FAQ’s on Regenerative Medicine including PRP and Stem Cell Therapies
What is Regenerative Medicine at a Stem Cell Center?
Regenerative Medicine at stem cell centers in Texas involve procedures that regenerate and repair tissue such as cartilage, ligament, tendon, ligament, cartilage and bone. Usually, when an individual is experiencing pain from arthritis, soft tissue injuries, tendon, cartilage or ligament damage, , nonoperative pain management offers a “band aid” approach to decreasing pain. Also, when healing occurs in a ligament or tendon the traditional way, it does not heal back to 100% like before.
Regenerative Medicine treatment alters the way treatment is viewed into healing the injury rather than masking pain. Conventional treatments like steroid injections work excellent for relief, however, they do not heal anything. So Regenerative Therapy utilizes stem cells to offer healing capacity by providing the body’s building blocks including platelets and growth factors that promote repair in the body.
What is a Stem Cell?
Stem cells are made by the body’s bone marrow and start as a clean slate. Depending on the area in which they are placed, they can differentiate into specialized cells.
Stem Cells can turn into many different cell types.
This includes potentially a skin, muscle, bone cell or tendon, cartilage and many others. By shifting into high gear the cell production needed to stimulate repair, the additional cell supply can make the difference between a sub-optimal result and one that regenerates back to normal condition.
What are the different types of Stem Cells?
There are two basic stem cell types. The first is called unlimited stem cells (also known as embryonic stem cells). These can turn into virtually any type of cell, while the second kind is termed limited stem cells (also known as adult stem cells).
With the unlimited kind of stem cells, the cells maintain the potential to turn into any human cell type. They can be replicated outside the body and have treatment potential for many human diseases.
Limited stem cells, though, do not maintain the same unlimited potential and cannot be replicated outside the body. They need to be either frozen or transplanted right away into the body.
R3 Stem Cell centers do not work with embryonic stem cells, which have ethical dilemmas associated with them. So those issues are avoided by not using them. R3 only utilizes stem cells that exist in two varieties:
1) Hematopoietic Stem Cells – these exist in human bone marrow and are able to turn into most cell types.
2) Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC’s) – MSCs have been isolated from adipose tissue, placenta, lung, bone marrow and blood. They are also able to differentiate into many different cell types.
Is Regenerative Medicine being used in clinical practice?
Absolutely and they are now mainstream. Over the past decade, several regenerative medicine stem cell treatments have entered clinical practice for pain management, sports medicine, orthopedics, cosmetic procedures and wound healing. These involve adult stem cells, therefore, are not considered controversial.
The various treatment procedures being used at R3 Centers are:
- Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy
- Bone Marrow Derived Stem Cell Injections
- Fat Derived Stem Cell Injections
- Amniotic Derived Stem Cell Therapy
Has research proven the effectiveness of Stem Cells?
There have not been large studies, but many smaller studies showing benefits for bone, joint and soft tissue conditions. There have been small studies in both animals and humans showing the effectiveness of several types of regenerative medicine procedures, which are described on the individual Stem Cell Treatments pages.
Does Insurance cover Regenerative Medicine procedures?
Insurance does not cover regenerative medicine procedures. Typically the visits and imaging studies are covered, while some of the injection materials are paid for out of pocket.
What types of physicians offer Regenerative Medicine procedures for musculoskeletal conditions?
The physicians providing stem cell injection procedures at R3 Centers are Board Certified and extremely experienced in the procedures.
Call (844) GET-STEM for more information and scheduling today!
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