How Does Regenerative Medicine Work? | National Stem Cell …

If you have chronic pain or suffered a traumatic injury, you may dread the thought of surgery. Thats understandable! We have good news you may never have to worry about surgery again. Regenerative medicine has helped many patients to avoid knee replacements, hip replacements, neck surgery, back surgery and other surgical treatments for injuries.

Regenerative medicine allows us to heal damaged tissue instead of cutting it out or replacing it. If you have arthritis consisting of damaged cartilage and ligaments, we can try to repair the damage instead of replacing your knee with a bionic one. The regenerative process helps create new ligaments and cartilage, repairing the damage. Our philosophy is that your body was designed for healing, not surgery. Regenerative medicine allows us to do that.

These state-of-the-art therapies activate your bodys own healing mechanisms. This provides benefits that are safe and long-lasting. Instead of treating pain with drugs, for example, regenerative medicine aims to stimulate growth in affected areas. Individuals can get treatment for rotator cuff tears and ACL tears without requiring invasive surgeries. People who have arthritis can find true relief by regenerating worn tissues instead of constantly relying on strong pain medications.

The first step in regenerative medicine is to harvest the cells or growth factors required for treatment. At National Stem Cell Clinic, we obtain these incredible natural cells from within the patients body, usually from blood proteins, bone marrow, or fatty tissue. This way, you dont have to worry about tissue rejection or ethical dilemmas from embryonic stem cells.

Next, we apply the cells to the part of the body that needs to repair itself. This activates cells at the site of treatment, helping skin tissue to heal more quickly, regenerating cartilage, and restoring tendons.

Youll notice changes in as soon as one week. It will be uncomfortable sometimes. That discomfort is not a side effect its the desired effect. The first few weeks after a treatment may feel like a roller coaster as your body heals. Some days will be better than others.

You should see maximum benefits from the treatment in 5 to 7 weeks, at which point you should have your official post-procedure follow up to determine if any further treatments are needed. In theory, you may need two treatments at the same site, but that is rare. If the pain continues, you may need treatment on another remote, silent source. Remember that everything in the body is connected, so we may need to investigate to find and treat an additional source of your pain.

Prolotherapy goes all the way back to the 1940s. Of course, it has also improved throughout time. Despite the length of time its been around, prolotherapy is quite cutting edge.

Proliferative therapy, now commonly called prolotherapy, involves injecting a solution to damaged areas that promotes healing and regeneration. In the early days, dextrose and sodium morrhuate (derived from cod liver oil) were most commonly used. And dextrose is still in use today!

Dr. Earl Gedney, an osteopathic physician and surgeon in Philadelphia, decided to treat his own injured thumb with a treatment that had previously been used to treat hernia patients. His thumb was so injured he was facing retirement from surgery and was told that no surgical or therapeutic solution existed. Refusing to take that answer, Dr. Gedney treated his injury successfully, to the point that he was able to resume surgery, He published one of the first major articles on prolotherapy in 1937!

From that time, prolotherapy was researched and used in clinical practices all over the U.S. and Canada. Surgery had a lot more risks in those early years than it does today. Unfortunately for prolotherapy advocates, surgery took over as the dominant solution in the 1950s. Anesthesia had become much safer and more consistent, as had use of antibiotics and disinfectants to prohibit post-surgery illness. Surgery became the effective, elegant solution to most problems. That pendulum began to swing back toward non-surgical interventions in the 1980s. What prompted the shift?

Stem cells were discovered in the 1960s by Dr. Derek van der Kooy at the University of Toronto. His discovery of retinal stem cells was used to reverse blindness.

But physicians and researchers thought that there were few sources of stem cells at that time, limited mostly to fetal tissue and cord blood. No one realized that adults have abundant sources of stem cells as well! In the last 20 years, weve discovered that we all have good stem cells all over our bodies, with the highest concentrations residing in belly fat and bone marrow.

Yes! History is witness to that. In our clinic, we have a success rate of greater than 92%.

Regenerative medicine works best when its tailored to the needs of each patient. At National Stem Cell Clinic, we take the time to understand your pain issues and long-term goals, and then we recommend appropriate treatment options. We offer regenerative medicine and therapy for pain at our locations in Houston, TX, and Miami, FL. With the proper treatment, athletes can get back on the field instead of having to give up a lifelong dream. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact us right away.

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