If you read Part I in our series on Repairing Tampa’s Knees with Stem Cell Therapy, you know that recently, doctors have started using stem cells to restore cartilage and to heal damaged bone, muscle, tendons, and ligaments and that as a result, stem cell therapy may help some people avoid surgery or at least delay it indefinitely.
Here at BioDesign Wellness Center, we offer stem cell therapy in a minimally invasive environment that provides relief and restoration of damaged or deteriorated knees.
Is Stem Cell Therapy Right for You?
If you have chronic knee pain due to orthopedic injuries or degenerative conditions, such as osteoarthritis, you should at least consider stem cell therapy as a replacement for or in addition to surgery.
For example, if your knee joint has lost most or all of its cartilage — resulting in a “bone on bone” condition — stem cell therapy may help to replace the lost cartilage and possibly avoid total knee replacement surgery.
Another example is someone who has had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus or torn ligaments — stem cell therapy may help to restore the normal structure and function of the damaged tissue or restore tissue that was removed during surgery.
Stem cell therapy in Tampa offers several benefits over other treatments, including:
- While cortisone injections provide temporary relief by reducing inflammation, excessive cortisone can cause more harm than good by increasing the deterioration of cartilage. In contrast, stem cells restore cartilage, providing a long-term solution.
- Joint replacement surgery carries significantly greater risk from anesthesia, the surgery itself, and post-operative infection and blood clots. Stem cell therapy is much less invasive, requiring only injections into the affected area. In addition, stem cell therapy does not result in scarring.
- Joint replacement surgery is usually followed by a long, painful recovery — three days in the hospital and several weeks of physical therapy. During the early stages of recovery, patient mobility is severely restricted. The pain involved in stem cell therapy is significantly less and is over in an instant. Patients can leave the office and return to their lives immediately after receiving treatment.
- Stem cell therapy rebuilds your natural joint instead of replacing it with an artificial joint that may not work quite as well. Artificial joints often require additional, more complex, surgical procedures if problems arise later.
- Another minimally invasive treatment option is platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP), which we also offer here at BioDesign Wellness. With PRP, a patient’s own blood is extracted and spun in a centrifuge, and the platelets are then injected into the joint. Like stem cells, PRP has the advantage of increasing the regeneration of tissue and healing. It is relatively safe, with minimal side effects.
Our Step-by-Step Joint Restoration Protocol
At BioDesign Wellness, our stem cell therapy can be used to treat chronic pain, injury, and degeneration of tissue in the knee. Our four-step protocol for evaluating and treating joint pain, injuries, and deterioration is outlined below.
As you’ll see, the approach is unique in that we focus on whole health. In contrast, many doctors who provide stem-cell therapy treat only the affected areas and fail to address the underlying issues that would explain why the body has been unable to restore the tissue on its own or, in the case of deterioration of the joint, what illness (such as arthritis), has caused it.
We treat the affected area to begin the healing process but also address underlying issues, such as nutrient deficiencies, that often contribute to joint pain (due to inflammation) and the body’s impaired ability to heal itself.
Our four-step protocol is as follows:
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Step 1: Case Review
A licensed medical professional carefully reviews your medical records and imaging reports and conducts a thorough physical examination to evaluate the joint and identify any related conditions. At this point, we determine whether you’re a good candidate for the procedure.
Assuming you’re a good candidate for the procedure, we discuss options regarding the type of stem cells to use. As covered in the earlier section, “Sources of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs),” we use stem cells derived from birth-associated tissues.
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Step 2: Anti-inflammatory protocol
Many people seeking relief from joint pain have an accompanying chronic inflammatory condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, diabetes, osteoarthritis, or obesity.
Underlying conditions are addressed in our office by attacking the root cause, thereby reducing systemic (whole-body) inflammation. We treat chronic inflammation through a combination of diet and anti-inflammatory supplements. This approach addresses not only your joint pain and impaired mobility but also puts you on the path to optimal health.
For more about chronic inflammation caused by autoimmune disorders, see our previous post, “Autoimmune Disease Treatment in Tampa.”
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Step 3: Injection of stem cells into a localized area
Once systemic inflammation is under control, you are ready for your injection. Injections are quick and relatively painless. The entire procedure is over in about 30 seconds.
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Step 4: Follow-up appointment
We meet with you regularly after stem cell treatment to check your progress and adjust other treatments as your health improves. In some cases, relief can be immediate, but in most cases takes from three to eight weeks to kick in.
Continued improvement occurs over a 6-8-month period. Results generally last for years, and injections can be repeated if needed to improve recovery or reduce pain.
If you are experiencing joint pain, back pain, or lack of mobility due to an athletic injury, arthritis, or any other joint-related issue, we encourage you to contact our office to schedule an appointment for an evaluation.
Our objective at BioDesign Wellness Center is to get you back to feeling your best and participating in the physical activities you love at the performance level you desire. Stem cell therapy is now a safe and proven approach to getting you back to yourself.
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Disclaimer: The information in this blog post — Part II on stem cell therapy — is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect current medical thinking or practices. No information contained in this post should be construed as medical advice from the medical staff at BioDesign Wellness Center, Inc., nor is this post intended to be a substitute for medical counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this post without seeking the appropriate medical advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a licensed medical professional in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.