REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
REGENERATIVE THERAPIES: Cutting-Edge Healing Without Surgery
At Coastal Virginia Spine and Pain Center, we strive to provide our patients and community with access cutting-edge treatment. We offer Regenerative Medicine options to facilitate “biologic healing.”
Biologic healing, or what is more commonly referred to as Regenerative Medicine, describes a process by which we assist the body to heal itself using as few pharmaceuticals as possible. The most exciting way is through the Regenerative Medicine, by providing Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and Prolotherapy injection therapy to our patients.
PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma Injections)
Platelet Rich Plasma Injections are all natural, in that we obtain the solution by drawing a patient’s own blood then concentrating the platelets and special proteins called growth factors in a special centrifuge. We then take this solution, and under direct ultrasound or x-ray guidance inject it into the damaged or degenerated tissue. This promotes a natural healing cascade of seemingly invisible cellular changes that over time heals the body, hence "Regenerative Medicine ".
The healing process time and the PRP injections, with or without the addition of prolotherapy, can take 36 months. To optimize healing, we encourage our patients to modify their exercises in an effort to address some of the compensatory changes that have occurred in their bodies in response to the laxity and pain.
The growth factors also include a number of signal proteins that regulate the inflammatory process and facilitate natural wound healing and tissue regeneration by proliferating myoblasts cells that form skeletal muscle. Pure PRP is distinguished from regular PRP by the absence of red blood cells and neutrophils, as well as by the sheer concentration of the platelets and growth factors contained in each sample. In this case the old adage more is better is likely to hold true, in so far as the number of platelets and growth factors are concerned.
The irony is that prolotherapy and PRP both work by the same mechanism. They both stimulate inflammatory and proliferative responses, thereby acting as signals to the cells and catalysts for tissue regeneration. Therefore, it appears clear that the addition of actual stem cells be it fat derived or obtained by bone marrow aspiration may only be necessary in select patients who have more severe muscle and tendon tears cartilage loss and significant arthritis as well as those who fail to respond to PRP and prolotherapy injections.
Prolotherapy
Of the host of regenerative therapies, Prolotherapy is considered by most to be the “original” regenerative solution and for many years.
Prolotherapy solution consists of a concentrated solution of sugar water and local anesthetics as well as other substances that, when injected, stimulates a very localized inflammatory response that signals the body to heal itself. This solution also promotes tightening of lax connective tissue often seen in chronic or recurrent sprains and degenerative conditions by improving joint stability.
We can reduce abnormal loading forces around the joints and avoid activating alarm cells, called mechanoreceptors, which cause more pain and result in abnormal compensatory movement patterns. Over time, the domino effect of joint instability can result in irreparable changes to the bone structure of the joint, often leaving surgery as the only treatment option. Thus, prolotherapy provides a unique service to the body and will be around for a long time to come.
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Stem Cell Therapy
Allogenic Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) Therapy is derived from amniotic fluid called Wharton's Jelly Stem Cell (WJSC), which has shown great promise and success in improving a wide range of painful conditions and injuries.
WJSC provides cushioning, support, and lubrication to an injured site while flooding the injured area with high concentrations of MSCs, collagen, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, and proteoglycans, which are essential to the healing process in our bodies. You probably recognize that some of the names are very similar to supplements you have been advised to take daily to support joint health.
Wharton's Jelly is an essential compound present in umbilical cords, and it is harvested from healthy-born babies with maternal consent. The fluid is washed through a process in which it eliminates donor-blood cell components, thus reducing the risk of a negative immune reaction. This makes it safe for injectable use and is ideal for treating musculoskeletal conditions. WJSC has proven to be more effective than Bone-Marrow Derived Stem Cell (BMSC) leading to a quicker and more complete healing potential.
