You’re tired of chronic musculoskeletal pain. Perhaps you’ve maxed out on prescription pain relievers. You can only take them for so long; they can cause other types of damage to your body. If physical therapy hasn’t helped enough, you’re ready for an alternative.
Board-certified orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jonathan Shults with Coastal Empire Orthopedics treats many patients with regenerative medicine to heal persistent pain from damaged joints and soft tissue. The following are four benefits of this growing branch of orthopedic practice.
You’ve likely tried all of the standard therapies for pain, but they haven’t worked well enough. Regenerative medicine offers many patients long-term pain relief and a renewed quality of life. In many cases, regenerative medicine is a noninvasive or minimally invasive treatment. You receive a series of injections that send healing growth factors and other nutrients to the site of your damaged tissue.
Perhaps your pain is so persistent that you’re considering surgery. Surgery always carries the risk of infection and other complications. You may want to try regenerative orthopedics before scheduling surgery to see if it can help relieve your pain.
If you do need surgery, Dr. Shults may use regenerative medicine during and after the surgery to help aid your healing. After Tiger Woods used a series of platelet-rich plasma injections to supplement healing for a ligament injury in 2008, regenerative orthopedics began to revolutionize orthopedic practice.
Other well-known athletes are using regenerative orthopedics to help injuries heal faster. Peyton Manning has used stem cell therapy for a compressed nerve in his neck, and Alex Rodriguez used PRP injections to help him heal more quickly from a hip operation.
Regenerative medicine is still in its infancy, but it’s a new treatment option for joint damage, ligament, tendon, and cartilage injuries, and a number of chronic back pain ailments. Much more research needs to be done on how regenerative medicine can help repair and restore damaged cells.
You may be investigating regenerative orthopedics because you’re having side effects from prescription drugs for pain relief. All have side effects, and prolonged use is contraindicated. You’re searching for alternatives.
If you’re using pain medication now, Dr. Shults likely asks you to begin to reduce your medication. Eventually, you may not need it if the therapy works for you.
You may have had cortisone shots in a painful joint previously. However, you’re limited to three or four shots per year at the most because too much of the steroid can damage your soft tissue.
Regenerative orthopedics uses your cells or those of a healthy donor to help heal your painful joints. Platelet-rich plasma uses masses of your nutrient-rich blood platelets to rush healing substances to the site of your pain. During stem cell therapy, we take stem cells from your fatty tissue or bone marrow or that of a healthy donor to rebuild damaged tissue.
Regenerative medicine works for many patients, but it doesn’t work for everyone. Dr. Shults will discuss the pros and cons with you and let you know whether you’re a good candidate for this type of therapy.
Call Coastal Empire Orthopedics or book an appointment online today to see if regenerative medicine can help relieve your pain.
