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Stem Cell Injections for Shoulder Arthritis

Shoulder Arthritis and Stem Cell Injections for Relief of Pain

stem cell injections for shoulder arthritis
stem, cell, injections, for, shoulder, arthritis

A bad shoulder effectively disables that entire side of the torso. You can’t sleep on it, you can’t work with it, lift heavy objects or rely on it in any way. Movements can lead to tingling, cramps and constant discomfort. A bad shoulder is dead weight and you’re probably at a loss what to do. One revolutionary solution is — stem cell stem cell therapy for shoulder pain.

What causes shoulder pain?

Anything can lead to temporary shoulder pain  but your main concern should be with chronic pain. Things that may lead to chronic pain include rotator cuff tears (or “cuff tears”), AC joint issues, tendon tear, bone spurs or any underlying pathology to the rotator cuffs, including  avascular necrosis. That is the kind of pain that doesn’t go away and steadily worsens without any apparent reason. Chronic pain indicates an underlying health issue that keeps getting worse and requires your immediate attention and constant care.

Chronic shoulder pain can be caused by degenerative conditions and processes, the worst of which is arthritis. It’s an umbrella term for a whole range of health problems that can affect any joint and result in:

● malaise, fatigue and occasional fever

● soreness on the affected spot

● inflammation and/or swelling

● stiffness of the joint

● Limited range of motion

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Once arthritis appears, it never subsides on its own. The good news is arthritis takes quite a bit to set in, so acting in time can spare the joint. The bad news is that it most often attacks all joints in the body, with the smallest ones (knuckles and toes) getting worn down first.

Our advice is to always pay attention to any discomfort, especially consistent and worsening ones. Give it professional care and ask for several opinions before doing any complicated medical procedure that could have serious downsides. This may include an arthroscopic shoulder examination to evaluate shoulder labrum injuries,  shoulder osteoarthritis, or rotator cuff injuries.

Signs you might need stem cell therapy for shoulders

All joints in the body work in a similar way — bones, sinew, muscles, and connective tissue are tightly intertwined. That makes them tough but also means any injury on one part spreads to all other parts. When just one part gets damaged, you feel small discomfort; when they all get damaged, the joint becomes unusable.

The tricky part is that there are parts of the joint that have no nerves, meaning they can get damaged without you feeling any pain. Still, grinding, cracking, clicking or crunching noises can be a good indication that one part of the joint is damaged or that there’s some damage there. This is when it’s time to consider something like stem cell shoulder cartilage repair or one of the many similar treatments.

Stem cell therapy for shoulder — Healing the pain

The body will try fixing the damage as long as it can, but if the damage keeps spreading, the joint will inevitably deteriorate. That’s why it matters that you distinguish between occasional and chronic pain and act with determination against the latter.

For occasional injuries to the joint, rest will do but chronic pain needs serious investigation. Salves, massages, and supplements are only a temporary relief and may have diminishing returns.

We advise getting stem cell therapy for shoulder pain, which is an outpatient procedure with few downsides and minimal risks. This form of treatment is both safe and effective.  Stem cell treatment for shoulder arthritis means you get one or more injections to the damaged joint and the surrounding tissues with stem cells, which the body can use as needed. That’s it.

Stem cell therapy for shoulders can also go alongside any other treatments, such as massage, salves, stretching, or physical therapy. As long as it doesn’t hurt, the adjunct treatment can only help you overcome the pain and the aversion towards using the shoulder.

How does it work?

stem cell therapy for shoulder pain
stem, cell, therapy, for, shoulder, pain

The body can detect and repair damage done to tissues. It does so by triggering inflammation, which you feel as heat and soreness. This triggers the repair processes, including bone marrow producing stem cells, which are like a blank canvas, and shunting them to the site of injury. The problem is that stem cells can sometimes get stuck in transit for no apparent reason.

When stem cells can’t reach the site of injury, the body keeps triggering the inflammation and the bone marrow keeps trying to send stem cells but nothing happens.

The mainstream medical approach to fixing this problem is through surgery to remove the damaged tissue and controlling the inflammation with medication. The problem is that surgery is fraught with risks and medication can have side effects.

What stem cell therapy for shoulder pain advises is a brilliant solution that’s also the simplest — draw out stem cells from where they are and inject them where they need to be.  This can be marrowderived stem cells through bone marrow aspiration in order to obtain mesenchymal stem cells and bone marrow concentrate.

There’s no risk of autoimmune response because we use the same person’s cells, there’s no inflated bill due to hospital stay nor a chance of deadly infections due to the weakened immune system.

What are stem cells?

Stem cells can turn into any other type of cell. The body can use them to repair any kind of damage to the body and restore all tissues to how they were, according to the genetic instructions in the DNA. In theory, if stem cells didn’t get stuck in transit, humans could regenerate and live forever; according to published research .

Stem cell treatments are relatively new but so far show enormous signs of promise, that of being able to reverse damage to any tissue by simply using the body’s natural healing mechanisms. For now, there’s no way to scale them and apply them to the entire body. What we can do is apply them to critically damaged body parts, such as using stem cell treatment for shoulder arthritis to restore function and provide relief.

