Stem cell therapy is a revolutionary treatment that can help heal damaged tissues – possibly without surgery and medication. Stem cells have the unique ability to regenerate themselves or regenerate into other fully formed body cells such as ligament, bone, tendon, and muscle cells.
At Texas Orthopaedic Associates, our expert orthopaedic surgeons use mesenchymal stem cells, which are adult stem cells that come from your body. Learn more about how this innovative therapy — performed at their state-of-the-art clinics in Dallas, Plano, and Fort Worth, Texas — can help you.
What is stem cell therapy?
Stem cell therapy is a type of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is an innovative field of medical care that focuses on methods to regrow, repair, or replace damaged cells, organs, or tissues.
The focus of stem cell therapy is to regrow damaged tissue such as cartilage, muscles, and ligaments with stem cells harvested from your own body. These stem cells are extracted or harvested from your bone marrow or fat tissue, and then cultured in a laboratory so they reproduce. They’re then injected into the injured or damaged area.
What conditions can stem cell therapy treat?
Stem cell therapy has the potential to help the medical community understand how diseases occur. The therapy may generate healthy cells to replace diseased or damaged cells in the case of degenerative diseases, spinal cord injuries, heart disease, and cancer.
In terms of helping repair musculoskeletal issues, stem cell therapy can help treat the following conditions:
- Arthritis
- Tendon tears
- Ligament tears
- Damaged cartilage
Additionally, stem cell therapy can help repair damage and reduce pain in joints without relying on medications or turning to surgery for relief.
What happens during a stem cell therapy session?
The first step in stem cell therapy is a comprehensive exam to determine if you’re a good candidate for this treatment. Once the expert orthopaedic team at Texas Orthopaedic Associates decides that stem cell therapy can help you, the next step is to harvest the stem cells.
Harvesting stem cells is done by inserting a needle into your bone marrow, usually your pelvic bone, to extract the stem cells. This procedure is called bone marrow aspiration. Using stem cells from fat tissue is also an option. The cells are then cultured in a lab so they can multiply as needed.
The final step is to collect these newly multiplied healthy cells and inject them into the damaged area. There are few potential side effects or complications because we inject your own cells back into your body.
These new cells may take up to several weeks to help heal and regrow the damaged tissue. It can take up to six weeks to notice improvement. Some people, however, start to see results in a few weeks. Progress should continue to expand over the following six months.
Are you interested in learning more about stem cell therapy and if it can help you? If so, call us at Texas Orthopaedic Associates to schedule an appointment or request one online.
