Why Should I Consider Stem Cell Therapy
Conventional non-surgical treatments treat the symptoms but not the underlying disease, and they can have serious side effects if used for a long time.
Surgery is the only FDA approved treatment that can provide a long-term cure, but there can be serious surgical complications.
It can take up to a year to fully recover after surgery. After 6 weeks, you should be able to resume normal activities, although the pain and inflammation may take 3 months to 1 year to subside.
The following are some risks associated with the surgical procedure:
- Blood clots
- Osteolysis
- Bleeding and pain
General Patient Type : Younger Patient Athlete Active Or With A Physically Demanding Job Recent Injury Such As A Sprain That Has Not Healed All The Way
- Injury is still causing pain and discomfort.
- This is the type of injury that does very well with dextrose Prolotherapy injections.
- Dextrose is sugar water that when injected into the injured joint attracts your own healing repair cells into the area to fix damaged soft tissue such as ligaments and tendons.
Joint Replacement Surgeon Located In Boise Meridian Id
Stem cell and PRP therapy is a revolutionary treatment for joint pain, especially the pain caused by knee osteoarthritis. Board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon Colin Poole, MD, AAOS, ABOS, at Poole Joint Replacement in Meridian, Idaho, offers this noninvasive, cutting-edge procedure to men and women who have pain in their knees as an alternative to joint replacement surgery. Call to learn more about how stem cell therapy may help you delay the need to head to the operating room.
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What Are The Potential Benefits And Drawbacks
Stem cell therapy and orthobiologic treatment are still burgeoning medical fields. Theres a lot were still learning about their uses, benefits, and drawbacks. We dont know for certain if it works for things like cartilage regeneration or healing spinal cord injuries.
Despite this, Dr. Murphy reports that many patients do find orthobiologic treatment to be helpful for their knee paineven if it doesnt reverse bone or cartilage loss. Some of the benefits may include:
- Less pain from osteoarthritis or past injuries
- Reduced joint stiffness
- Reduced dependency on pain medications
- Improved mobility
The majority of patients who receive stem cell treatment for knee pain experience quick recovery times and little to no adverse side effects. That being said, its important to know the potential drawbacks:
- Risk of bacterial infection
The Stem Cell Treatment Journey
One of the best parts of stem cell treatment is that the cells themselves come from the patient’s own body, not from a laboratory or a cadaver. When a patient undergoes stem cell treatment for knee pain, a physician harvests stem cells from their bone marrow, usually from the hip. The process is quick and typically requires only a local numbing agent.
The stem cells undergo processing in a laboratory, where a centrifuge separates them from the other cells contained in the bone marrow. A physician then injects the stem cells into the affected knee.
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Why Is Stem Cell Therapy For Knees Important
With the growing power of regenerative medicine, more physicians are now able to offer affordable, cost-effective and most importantly long-lasting treatments that address pain in the short and long term. Stem cell therapy for knees carries with it the possibility to make knee joint pain obsolete.
Despite the promise of regenerative therapy, however, its still important to perform due diligence before making a decision. This requires understanding some facts about knee pain. These facts include what causes it, how stem cell therapy provides relief, how it works, and whos a good candidate.
General Patient Type : Chronic Long
- This is a patient who may have had degenerative joint disease for many years even decades. These are the bone on bone people. They have exhausted all means of conservative care, they may have had short-term success with PRP treatments, hyaluronic acid treatments, cortisone injections, but none of these are helpful anymore.
- It is important to realize and it will be explained in this article, that it is rare that we would need to go to stem cell therapy in many of these patients. When we do recommend stem cells it would be from your own stem cell sources and mostly taken from bone marrow. We do not offer stem cell therapy, from the donated source material.
Sometimes a patient will reach out to us and suggest, I had one PRP injection it did not work, I definitely need stem cells. That is not always the case. One injection of anything Prolotherapy, PRP, or stem cells, while possibly providing relief in many patients short-term, is typically not a long-term answer. This is explained below.
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Amniotic Stem Cell Therapy
Amniotic therapy uses stem cells concentrated in the amniotic sac and has often been used in the treatment of knee pain. Types of arthritis pain this treatment helps are:
- Degenerative
- Meniscal
- Instability, IT Band Syndrome, and more
Amniotic therapy works in over 80% of patients. There is an extremely low-risk treatment and can help you avoid getting surgery so you can get back to living your life.
How Does Stem Cell Therapy Improve The Symptoms Of Osteoarthritis
Stem cells aid in self-healing of the joint cartilage. Osteoarthritis develops as the immune system gradually deteriorates, cartilage is damaged, bone structure is altered, and chronic synovial inflammation develops.
Mesenchymal stem cells have been found to regulate the immune system, inhibit inflammation, increase blood vessel formation, repair tissue, and stimulate cartilage self-regeneration.
The patients stem cells and platelet-rich plasma can be easily harvested. These stem cells are specific to the patient, ensuring that the cells will not be rejected.
The entire procedure is relatively quick, and most patients are up and walking with assistance within 24 hours.
