What Is Regenerative Medicine?

Regenerative medicine is the field of medicine that aims to replace damaged or diseased tissues or organs. This contrasts with the current, mainstream clinical approach that focuses on repairing those tissues or organs or merely treating the patient's symptoms. Achieving these results may entail cellular therapies and tissue engineering.

Alone or in conjunction with other therapies, regenerative medicine can help intensify and speed up the body's natural healing process — potentially even in a permanently damaged organ. In addition to expediting regeneration, regenerative medicine can also help restore the structure and function of the affected tissues and organs.

Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cell therapy is arguably the most popular form of regenerative medicine on the market today. As the name suggests, stem cell therapy utilizes the cells from which every other cell with specialized functions "stems." These cells can, under the right condition, divide to form more cells known as daughter cells.

Such daughter cells can either self-renew or differentiate to become specialized cells with a more specific function. These functions may be heart muscle cells, blood cells, bone cells, or brain cells. Our team can guide daughter cells into becoming specific cells — facilitating healing, regenerating, and repairing diseased or damaged tissues.

Stem cells may come from the patient's own tissues (e.g., fat or bone marrow). Recent research has found that adult stem cells may be able to create various types of cells; in other words, fat stem cells may create bone cells. Stem cells may also come from adult cells altered via genetic reprogramming.

Prolotherapy

Also known as regenerative injection therapy or proliferation therapy, prolotherapy is an alternative procedure that is thousands of years old. During this procedure, the practitioner injects the patient with a natural irritant into the soft tissue of an injured joint. There are several types of prolotherapy, such as hyaluronic acid injection treatment, all aiming to trigger the body's healing process.

Different types of prolotherapy include dextrose prolotherapy, saline prolotherapy, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment, and biocellular prolotherapy. Once the healing response has been activated, the joint's damaged ligaments will start to strengthen and repair. Gradually, strengtheningthe ligaments will help stabilize the joints, and the pain will disappear.

Prolotherapy can treat conditions such as:

• Arthritis of the knees, hips, and fingers
• Degenerative disc disease
• Fibromyalgia
• Lax or unstable joints
• Some types of headache
• Sprains and strains
• Tendon, muscle, and ligament problems

PRP Treatment

Blood is made mostly of plasma, a liquid rich with red cells, white cells, and platelets. Platelets are integral in clotting blood and contain hundreds of growth factors essential in healing. Platelet-rich plasma, abbreviated to PRP, is plasma with exponentially more platelets than ordinarily found in the blood.

As such, the concentration of growth factors may be at least five to 10 times richer than average. In PRP treatment, the practitioner draws blood from a patient, separates the platelets from the other blood cells, and increases their concentration through a process called centrifugation. He then injects them into the injured area to reduce inflammation cells and enhance cellular growth.

PRP can treat conditions such as:

• Acute ligament and muscle injuries
• Chronic tendon injuries
• Fractures
• Knee arthritis

Patients should note that PRP treatment may vary depending on certain factors, including the patient's overall health, the type of injury (acute or chronic), the area of the body being treated, and the way the PRP is prepared.

Call Us Today

With regenerative medicine, you can heal your own tissues and cells. We at Spine & Joint Regenerative Medicine can help. Call us today at 423-424-1529 to schedule an appointment or learn more about our services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does health insurance cover regenerative medicine?

The answer varies on a case-by-case basis. Costs also vary depending on the treatment. We highly recommend calling your insurance carrier to know what to expect. We can also go over more details during a consultation..

What can regenerative medicine treat?

Regenerative medicine can treat a slew of disorders and conditions. However, it works best for diseases caused by one or more faulty cells. Learn if this treatment is right for you by scheduling an appointment with us.

How do you obtain adult stem cells?

Adult stem cells are most frequently obtained from the iliac crest, or the outer part of the pelvis. To obtain stem cells this way, we insert a needle into the iliac bone and withdraw the bone marrow through the needle. We may obtain several samples from one area before separating the stem cells from the other cells.

What are the potential side effects of prolotherapy?

Prolotherapy is a generally safe procedure, with few reported side effects. Rarely, patients may experience infection at the site of injection. Symptoms may include fever and pain, and the infection itself is generally easily manageable with antibiotics.

What is the difference between PRP treatment and cortisone injections?

Cortisone injections involve synthetic corticosteroids, while PRP treatments involve a highly concentrated injection of platelet rich plasma. Unlike PRP treatment, cortisone injections cannot alter the underlying cause of disease.

How do I know if PRP is working for me?

Unlike many other therapies (particularly non-regenerative medicine therapies), PRP treatment does not mask any symptoms of disease. As such, patients helped by PRP will notice a difference in their overall function and pain levels. Though some patients may experience an initial increase in overall pain levels, symptoms will continue to decrease as the healing process occurs. Some patients may experience more success with PRP treatment than others. For example, a patient's age, health, diet, and activity levels must all be taken into consideration. Repeat treatments may also be necessary.