The discovery of stem cells as a therapeutic option for a wide range of health conditions has opened up possibilities never seen before in the field of regenerative medicine. Here at Right Path Pain and Spine Center in Davenport, Florida, we offer stem cell therapy to improve the quality of life for our patients and reduce the complications of various diseases.
With this treatment, we’re using your own body’s cells to stimulate healing and regenerate new tissue, cartilage, and even bone. If you’ve been suffering from a painful or otherwise debilitating health issue, this form of therapy may help you where traditional treatments have failed.
What Are Stem Cells?
The human body is made up of multiple cells that serve as the building blocks for organs, tissue, blood, hair, and all other parts of the body. Among these cells, none are more important than stem cells. This is because stem cells are the only cells within the body that can create new types of cells.
They can also boost the body’s repair mechanisms so that slow-healing joint injuries, inflammatory conditions, or degenerative problems can receive the best therapeutic attention that they can receive. Therapy with these cells can therefore offer many benefits over other treatment options.
What Issues Can They Treat?
While stem cell therapy is still relatively new and more and more benefits are constantly being discovered through pre-clinical and clinical trials, so far the results are looking very promising. Because we use mesenchymal stem cells, a type that has a diverse therapeutic range, the following conditions are just a few that may benefit from this form of therapy:
Orthopedic Conditions
This type of therapy may benefit those who have sports-related injuries or orthopedic conditions that affect the spine, joints, tendons, and muscles. Mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate themselves into many other different types of cells, so they can be applied to a wide variety of orthopedic injuries.
Using this treatment for these types of injuries may accelerate recovery after an injury has just occurred or may lead to functional improvements and pain relief in long-lasting injuries that are considered to be chronic. Osteoarthritis is a common condition that has been treated by this therapy, specifically in the knees, leading to a reduction in many of its debilitating symptoms for those suffering from it.
Skin Conditions
Because stem cells can effectively treat inflammation, certain inflammatory skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis or psoriasis, may benefit. Stem cells have immunomodulatory properties, which means that they are capable of correcting inflammatory immune responses in some cases. This type of therapy may also hold the key to reducing scarring in various skin conditions. Mesenchymal stem cells have anti-fibrotic characteristics that can reduce or prevent scarring, plus they’re capable of regenerating and repairing epithelial cells, which are the cells that make up the skin’s protective outer layer.
Autoimmune Diseases
In many autoimmune diseases, degenerative changes in tissues and cells take place. While there is generally no cure yet for these types of conditions, in recent years, stem cell therapy has been looked at as a potential treatment for many of the symptoms associated with these disorders. For example, in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, this therapy can sometimes help restore function and mobility in joints while reducing pain and swelling.
Neurodegenerative Conditions
While research into the benefits of stem cell therapy for neurodegenerative conditions is still in its early stages and ongoing, the results so far appear promising. In Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases, neuronal tissue is often damaged and widespread inflammation often occurs. Because mesenchymal stem cells can both repair this type of tissue and reduce inflammation, it may help to improve both cognitive and motor function in those affected by these diseases.
What Is Stem Cell Therapy?
At the heart of this treatment is the scientific approach of using your own body’s cells to repair, protect, and regenerate new ones. Because these cells can create every other type of cell found in the body, they can be used to treat a wide variety of different conditions, regardless of what types of cells may be damaged.
Stem cell therapy is not a band-aid that simply suppresses pain in a way that certain medications or other therapies sometimes do. Instead, it’s a targeted approach that’s focused on getting to the root of the problem and repairing it, whether it’s tissue damage, inflammation, joint issues, or virtually any other new or chronic condition that might benefit from it.
How Does This Therapy Work?
During the therapy process, we will typically extract a small number of stem cells from a location in your body where they are highly concentrated. They are then injected into the site of injury so that they can initiate the healing process. Once stem cells are re-introduced into the body, a typical recovery process normally goes through the following stages:
1. Migration to the Site of Injury
Stem cells have a way of detecting where an injury or inflammation to tissue has occurred, and they then immediately begin to move towards this area. This is because damaged tissue and other dysfunctional cells in the body send out signals that specifically attract stem cells.
This process is known as stem cell migration, and researchers continue to discover new ways that stem cells maneuver themselves towards an injury, including through the circulatory and lymphatic systems.
2. The Repair Process Begins
After arrival at the site of injury, the stem cells can then locate and attach themselves to injured tissue and cells within the area to begin the body’s natural healing process. They initiate this process by transmitting signals to the body’s innate immune system.
This functions as a type of signaling reminder where the immune system then realizes there’s an injury that needs to be healed and begins the process of creating new cells in the target area while repairing existing ones that have been damaged.
3. Improvements Happen Gradually
The regeneration and healing process continues to take place for up to one year after a single stem cell treatment as new cells regenerate and damaged cells are repaired. This means that physical improvements may be noticed at any point, even as soon as a week or two after treatment, though most patients start to notice results at least six weeks after the initial treatment.
In some cases, improvements can continue long after one year with many follow-ups showing that some patients’ immune systems are still responding many years later. The type of condition and how severe it is are two major factors that play a role in how soon treatment success may be noticed or how long improvements continue to occur.
How Safe Is this Treatment?
Because stem cells come from your own body, they are not normally rejected by the body or treated as foreign objects in the way that organ transplants or prescription drugs sometimes are. For this reason, the therapy process itself is considered to be safer than many traditional methods of treating injuries, such as surgeries or medications.
Stem cells are capable of not only rebalancing immune function at the site of an injury, where it may otherwise have been disrupted, but they’re also capable of providing long-lasting effects that can lead to functional improvements and a better quality of life. This all takes place through a minimally-invasive approach.
Where Do Stem Cells Come From?
Stem cells used in regenerative therapy can come from many different sources within the body, but in most cases, they are taken from either bone marrow or adipose tissue, also known as fat tissue. Other, less common sources, include blood, skin, hair follicles, dental pulp, muscles, or other types of tissues.
When stem cells are taken from bone marrow, they are normally extracted from either the hip or the knee. When taken from adipose tissue, this is normally done so using mini-liposuction in any areas where there is an abundance of this tissue. In both scenarios, the extraction process is minimally-invasive and generally safe.
It’s Time To Reclaim Your Life
As stem cells are capable of harnessing your body’s own innate immune system to promote healing, you may be a good candidate for this form of therapy. To inquire about this treatment, contact us today at Right Path Pain and Spine Center in Davenport, FL to schedule your consultation. We’ll be here to assist you every step of the way and to answer any questions you might have about this treatment or any of our other services.
