Stem cell therapy is a new and burgeoning field that is starting to produce real world results. We are beginning to bring these results to patients at the Pain & Healing institute. As science progresses, we are gaining further understanding of how the degeneration process occurs in the spine and joints at a cellular level. There is continual loss of healthy cells inside intervertebral discs and joints cause degeneration of the disc’s and various joints structure. Eventually, normal cells are replaced with fibrotic cells, and the walls of the discs and joint structure break down. This could lead to bulging discs, protrusions, and bone spurs from neighboring vertebrae begin to form in the spine and loss of normal anatomy in the bodies major joints. This process leads down its own pathway of natural degeneration, but what if there was a way to reverse this and return normal, healthy body?
Every person carries inside their bodies cells that have the ability to form new and healthy tissues. In fact, adult stem cells are found throughout the body and exist in order to replenish dying cells and regenerate healthy tissue. Muscles, bones, cartilage and tendons all come from a certain kind of adult stem cell called Mesenchymal stem cells. The main reservoirs of Mesenchymal stem cells are bone marrow and adipose (fat) tissue.
Scientists have known about these stem cells as early as 1993 and were deemed safe for therapeutic use in humans shortly thereafter. Since then, research has continued to show that they can aid in the repair of tendon ruptures, bone fractures, diseased muscles, and degenerated cartilage. Even more recent research has shown that adult Mesenchymal stem cells have the ability to produce new cells in lumbar discs, and major joints which are able to bring on new healthy tissue.
If the procedure is performed by a specialist in the field, adult stem cells can be transferred into a person’s degenerated disc safely and effectively in an outpatient setting, without resorting to surgery. Completed in the safe and sterile environment of an outpatient center, a small volume of stem cells can be easily harvested from a person’s bone marrow. It is then spun down in a centrifuge to concentrate the stem cells. These cells are then injected into a lumbar disc or major joints utilizing x-ray technology to guide the injection.
This is a continually changing field with new data coming forward all the time. Please speak to your doctor at the Pain & Healing Institute for the newest and latest information.
