and optimizing these natural self-healing processes to improve our health. It includes things like organ transplants (both real and artificial), tissue engineering, cellular therapies, and more.
Regenerative medicine is innovative in the medical community, and we’re proud that we’ve actually been using forms of it for years. We offer PRP therapy (platelet rich plasma therapy), as well as autologous stem cell therapy.
Let’s take a closer look at difference between the two therapies and why they each play such an important role in keeping our bodies at peak performance:
PRP Therapy for Arthritis & Pain
Platelet rich plasma, commonly referred to as “PRP’, is a non-operative, permanent solution for conditions such as arthritis and ligament/tendon sprains and tears. Utilizing the body’s natural healing process, PRP therapy is a concentration of platelets that are injected into the damaged ligaments, tendons, and joints to promote tissue repair and accelerate healing. PRP stimulates native cells and native stem cells to repair damage, and on average, an injured individual can get back to a pain-free life in four to six weeks.
PRP was made popular by professional athletes and weekend warriors through its treatment of season-ending symptoms including swelling, stiffness, inflammation, tenderness, and pain.
Conditions Helped By PRP Therapy
Platelet rich plasma injections are most effective for the following conditions:
- Lumbar spine disc pain
- Rotator cuff injuries, including partial-thickness
- Shoulder pain and instability
- Tennis and golfer’s elbow
- Hamstring and hip strains
- Knee sprains and instability
- Patellofemoral syndrome and patellar tendonitis
- Ankle sprains
- Achilles tendonitis & plantar fasciitis
- Knee, hip, and other joint osteoarthritis
- Nerve entrapment syndromes, such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction and pain
- Lumbar and cervical facet dysfunction and pain
Additionally, PRP can be effective for many cases of osteoarthritis by stimulating healing of cartilage and reducing pain and disability. This includes:
- Knee arthritis
- Hip joint arthritis
- Shoulder arthritis
- Ankle arthritis
THE BENEFITS OF PRP TREATMENT
PRP presents patients with a long lasting, permanent solution that will not wear off over time as with a traditional pain injection. For this reason, the use of PRP could help a patient avoid joint replacement surgery, and potentially back surgery. With any treatment option, the effectiveness of the treatment depends upon the severity of the injury.
The timeframe for experiencing results is dependent upon the area of injury and the extent of the injury. On average, most patients start to see signs of improvement in the form of reduced pain or increased function within four to six weeks.
Continuing a well-designed course of physical therapy and avoidance of aggressive physical activity or overloading the injected tissues is advised in the weeks that follow the injections. This is done to allow the tissues to heal best.
WHAT is STEM CELL Therapy?
Mesenchymal stem cells are specialized cells that naturally grow in our body and can differentiate into bone, cartilage or fat cells. They are widely used in medicine as a natural healing solution to effectively treat orthopedic conditions including the spine and major joints (like the shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, etc.). Unlike PRP which only stimulates native stem cells, an injection of stem cells goes to work immediately in the affected area.
BENEFITS OF STEM CELL THERAPY
There are many benefits of stem cell therapy, including but not limited to:
- Improved pain-relief and decreased inflammation
- Increased functionality and range of motion in affected area
- Shorter recovery time compared to traditional treatment options
- Natural, longer-term treatment solution
- Effective alternative to surgical intervention
- Outpatient procedure with no anesthesia
HOW DOES Stem Cell Therapy WORK?
The human body has multiple sites for stem cells to repair degenerated and injured structures. We have found that obtaining stem cells from bone marrow or adipose tissue is easily performed within minutes. After the stem cells are obtained, minutes later they can be used for treatment in our outpatient state-of-the-art-facility.
Regenerative stem cell injections begin after the affected area is sterilized and numbed with a novocaine-type solution, and go to work immediately to begin regenerating and strengthening weakened joints.
WHAT CONDITIONS BENEFIT FROM STEM CELL INJECTIONS?
Stem cell injections are most commonly used for treatment of the following conditions:
- Osteoarthritis of the joints including knee, hip, shoulder, and ankle joints
- Partial rotator cuff tears
- Persistent tendon tears such as tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, quadriceps, and patellar tendon tears
- Muscular tears
- Cartilage tears in the knee (meniscus)
- Spinal conditions including degenerative disc disease, herniated discs, spinal facet pain, pinched nerves, and sacroiliac (SI) joint pain
WHEN WILL I SEE BENEFITS FROM Stem Cell Therapy Injections?
Stem cell injections are designed to heal and strengthen damaged tissue, therefore pain relief is typically noticed several weeks after the procedure. Final relief is seen approximately two to three months after the entire treatment protocol has been completed.
Are you looking for relief from a sports injury, arthritis, or any other chronic, nagging pain? Contact us today for a consultation and evaluation so we can get you on the road to a better, stronger life!