Regenerative medicine is the latest frontier in treating pain and injury. Using material taken from your own body, stem cell therapy allows us to repair and regenerate damaged tissue at the site of injury without surgery. Human allograft can also be used as a complement to minimally invasive spine surgery in order to encourage the body’s natural healing processes.
Stem cell therapy has been used for more than 30 years, and it continues to be studied and improved in research settings. Stem cells are the body’s “master cells,” able to transform into the type of cell they are injected near, helping to promote tissue repair and regeneration, stimulate bone growth, and minimize scar formation. At the Spine Institute Northwest, we use regenerative medicine to help relieve joint pain and injury in addition to back pain.
How Does Stem Cell Therapy Work?
The Spine Institute Northwest offers several types of regenerative therapies that help promote healing at the cellular level, inclyding BioD regenerative therapy, MatriStem A-Cell injection, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, amniotic cell matrix therapy, and stem cell therapy. In these procedures, the cells are injected directly to the site of the injury. Stem cells specialize into the kind of cells needed for repair, helping not just to mask the pain but to actually repair the damaged tissue causing the pain.
Am I a Candidate for Stem Cell Therapy?
Regenerative medicine is often recommended for patients who have severe joint, ligament, or muscle damage but who may not have been recommended for surgery. In some cases, these therapies are used along with surgery to help encourage healing. Regenerative therapies have been shown to be particularly effective in repairing shoulder injuries, and they are also used for sports injuries (chronic or acute), accident injuries (acute), mildly degenerative discs, and bulging or herniated discs.
What Can I Expect from Stem Cell Therapy?
A regenerative treatment can take as little as 30 minutes. Numbness may persist in the injection area for about an hour, and there is a small risk of bruising, soreness, or infection at the injection site. It takes time for your body to repair and regenerate injured tissue, and so you should not expect immediate relief from pain. During your initial recovery, you may ice the area for 10-20 minutes every 2-3 hours if required. Talk to your doctor about specific anti-inflammatory medications that can be taken after your injection.
Curious about regenerative therapies offered at the Spine Institute Northwest? Call us at 888-712-0318 to learn more!