Patients will experience minor discomfort, and most will be able to return to work in 1-2 weeks, depending on the job type. If the patient works a desk job, he or she may be able to return in a few days.
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Stem Cells For Knee And Hip Joints
Knee and hip arthritis are the most common pathologies in orthopedics. They cause pain, stiffness, and limitation of joint function. It is a pathology that becomes the leading cause of disability in adults. Medication treatment of arthritis has only a temporary analgesic effect. As a result, patients have to undergo endoprosthesis of the knee or hip joint.
Stem cells have shown a positive effect in the fight against degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the joints. Studies conducted by foreign medical centers have shown good results in the fight against osteoarthritis of large joints of the 2nd-4th degree. Of the 503 patients who were indicated for endoprosthetics, only 4 had to resort to this intervention after cell therapy.
Where Do The Stem Cells Come From
The most common type of stem cells used for treating arthritis are mesenchymal stem cells. Mesenchymal stem cells are usually collected from the patients fat tissue, blood, or bone marrow.
The process of collecting cells is often called harvesting.
- Adipose stem cells are harvested using surgery or liposuction.
- Peripheral blood stem cells, found in the bloodstream, are harvested by taking a blood sample from the patient.
- Bone marrow stem cells are harvested from one of the patients bones.
Bone marrow is usually taken from the pelvic bone using a needle and syringe, a process called bone marrow aspiration. The patient is given a local anesthetic and may also be given a sedative before the procedure.
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How Stem Cell Therapy Can Help
Stem cell therapy also uses your body to heal itself. In this case, it uses adult stem cells extracted from bone marrow or fat. Stem cells are basic cells that can turn into any cells the body needs. Extracting them and injecting them into injured areas can speed healing.
Injections of stem cells can help reduce inflammation, repair damaged tissue, and may even help prevent knee replacement surgery.
First, some bone marrow or fat tissue is extracted with a needle. Then the stem cells are harvested from the tissue. Finally, the stem cells are injected into the injured area. The process can take up to an hour.
What Other Treatments Might A Doctor Recommend
In addition to a periodic stem cell injection, physicians may also recommend PRP injections therapy. PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma. It is a common treatment in conjunction with stem cells because it performs a similar service of activating the bodys healing mechanisms.
With PRP, physicians draw blood from patients and then put it in a centrifuge to separate the red blood cells. The result is a clear serum filled with a platelet-derived growth factor, which jump-starts natural healing processes.
Since knee pain or tendonitis are a type of bodily wound, the serum can initiate effects that are similar to how the body will heal a broken bone or large cut. The body funnels blood and nutrients to the area. It brings in structural tissues, such as collagen and elastic. In a nutshell, it assists the body with restorative mechanisms.
For obvious reasons, this is useful when paired with a stem cell injection. It provides building blocks your body cannot access on its own. The PRP therapy directs resources to the site of injury, which increases the effectiveness of both treatments. The end result? Greater mobility, reduced pain, and a more functional joint.
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Stem Cell Therapy Candidates And Stem Cell Knee Therapy Cost
Knee pain is one of the leading causes of orthopedic visits in the Chicago, Westchester, Oak Brook and Hinsdale, Illinois area. Patients suffering from pain often limit their everyday activities, miss work and no longer engage in sports. When chronic knee pain sets in after an injury or from natural degeneration of the joint, many patients believe surgery is the only option. However, alternate non-surgical options including biologic therapy are becoming more common. A stem cell knee injection is a safe and potentially effective treatment option designed to prolong or eliminate surgery and is offered by Dr. Nikhil Verma, orthopedic surgeon and knee specialist. Potential advantages of stem cell injections include pain and swelling reduction, improved activity level and potential delay of surgery.
Does Stem Cell Treatment Cause Any Complications
Research shows that stem cell treatment is safe and has minimal complications. However, you still have some risks to consider when you choose to receive stem cell injections for your knee pain. For instance, if the stem cells injected into your knee have pathogens like bacteria or viruses in them, the infection will spread to your knee.
In rare cases, a patient has an immune reaction to the new cells. These problems all have a low risk of happening, and Dr. Gombera will monitor you for any possible symptoms after the procedure. Contact Dr. Gombera if a non-urgent issue comes up that seems to be tied to the stem cell therapy.
The most common side effects of stem cell therapy are minor. You may feel a little pain at the injection site, which can happen with any kind of injection. Since Dr. Gombera injects the stem cells directly in your knee, you may feel some swelling and stiffness. These problems will subside as you recover.
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General Advantages Of Mscs Over Other Types Of Stem Cells For Therapeutic Purposes
MSCs are favored over the other types of stem cells, as they exhibit numerous advantages for therapeutic purposes, such as their relative abundance, ease of isolation, their multilineage differential potential, lower risk of malignant transformation, immunomodulatory properties and the lack of ethical issues.
