Stem Cell Therapy is an alternative regenerative treatment for musculoskeletal pain in which the body’s own stem cells are injected into the affected area. Stem cells are incredibly adept and can regenerate any organ, muscle, vascular system, and nerve pathway in the body. When this treatment is combined with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), it is turbocharged with more growth factors and cells that have a greater ability to recruit the immune system to heal. Stem cells, PRP, and Prolotherapy are all considered Kinetic Regenerative Therapies. Based on the location, severity, and chronicity of your condition, Dr. Greenberg may recommend one or a combination of these three treatments.
What Exactly Are Stem Cells?
‘Stem cell’ is an overarching term used to describe several types of regenerative cells. Often referred to as Mesenchymal stem cells, they are extracted from the patient’s blood, along with biological growth factors. Mesenchymal stem cells are created in bone marrow but are stored in the highest concentrations in fat cells (which makes them easy to harvest). Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent stromal cells that can include osteoblasts (bone cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells), adipocytes (fat cells), myocytes (muscle cells) pericytes (vascular system cells), endothelial cells, neural progenitor cells, and other components.
How Can They Help Me?
Once the stem cell concoction is injected into the affected joint, the body’s natural healing process is activated. While the stem cells are hard at work rebuilding your tissues, White Blood Cells, Macrophages, and growth factors help to reduce inflammation, promote the proliferation of collagen, and enhance cell growth. Stem cell injections are used for a wide variety of musculoskeletal conditions affecting the head, neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, back, hips, pelvis, knees, ankles, and feet.
What Does The Procedure Entail?
There are many factors that can affect a patient’s treatment plan, including age, severity of the injury, immune response, and the rate of healing. For some patients, positive results may be felt within a week. Other patients may require several months to heal fully. Unlike synthetic treatments, stem cell therapy simply stimulates your body to heal faster. It is very important to remain patient and give the cell structures time to grow back.
To determine if this is the best treatment for you, Dr. Greenberg and his team will review your condition, medical history, radiographic studies (scans), and perform a Comprehensive Kinetic Diagnosis. A Comprehensive Kinetic Diagnosis seeks to identify the root cause of your pain and create a roadmap for joint regeneration that resolves the core problem and eliminates many of your symptoms.
During the procedure, a local anesthetic is applied to numb both the harvest and treatment region. The harvest area is the site where your cells are drawn from your adipose tissue using two very small incisions. They are then prepared according to FDA guidelines by your Stem Cell Therapy team. Dr. Greenberg will then perform a comprehensive treatment to the damaged region and related areas that are contributing to the source of pain and joint dysfunction. Often times, adipose is used as a fat graft in patients who have joint damage in knees, ankles, hips, shoulders, elbows, and thumbs; patients with neck and back pain will receive direct treatment to areas of the spine and sacrum.
Since the Mesenchymal cells are autologous, meaning they were taken from the patient, there is an extremely small risk of rejection. The only documented complication is an infection at the injection site, which can be treated with antibiotics. You may experience pain and discomfort in the joint for a few days after the injection, until the healing process kick-starts.
If you or a loved one are considering Stem Cell Therapy, call Greenberg Regenerative Medicine today at (833) 440-4325 or schedule an appointment online!
