Conditions or ailments ranging from hair loss to arthritis are successfully managed by conventional treatments such as medications, physical therapy and steroid injections. However, they could offer relief from symptoms for a very short duration.
While looking for permanent relief, doctors usually recommend surgery as a last resort. If you have experienced the same, hold on! Here comes non-surgical regenerative medicine that might work for you.
Regenerative medicine is the remarkable science of harnessing the body’s natural healing abilities, often with the aid of foreign biological materials, to rebuild and restore cells, tissues, and organs.
What is Regenerative medicine?
The phrase “Regenerative medicine” was coined in the year 1999.
“Regenerative” is a term that means revival and restoration. Regenerative medicine not only treats symptoms but also aims to replace damaged tissues with new tissues by restoring the body’s healing mechanism, reducing inflammation and pain and restoring joint mobility. It tackles the root cause of the ailment.
As we age, our body’s healing mechanism becomes weak. Doctors collect regenerative cells and inject them into the affected area to enhance recovery. The outcome would be a significant improvement in pain relief and joint function. Thus, regenerative medicine proves to be an effective alternative to invasive surgery.
What conditions does regenerative medicine treat?
Regenerative medicine can treat many medical conditions and ailments, and it’s proven safe and effective. And here’s a list of a few:
-
- Shoulder – Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Rotator Cuff Tendinitis, Rotator Cuff Tear, Labral Tear or Degeneration, Shoulder Impingement, Frozen Shoulder, SLAP lesion, ACJ, SCJ & C-C Ligament, and Anterior & Posterior Band of IGHL
-
- Knee – Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Patellar Tendinitis, Medial Collateral Ligament/Lateral Collateral Ligament, Sprain or Partial Tear of the Posterior Cruciate Ligament, Bone on Bone Cartilage Wear and Tear, Meniscus Tear, Cartilage Defects, Tendinopathy
-
- Elbow – Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Bursitis, Golfer’s Elbow, Tennis Elbow
-
- Ankle and Foot – Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Ankle Sprains, Plantar Fasciitis, Ligament Sprain or Tear, Achilles Tendinopathy
-
- Hip – Arthritis, Bursitis, Osteoarthritis, Tendinopathy, Labral/Labrum Tear
-
- Hand and wrist arthritis, thumb arthritis
-
- Hair and skin problems
Is Regenerative treatment proven?
As mentioned, the term “regenerative medicine” was coined in 1999. Though the concept is older, it gained acclaim in recent years due to the success rate of regenerative treatment.
Regenerative cells use natural substances to grow into varied types of cells. This is known as differentiation. For the question of whether regenerative is proven, the answer is both yes and no. This treatment is well-proven, and doctors use it often for healing purposes. Unlike conventional methods, regenerative medicine treats the condition’s underlying cause and symptoms.
There are various research studies to prove the effect of Regenerative medicine on treating many diseases, especially orthopaedic conditions such as arthritis in the knee and hip.
The application of using regenerative cells for tissue transplants, new organ growth, and chronic ailments cure is still under research, and many advances are made every year.
What are the types of regenerative therapy?
Doctors administer regenerative therapy in five types:
-
- Combinational therapy
-
- Prolotherapy
Let us go through them one by one in detail:
Enhanced Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy
Growth factors are needed when the degree of tissue damage goes beyond the body’s natural ability to self-heal. If your body cannot secrete enough growth factors, the doctors will insert them. This is where Enhanced PRP helps!
The injection of Enhanced PRP (Enhanced Platelet-rich plasma) releases growth factors from platelets to stimulate your body’s natural healing mechanism to heal the damaged tissue quickly, followed by its regrowth.
In this Enhanced PRP procedure, the doctor will extract blood from your body and centrifuge it to separate Enhanced Enhanced Platelet Rich Plasma aseptically. The Enhanced PRP then will be injected directly into the damaged area using ultrasound guidance.
Stem cell therapy
Stem cells are primitive non-specialised cells that can develop into any specific cell by constant division and cell propagation. Hence, a regenerative treatment using stem cells can be a life-changer for patients, especially those with degenerative arthritis.
Doctors typically extract stem cells known as mesenchymal cells from bone marrow aspirate concentrate or adipose (fatty) tissues. After harvesting and processing the stem cells, introduce them under ultrasound guidance into the affected tissue for quicker healing and regrowth.
Combinational Regenerative therapy
Depending on the patient’s condition and severity, the doctor will recommend the most suitable combination of regenerative therapies to accelerate the regeneration procedure. Regenerative therapy (stem cell or Enhanced PRP) can also be combined with physical therapy for better outcomes. Furthermore, combinational therapies are more effective than standalone therapies. These therapies give the best results when combined with aftercare physical therapy rehabilitation and anti-inflammatory nutrition. At Medica Stem Cells clinic, Combinational Regenerative therapy is the most popular mode of treatment for many patients.
