Osteoarthritis and Chronic Pain Management
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease caused by the inflammation, breakdown, and eventual loss of cartilage in the joints. It is the most common joint disorder in the United States and its symptoms worsen over time.
As osteoarthritis progresses the joint “wears out” and you will find it harder to walk, run, bend or put weight on your knees. Because of how unbearable the pain turns, you might start to consider a major surgery such as knee replacement.
Osteoarthritis affects not only the joint, but also the muscles, underlying bone, ligaments, joint lining (synovium), and the joint cover (capsule), also involves progressive loss of cartilage. This degenerative process allows bones under the cartilage to rub together, causing swelling, pain, and loss of motion of the joint.
Avoiding a painful Joint Replacement Surgery
Thanks to advancements in the use of stem cell treatment for knees, shoulders, hip, or neck – surgery is NOT the only option. With treatments like Stem Cell Therapy or Platelet Rich Plasma for knee injuries and arthritis, you can completely avoid the negative consequences of a joint replacement surgery.
Top 5 Risks of Joint Replacement surgery:
- Long and frustrating recovery time
- Post-op infections
- Bleeding
- Implant Rejection
- Complications from General Anesthesia
What is Stem Cells Therapy?
Stem Cells Therapy is part of an exciting new field in medicine called Regenerative Medicine.
It is a treatment option that uses a patient’s own stem cells and growth factors to help repair damaged tissue and heal injuries. It’s usually performed relatively quickly through injections, and is a safe, same day in office procedure.
Stem Cells vs. Conventional Treatments
In conventional medical treatment we rely on anti-inflammatory medications, steroid, hyaluronic acid injections, or even surgery to treat painful and damaged joints. You may be considering stem cell therapy if you suffer from ongoing pain from an injury, joint arthritis, or if you are currently managing pain through medication or injection therapy. At our pain center, we use Stem Cell Therapy to repair and regenerate cartilage tissue in painful, stiff knees, shoulders or hips. Our main priority is to produce the best outcomes for our patients and help relieve the pain and inflammation as quickly and effectively as possible.
Where do Stem Cells come from?
While Stem Cells can come from various sources, here at VIP Centers we exclusively harvest cells from our patient’s own body. We do not harvest stem cells from embryos, as that is not approved in the USA. We only do things that are compliant, safe, effective and will have a positive outcome for our patients.
Stem Cells live in all of us and have the specific job of repairing the breakdown of damaged tissue. As adults, we are constantly regenerating our tissues and organs, and our entire healing process relies on our body’s natural ability to heal itself. However, as we age or get injuries, sometimes our body does not send enough of these critical repair cells to the injured site to fully repair damaged tissue. This is where we come in to help. Utilizing the latest technologies we are able to solve this issue by greatly increasing your body’s own natural repair cells, promoting healing and regeneration of arthritic joints. This is done by harvesting these regenerative cells from areas of natural source such as: bone marrow or fat (adipose tissue) and then concentrating and re-injecting them into damaged joints or tissues.
Advantages of Stem Cells
The main advantage of harvesting cells from the patient’s body is that since they already come from that body, it is the equivalent of perfectly curating for that specific immune system, and that guarantees the cells will NOT be rejected by the body. Stem Cells are an integral part of the body’s natural healing process.
The Stem Cells, once introduced into the injured joint, are signaled by other cells and growth factors to transform into new and healthy cartilage tissue. Once this occurs, the pain, inflammation, and immobility of arthritis significantly decreases, and the patient finds relief from their pain.
Top 8 Benefits of Stem Cell therapy vs. Knee Replacement Surgery
Stem Cell Therapy can be effective for many types of tissue including cartilage, tendons, ligaments, bone, and fibrous connective tissue. Stem Cell Therapy reduces pain and inflammation, promotes healing without the need for pain medications or steroid injections.
- Speed up the length of time it takes for injuries to heal
- Natural, patient’s derived stem cells (stem cells are harvested from patient’s own fat tissue or bone marrow)
- Decreases joint pain with less need for medications
- Increases functionality, range of motion, flexibility of joints
- Speeds-up return patients to their normal activities
- Non-Surgical, a same day procedure
- May Prevent Joint Replacement Surgery
- Minimal recovery time