Abundance and ease of isolation
Previous reports have suggested that MSCs originate from the perivascular niche, thus making it possible to isolate them from various tissues in the body such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, peripheral blood, the placenta and the umbilical cord . However, the bone marrow and subcutaneous adipose tissues remain the preferential sources of obtaining MSCs, due to their relative abundance in the human body, particularly in the subcutaneous adipose tissue .
Multilineage differential potential
MSCs can be differentiated into various cell lineages. Over the years, in addition to the production of osteocytes, chondrocytes and adipocytes from MSCs, studies have also successfully induced MSCs to differentiate into oligodendrocytes , insulin-producing cells and cardiomyocytes , highlighting their potential for the treatment of various degenerative diseases, including diabetes mellitus , cardiovascular diseases and bone diseases .
Lower risk of malignant transformation
Immunomodulatory properties
Lack of ethical issues
What Can A Stem Cell Injection Help With
Previously, people with joint pain and inflammation did not have many choices. Doctors might prescribe them anti-inflammatory medications or periodic steroid injections to promote healing and reduce pain. They might also administer hyaluronic acid injections or recommend physical therapy or surgery.
These treatments, unfortunately, are not that effective. Although they are not invasive, the results tend to fade with time.
The same is not true of stem cell procedures. Stem cells can help to resolve a range of medical conditions, including:
- Knee osteoarthritis
- Arthritis
- Cartilage defects
The stem cells encourage the bodys own healing, as well as provide the building blocks for new tissue.
However, a stem cell injection may not work immediately, because it can take time for cells to exert their effects. In some cases, more than one injection is necessary. A physician may put their patient on a schedule or administer them one by one to see what works.
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What Are The New Findings
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We found low to very low quality of evidence for a positive effect of autologous stem cell therapy in knee osteoarthritis on patient-reported outcomes and radiological outcomes.
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There is high heterogeneity in the source, method of preparation and dosage of injected stem cells in included randomised controlled trials .
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Serious adverse events seem absent after stem cell therapy none were reported in RCTs during a maximum follow-up of 4 years.
Recommendations For Clinical Practice
Key evidence-based treatment options in management of KOA in first line are exercise, weight management and patient education. These non-invasive treatment options are preferred in clinical practice. We found low to very low quality evidence for the efficacy of MSC therapy in KOA. We did not find serious adverse events of MSC therapy. However, follow-up durations in the trials included ranged mostly between 1 and 2 years. One trial had a follow-up duration of 4 years. Therefore, long-term safety of MSC therapy remains unknown. Our findings suggest that MSC therapy could be considered in the treatment of KOA. Given the restricted strength of evidence, application of MSC therapy should be acted on with caution. In our view, MSC therapy should be reserved for those patients with persistent significant pain and disability despite extensive first-line treatments as exercise therapy and weight loss programmes, and when TKA is not feasible. In this patient group, MSC therapy could be considered. Advantages and disadvantages, in light of the limited evidence, should be discussed with the patient in a shared decision process. It should be taken in consideration that stem cell therapy is an expensive therapy and at this moment is not allowed by legal regulations in several countries. Based on our findings, we cannot recommend one source of MSCs over another.
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Treatment Of Osteoarthritis Of The Knee By The Classical Method
At present, it is not possible to completely cure arthritis of the knee joint. However, by starting treatment in the early stages of the disease, it is possible to stop the progression of the destruction of cartilage in the joint for a long time.
- The use of knee braces to relieve the medial parts of the joint
- Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which allow you to stop the inflammation in the joint and reduce pain
- Reduction of increased body weight – reliably leads to a slowing of the progression of arthrosis
- Therapeutic exercise, which excludes axial loads on the joint, allows you to restore muscle tone, prevent hypotrophy and restore the amount of movement in the joint
- Taking small doses of muscle relaxants leads to a decrease in spasm of the periarticular muscles, which also significantly reduces the pain syndrome
- Physiotherapy courses
- Injection of hyaluronic acid, which is a prosthesis of synovial fluid, into the joint
- Taking medications from the group of chondroprotectors
- Taking drugs that improve blood rheology and blood supply to the bones
- In some cases, arthroscopy of the knee joint
- Knee joint replacement – endoprosthesis of the knee joint if conservative treatment is ineffective.
Stem Cells From Donors
Another potential source of stem cells, which can be used in therapies, is allogeneic MSCs. They are harvested from donated human umbilical cord tissue after normal, healthy births where the mother has been tested for infectious diseases and has a screened medical history. These harvested MSCs are then screened to International Blood Bank Standards .
Umbilical cord tissue provides an abundant supply of mesenchymal stem cells avoiding the requirement to harvest stem cells by invasive procedures such as liposuction or bone marrow aspiration. There is evidence showing that mesenchymal stem cells from umbilical cords are more robust than those from other sources such as fat.
Basically both treatment protocols, both for the MSCs from the patient and from a donor, were identical. Any differences in the MSCs and in some characteristics of the cells arose due to those from the patient themselves, from fat or bone marrow, being older than MSCs from umbilical cord and may therefore lack potential for proliferation and/or differentiation.
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