GOLDIC therapy
GOLDIC refers to ‘Gold Induced Cytokines’. It involves the contact between specially designed gold particles and the patient’s endogenous blood cells externally. GOLDIC® technology contains essential growth factors and stem cell-specific factors, like GELSOLIN, G-CSF (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor) and SCGF-ß (hematopoietic stem cell growth factor – beta) that are enriched to a significantly high degree. This increased production of Gelsolin, G-CSF and SCGF-ß in patients amounts to a multiple of the initial concentration to produce Gelsolin proteins, growth factors, and cytokines. Furthermore, they can reduce inflammation and activate your natural healing mechanism without side effects.
In this procedure, doctors extract the venous blood from the patient and place it inside specially designed tubes with gold particles. Next, incubate these tubes for 24 hours for Gelsolin production. After 24 hours, perform centrifugation to get the enhanced serum in concentrated form and inject them precisely using ultrasound guidance into the affected region for quick recovery.
Prolotherapy
Prolotherapy is a safe and non-surgical procedure involving injecting an irritant into the affected region. By doing so, there will be a temporary increase in inflammation which will increase your blood flow, heal the damaged cells, and promote new growth of healthy cells. Dextrose is used as an irritant in this procedure.
The main aim of regenerative medicine is to improve the quality of life by healing the underlying cause of any condition and significantly reducing symptoms such as pain and immobility for a prolonged duration.
Benefits of regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine offers the following benefits:
- Heals quickly and naturally
- No medication or anaesthesia is required
- No risk of rejection since this treatment uses your own cells
- Helps avoid surgery and its risks
- Quick recovery with little to no downtime
- Minimally invasive
- Complementary to other treatments such as physical therapy, nutrition therapy, homeopathy, massage, and hot or cold therapies
- No major side effects
- Beneficial for many health conditions
- No extensive rehabilitation period following regenerative treatment unlike surgery
- No communicable disease transmission
- Prevents nerve damage
- Improves overall quality of life
How is Regenerative medicine revolutionising arthritis treatment?
Arthritis, including osteoarthritis (joint degradation due to wear-and-tear condition) and rheumatoid arthritis (joint lining inflammation), causes pain and swelling, affecting the overall quality of life. Both arthritis types can benefit from revolutionary regenerative medicine as it naturally focuses on replacing, repairing, and regenerating damaged tissues.
Unlike other treatments, regenerative medicine uses the patient’s body cells for healing as they are rich in growth factors and bioactive proteins. Hence, doctors inject these processed cells into the affected joints to stimulate the production of healthier cells and reduce inflammation. It involves no severe blood loss or risk of significant infections. Furthermore, there are no rejection or allergy issues as your own biological material and cells are used.
A 2016 review article published in the BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders reported that stem cell therapy could significantly improve pain relief, functional ability, and cartilage regrowth.
A 2020 study published in the Cartilage Journal reported that the Enhanced PRP injections in the affected joint regions could provide better results which increase over time compared to other injectable options. You can find clinically significant improvement after 6 to 12 months.
A 2016 review study reported that people with osteoarthritis who underwent prolotherapy showed positive results.
Who is the right candidate for Regenerative treatment?
Individuals suffering from joint pain or any ailment due to injury or ageing can be a qualified candidates for regenerative treatment. It’s worth a try!
Even after trying other treatment methods, such as activity modification, medications, steroid injections, and physical therapy, you may not experience a significant improvement in pain levels. Regenerative medicine can be a potential alternative before surgery in such cases.
Consider Regenerative medicine if you want an affordable and minimally invasive treatment with relatively little downtime. It is a daycare procedure where there is no need for an extended hospital stay.
Sometimes, you might expect a treatment that does not hinder your routine life and has minimal side effects without significant risk. In that case, Regenerative therapy can help. It is a natural treatment that uses only your cells. Furthermore, there is no need for an extensive post-rehabilitation period as well.
Are you looking for a treatment that proves to be long-lasting compared to other conventional methods? Try regenerative medicine!
How can I get started?
If you are suffering from joint pain and doctors recommend surgery as the only resort, get a second opinion and investigate Regenerative treatment options before proceeding with surgery. You don’t have to endure chronic pain as it affects your quality of life.
This article mentions that pain from wear and tear, diseases, injury, and ageing can be treated with regenerative medicine. This treatment is safer, quicker, and long-lasting compared to surgery.
To understand how Regenerative treatment helps, contact our medical experts at Medica Stem Cells Clinic in London at 020 8 168 2000, in Ireland at 01 298 8000, India at 9106092301 for a consultation.
