What You Should Know about Stem Cell Therapy

Chronic pain is one of the more difficult conditions a person has to live with. They tend to spring up from severe injuries earlier in life or years of overuse. They can range from rotator cuff problems to tendonitis. Often, they are difficult to treat.

If you’ve been struggling with bouts of pain on and off for years, you’ve no doubt tried many different treatments to try and get rid of your condition. Physical therapy and medications have their limits and often provide temporary relief. However, there are many injuries or painful conditions that just don’t seem to heal well enough on their own. This is especially true as we get older and pain becomes more chronic in nature. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could kickstart the body’s self-healing properties again?

With stem cell therapy, that may indeed be possible. Stem cell therapy can be used to treat many long-lasting injuries. By using your body’s own regenerative properties, you can find relief from chronic pain. Here is what you should know about stem cells and stem cell therapy.

What are stem cells?

Think of stem cells as your reserve repair cells. Your hormones regulate much of your healing properties. Think of them as both the messengers and the managers. When it comes to the maintenance and repair of your body, the work is often done in three places: the nucleus of the cells, the mitochondrial engines of the cell protoplasm, and stem cells which specialize in performing repairs.

Similar to hormones, stem cell numbers diminish with age. We have many at birth, but they decline quickly in adulthood. They are part of the reticulo-endothelial system and play a part in repair and immunity. When damage occurs in the body, signals are sent out to draw these cells toward the injury where they will specialize to repair the specific area in need.

If we lose them, how can they be used?

While we may have fewer stem cells as we age, doctors can harvest them in useful quantities from both bone marrow and body fat. They are most usable and are found in the greatest quantities in the reticuloendothelial network of cells located in body fat. The area with the highest concentration is what we refer to as the “love handle” or flank fat pad.

The actual collection of these stem cells is a medical procedure that will need to be performed by a doctor who specializes in these treatments. Special handling is required to successfully harvest them at a usable quantity. These stem cells can even be expanded in culture and stored for later use by freezing them. From then on, they can be thawed and used whenever they are needed without needing to go through another harvesting procedure.

Is stem cell therapy dangerous?

You are using your own stem cells to heal the targeted area in your body. Your own stem cells are the safest option and no evidence has been found that using stem cell therapy causes adverse reactions or causes the growth of tumors.

Understand that is currently illegal in the United States to be injected with another person’s tissues or cells. Some unscrupulous providers claim to offer “stem cell therapy” that comes from embryos or placentas acquired from hospital deliveries. These processes actually kill the stem cells and only leave the growth factors associated with them. Growth factors certainly are helpful, but you can achieve the same results yourself via PRP therapy. Platelet rich plasma is obtained by spinning down your own blood and extracting the platelets. PRP can help with certain chronic conditions. PRP from your own body is much safer than materials from another being. This procedure is performed during stem cell harvests to administer to your sore joints, for example.

Conclusion

If you’ve been suffering from a difficult-to-treat condition like chronic pain or injuries that don’t seem to heal with the passing of time, stem cell therapy might be the solution you’ve been looking for. Only a doctor who specializes in these treatments and has experience administering them can tell you for sure, though. You cannot just trust anyone to administer stem cell treatments due to the controversy surrounding how some choose to deliver this service. If you want to know more about stem cell therapy and if it’s right for you, book an appointment online with us today. Dr. Morris has the expertise required to safely administer stem cell therapy and can tell you if it’s the solution to your issue. The staff at The Private Practice is dedicated to providing you with the cutting edge, quality care you need so you can feel your best.

Author

Medical Director Dr. Jerry W. Morris