Stem cell therapy uses a patient’s own stem cells to help repair damaged tissues and repair injuries. This therapy is a part of the regenerative medicine field that is rapidly growing. Stem cell therapy is used for many conditions including reducing joint pain, increasing motion and flexibility, and treating tendon and ligament tears as well as disc-related low back pain.
What is a stem cell?
Before we explain some of the benefits of this therapy, it may be helpful to know a little bit more about stem cells in general.
According to the National Institute of Health, “Stem cells are important for living organisms for many reasons. In the 3- to 5-day-old embryo, called a blastocyst, the inner cells give rise to the entire body of the organism, including all of the many specialized cell types and organs such as the heart, lungs, skin, sperm, eggs and other tissues. In some adult tissues, such as bone marrow, muscle, and brain, discrete populations of adult stem cells generate replacements for other cells that are lost through normal wear and tear, injury, or disease.”
Benefits
With so many options out there, you may be wondering what benefits choosing stem cell therapy provides. Overall, because stem cell therapy utilizes biologic material harvested directly from the patient’s body, the general benefits include decreased pain, increased range of motion and function and minimal risk, minimal recovery time and minimal worry.
Here are 5 more specific benefits to be aware of:
1. Avoid surgery and its many complications and risks
Stem cell therapy is a minimally invasive, non-surgical procedure. The stem cells are harvested from the patient’s bone marrow from the iliac crest (pelvis).
2. Minimal post-procedural recovery time
One of the most time-consuming factors of any injury is not always the treatment itself, but actually the recovery time. With stem cell therapy, recovery time is minimal.
3. No use of general anesthesia
Do you not like the way general anesthesia makes you feel? Or do you simply get anxious at the thought of being put under? Stem cell therapy may be just what you need as it does not require the use of general anesthesia.
4. No risk of rejection
Due to using biologics extracted from the patient, there is no risk of rejection.
5. No communicable disease transmission
As the cells originate within your own body, there is no risk of spreading disease from or to another person.
For more information about Stem Cell therapies, contact our Regenerative Medicine Specialist Dr. Jeffrey Chacko at (516) 419-4480 or (718) 215-1888.
