Will Stem Cells Regrow You New Cartilage if You Have None …

POSTED ON 06/20/2018 IN Latest News BY Chris Centeno

I love writing about what I see day in and out. Yesterday I evaluateda patient who had been to a local West2North stem cell seminar and was told that they could regenerate cartilage in her foot. However, the joint they wanted to treat was without any cartilage and didnt hurt and caused her no functional disability. Hence, this is a great opportunity to talk about the ethical use of orthobiologics.

The idea behind stem cells is pretty cool. They can help damaged tissue heal and may be able to replace certain types of damaged tissue. Weve been using stem cells to treat joints for longer than anyone else on earth. What weve learned is that while stem cells, used in the correct way, can help get rid of the need for some invasive surgeries, they are not magic pixie dust, and theydo have limitations. One of those is that they will NOT regrow cartilage in a joint without any left. Let me explain.

There are countless animal models where stem cells, used in very specific ways, can help small holes in the cartilage heal. However, we have no research that shows that stem cells can regrow the cartilage in a joint that has severe bone on bone arthritis. This is what we have observed in the clinic as well. Meaning that we have never seen any evidence of significant cartilage growth in bone on bone arthritis regardless of which stem cell type or prep was used. To see what is and isnt possible in real MRI results with actual stem cell procedures, see my video below:

Regrettably, you got scammed! Like every good magic trick, there is always something you missed. In this case, I created a little example below of how I tilted the X-ray beam slightly and created the appearance of more joint-space width (hence more cartilage) in my knee:

Another trick often used is to inaccurately place the cursors while measuring the width of the joint. Below is an actual before and after stem cell treatment X-ray from a chiro clinic where they seem to have purposefully(or unconsciously) mismeasured the after X-ray, which makes it look like more cartilage is there, but in reality, the real width of the joint never changed. In this case, the real width of the joint is shown by the dashed lines, while the arrows point to where the chiropractor placed the cursor to measure the joint width. See what I mean below:

The treatments that are often offered at chiro clinics are amniotic or umbilical cord based. Regrettably, these tissues dont have any living and functional cells, let alone stem cells. See my video below to learn more:

My patient is an active elderly woman who developed severe arthritis in her midfoot. One joint on both sides has no cartilage. This area doesnt hurt or prevent her from doing anything. She went to a local West2North chiropractic stem cell seminar touting amniotic stem cells (really nonviable amniotic tissue) and was told they could regrow her cartilage. She then went to our local seminar and found out the opposite, so she came in to be seen. I told her that there was no way that any stem cell therapy (even a real one) would regrow cartilage in these joints, and I refused to perform a stem cell procedure.

The chiropractic clinic chain she went to was recently fined and stripped of its ability to perform stem cell injections by the attorney generals office in North Dakota because it was misrepresenting what the technology could do. In Colorado, the West2North chain was the subject of an investigative report that found many disturbing things. For example, that a nonmedical person was the one determining candidacy for these procedures.

In some severe arthritis joints that are bone on bone and are causing pain, an actual bone marrow stem cell therapy can help reduce pain and increase function without regrowing any cartilage. For example, patients with this type of knee arthritis typically do well. This can work through precise X-ray guided direct injections into the bone lesions that can cause pain in these patients or by injecting lax ligaments that are causing instability. Even just injecting specific parts of the joint sometimes will reduce inflammation for two to seven years. However, in other joints, like the hip, the success rate in severe arthritis is much lower. Hence, its critical to understand which patients can be helped and which patients should be told that this therapy is not for them.

This comment from a former patient was recently left on Facebook:

Paul Lyon- Lots of stem cell clinics have been opening up recentlyRegenexx has been around since I think 08?ask yourself before you jump into something, how many procedures have they done, how much research do they doif your going to look into stem cell therapy, do your research.Ive had both knees done 6 years ago2 orthopedic Doctors wanted to replace..im pretty much pain free. I bike, hike, ski, very active at 72.Im in Denver now, my wife just had her hip done..no surgerywe walked around Boulder the next dayall with her own stem cellsdo your research, youll end up with a trained Regenexx doctor, you wont be sorry

The upshot? Please dont get snookered into believing that an injection by a nurse in a chiropractors office will regrow you new cartilage in a bone on bone joint. That isnt going to happen. In addition, actually getting long-term results using a real stem cell procedure is difficult and requires a precise diagnosis of whats wrong and which structures should be targeted using X-ray or ultrasound guidance.

*DISCLAIMER: Like all medical procedures, Regenexx Procedures have a success and failure rate. Patient reviews and testimonials on this site should not be interpreted as a statement on the effectiveness of our treatments for anyone else. Providers listed on the Regenexx website are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation from Regenexx for a specific provider or a guarantee of the outcome of any treatment you receive.

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Will Stem Cells Regrow You New Cartilage if You Have None ...