Healing Sourced from Within: Stem Cell Injections for Chronic Pain Relief
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What Makes a Great Candidate?
Pain is your body’s way of sending you a message that something may be wrong. Pain can impact your daily activities and keep you from enjoying your full life. Chronic pain may force you to change your lifestyle, negatively affect your work, your relationships, or your independence. Is pain interrupting your life? Would you like to explore alternatives to invasive surgery to address the pain? Stem cell injections may be an option for you.
What are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are cells from which all other cells with specialized functions in our bodies are generated. Think of stem cells as our body’s raw material. The specialized cells that are generated from stem cells have specific functions such as blood cells, brain cells, muscle cells, bone cells, etc. Stem cells are unique in their natural ability to generate new cell types as they are the ONLY cells in the body that possess this capability. Promoting the repair response of diseased or injured tissue using stem cells or their derivatives is known as stem cell therapy and falls under the broader umbrella of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine takes advantage of our body’s amazing and built-in ability to heal itself.
The Steps to the Process
Stem cell injections for back pain begin by extracting the bone marrow from your very own body. The most common extraction site is the iliac crest of the pelvic bone. The stem cells are then prepared using advanced technology. In particular, the collected sample is centrifuged and separated into layers, and then isolated to only the desired contents—your stem cells! Following purification, the cells are ready to be injected. Since the stem cells come from the patient’s own body, the risk of rejection is extremely low. The stem cell treatment itself is performed as an outpatient, non-surgical procedure where the prepared stem cells are injected into the treatment area.
What Do Stem Cell Injections Treat?
It is a viable alternative for those suffering from pain from many types of joint issues. Chronic pain stemming from cartilage, ligament, or tendon issues, could also potentially be treated using stem cell injections. The benefits of stem cell injections can include reducing chronic inflammation, delaying aging of the body tissues, and helping the body with the natural healing process. The regenerative abilities of stem cells stop the progression of the disease by regenerating healthy tissue that results in pain reduction, improved mobility, and restoration of normal joint function.
Stem cell injections are commonly used to treat:
- Osteoarthritis
- Shoulder, knee, back, hip, and joint pain
- Cartilage damage
- Ligament damage
- Tendonitis
- Degenerative disc disease.
Who are Good Candidates for Stem Cell Therapy?
Active Individuals
If you lead a particularly active lifestyle or are an athlete who has a higher probability of injury, you are a likely candidate for stem cell injections. The healing and regenerative benefits of stem cell therapy may help you avoid potential life-long damage from injury.
People with moderate osteoarthritis
If you suffer from moderate osteoarthritis, which is the deterioration of the cartilage that cushions the ends of the joints, stem cell therapy can provide relief by restoring the cartilage that has been damaged. Moderate condition of osteoarthritis is an important criterion here, where the complete collapse of the joint is not present. In addition, the anti-inflammatory properties of stem cell therapy can help to reduce pain and swelling. Stem cell therapy is also recommended for individuals with shoulder pain, meniscal tears, rotator cuff tears, tendonitis, and chronic neck or back pain.
Individuals with sub-optimal responses to other non-invasive treatments
If you have tried other non-invasive treatments to manage chronic pain, such as physical therapy or medication, and have not had the desired results, you may be a great candidate for stem cell therapy.
Individuals recommended for surgery
If you have been recommended for knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, or back surgery and would like to explore options that might help delay or potentially avoid surgery, you may be an ideal candidate for stem cell therapy.
The best way to figure out if you are a candidate for stem cell therapy for pain is to consult a qualified physician. We all deserve to live a pain-free, joyous life! If pain is interrupting the full life that you envision for yourself, please consult with a physician to assess your symptoms, diagnose your condition, and recommend the right treatment course for you. Here at Ospina, we can help you through this entire journey. Book an appointment to discuss with our doctors trained in patented Regenexx stem cell procedures.
Written By: Mukund Mahesh
Edited By: Camden Rowe