Alternative Treatment for Rotator Cuff Tear or Injury

Unfortunately, a rotator cuff injury is common mostly leading to a rotator cuff tear or a torn rotator cuff altogether. The cause for this could be an acute injury or fall or degenerative damage, getting worse over some time or either due to repetitive movement, a lack of blood supply or bone spur formation or a combination of those. Since the glenoid cavity is shallow, it requires extra support of muscles and tendons to keep the head of the humorous in place. Thus is why rotator cuff is prone to injuries more often. We, at Medica Stem Cells Clinics, offer effective alternative treatment options for rotator cuff tear or injury with a faster recovery time compared to conventional treatments. But before we go in to that, let’s see what a rotator cuff is and what the symptoms of injury are?

What is a rotator cuff?

The rotator cuff is a musculotendinous structure mainly formed by muscles, tendons and ligaments surrounding the shoulder joint. These structures facilitate to keep the two parts of the shoulder, the shoulder blade and the upper arm, in place.

The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint, just like the hip joint. However, the glenoid cavity which receives the head of the humerus (upper arm) is very shallow, unlike the acetabulum which receives the head of the femur (thigh bone).

What are the symptoms of rotator cuff injury?

The first sign of rotator cuff injury is pain. Other symptoms of the injury include:

- Inability to sleep on the affected side with a reduced range of movement.
- Difficulty in performing daily chores, including reaching up for things, lifting or carrying items or dressing.
- Sometimes a crackling sensation is felt when moving in a particular position.

What are the conventional treatment methods for rotator cuff injury?

Rotator cuff injury causes difficulty in performing our daily work and is very painful. To get temporary relief from the pain, people use the following treatment:

Rest, rest manages pain temporarily.

Ice, application of ice temporarily reduces inflammation. Thus, giving temporary relief from pain.

Medication, when the pain becomes unmanageable, doctors usually suggest pain-killers to manage pain. The pain-killers however, only mitigate the symptoms for some time.

Physiotherapy.

For a completely torn rotator cuff surgery is strongly advised.

How to heal a partially torn rotator cuff naturally?

Rotator cuff injury is a painful and debilitating condition. You must be thinking if there are any natural ways to treat rotator cuff injury? The simple answer is yes. Regenerative treatment is an alternative treatment method for rotator cuff injury. It is often overlooked, even though the results of regenerative therapies are very good. Regenerative therapy is 100% natural treatment method that uses stem cells harvested from your body.

What is the alternative treatment for rotator cuff tear or injury?

There are few alternative treatment options for rotator cuff tear or injury. The non-surgical Regenerative Treatment procedures are the following:

- Prolotherapy. During the prolotherapy procedure, we inject natural irritant into the soft tissue around the injured shoulder joint. This natural irritant helps to kick start the body’s healing response.
- Platelet Rich Plasma or PRP treatment. Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy or PRP treatment mainly uses a portion of the patient’s blood, having a platelet concentration above baseline, to promote healing of injured tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints. It is applied to various musculoskeletal problems. PRP treatment is quite frequently used to treat partially torn rotator cuffs.
- Stromal vascular function or SVF. For Stromal Vascular Therapy, a substantial number of Stromal Vascular Fraction (SVF) cells from adipose/fat tissue are harvested, which provide an abundant source of SVF cells for administration. These SVF cells, which also contains Growth Factor when injected in the shoulder joints, decrease the inflammation present and promotes growth and specialization of cells too.
- Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate or BMAC. For this procedure, we extract a small part of bone marrow from the pelvis under local anaesthesia to minimize discomfort. The extracted marrow is then processed and injected into the affected part of the body to promote healing.

In certain conditions, a combination of procedures may be the treatment protocol. However, in a few cases, a series of injections are administered in several treatment sessions. The choice of treatment is at the discretion of the consultant. It is made by reviewing the case and discussing the treatment options with the patient.

What are the benefits of Regenerative Treatment?

The benefits of Regenerative treatment are the following:

- Regenerative therapy offers minimally invasive procedures with faster recovery. Unlike surgical intervention which is an invasive procedure with a more prolonged recovery period.
- Less time-consuming, it is a same-day procedure and takes only a few hours. And once completed, you can travel back to home.
- Mobility of shoulder joints regained within a few weeks of treatment.
- No post-operative scars or lesions.
- No risk of contracting or transmitting any infectious disease. However, there is minimal risk of contracting an infection at the sample collection and injection site. Therefore the procedure is carried out in a sterile environment.

When do I see the results of Regenerative Treatment?

The therapy is an orthobiological treatment and requires some time for the cells to restore the damaged areas. Most patients initially experience signs of improvement as reduced pain and increased mobility of the joints. Generally, you will start to feel the improvements within a few weeks after the procedure.
Regenerative treatment helps in releasing potent anti-inflammatory agents and growth factors. The agents thus reduce inflammation and hence any pain. Usually, the pain begins to decrease within four weeks after the treatment. Gradual improvement within 2-3 month, when the cells begin to heal, thus reducing inflammation.
The consultant conducts regular follow-ups either in person or over the phone for up to 6 months. During these reviews, the consultant compares the improvement with the previous medical history before the procedure started, to see the overall progress.
The outcome of the treatment and improvement varies from one person to another, mainly depending on age, type and severity of the condition and other factors.