Types of stem cell therapy for Shoulder Injury Treatments

Neogenix Stem Cell Treatment currently offers five stem cell treatments for bad shoulders:

● fat tissue

● plasma

● bone marrow

● bone marrow and fat (the Super Shot)

● Platelet rich plasma (plasma prp)

Those cells are from donated umbilical cords. They pass disease screening and get frozen to stay viable as long as possible.

We DO NOT use embryonic stem cells.

The other four stem cell treatments use the patient’s own stem cells, which minimizes risks and complications. Each of those treatments is meant to provide enough flexibility so the patients can choose the one that fits their needs better.

For example, the Super Shot treatment combines stem cells with the patient’s fat cells, which is great for areas that can use the lubricating and cushioning effect of fat. Sadly, it is not an effective weight loss treatment.

The plasma treatment has the mildest effects and should be used where there’s some damage to the tissues. Its purpose is to resolve a minor issue but also let a hesitant patient experience the effects and safety of a stem cell treatment before going for the Super Shot or one of the other treatments.

All treatments are applicable to any damaged tissue, but especially severely damaged joints. All of them are safe and need no particular preparation before or special care after the procedure.

Stem cell harvesting

For some, the scariest part of the treatment is the needle used for stem cell harvesting. The stem cells in your body are found in bone marrow, which is at the center of your bones. Ribs, hips, and the spine have the bone marrow with the most stem cells. They are actually constantly churning out stem cells, which go out as needed throughout the body.

To get in the bone marrow and suck up the strongest stem cells, we use a needle that’s strong enough to poke the bone. Then, we can quickly inject the stem cells where it hurts the most and start the healing process. There’s no delay and barely any pain, with 95% of patients reporting mild pain; the other 5% said the pain was intense, according to patient testimonials and patient success story.

The stem cells can also be pulled out of fat deposits. Bulging fat deposits, especially on the belly and the butt, are brimming with stem cells. This type of procedure takes a bit longer but is also done within 20 minutes. The fat cells serve as a cushion and reduce friction, which helps relieve some pressure off of damaged tissues.

Extracted fat cells have to go through some processing before we inject them back into the sore spot. This is because fat deposits on the body are squishy but aren’t exactly liquid. So, we spin them in a machine until they turn into fully liquid, so we can easily inject them.

Injecting the stem cells is the easiest part. We use a needle that is as painless as the regular blood draw, leaving no marks and causing no pain. The spot needs no stitching or special care afterwards but we can use a topical anesthetic to remove even the pinprick sensation.

Stem cell therapy for shoulders — Effects and efficacy

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On average, you will start feeling the results within a month, with the improvement lasting up to 8 months. However, the healing will begin as soon as we pull the needle out of the damaged spot, it’s just that it won’t be dramatic.

You will slowly feel the tension loosen up and the discomfort diminish. If you do physical therapy afterwards, you will feel the range of movement increase without any pain or effort. The problem will still persist but your gentle care will help dispel it quicker.

Your doctor will usually give you personalized advice to help you get your bad shoulder back on track. If you heed that advice, you will find it helps speed up the healing process and maintains the results for longer. To sum it up, the advice is “just take it easy and rest plenty”.

94% of our patients say there was a noticeable improvement after the stem cell treatment and that after 3 months the pain was reduced by 80% or more.

Stem cell therapy for shoulder — Risk comparison to surgery

There are no known risks associated with stem cell treatments. There is no recovery time and you can just walk right out.

Compare that to conventional shoulder joint replacement surgery, which includes:

● a tiny risk of blood clots

● minor risk of nerve damage

● some risk of fractures and allergies

● mandatory 12-week physical therapy

● implanted joint requiring repairs or replacement every few years

Cost comparison to surgery

Typical stem cell therapy costs from $5,000 to $50,000. That upper number is the baseline number for a shoulder joint surgery and you’d be lucky to get a competent surgeon, let alone serious after-surgery care, for that money in the U.S. There are stories of people getting charged millions of dollars, even with premium healthcare insurance, and declaring bankruptcy after what seemed like a no-brainer surgery took a turn for the worse.

Surgeries are the best way to save a life and stabilize a critical patient but are mediocre at best when it comes to dealing with chronic injuries, especially when the disease has had time to work on the body. They do let the doctor see the problem in vivo but are inefficient and come bundled with all kinds of risks.

For example, a shoulder implant can get infected, which requires another surgery to replace it and a prolonged fight against the infection. You can also pick up a secondary infection during your hospital stay, with pneumonia being the biggest killer; you become too weak to cough.

The cost of surgery also changes based on the living standard of the place where you’re getting it. You have to pay top dollar for a surgery in LA or New York but you can travel elsewhere in the world for your shoulder joint surgery. That could bring the cost down but also add more variables and more risks.

Conclusion

Stem cell therapy is not a magical solution when it comes to chronic shoulder pain. Aging is an irreversible process, grinding the body under the millstone of time. Add to that the decade-long effects of injuries, bad posture, strain, and arthritis, and the damage is most often total, pulverizing the joint. It is also not covered by health insurance plans.

Happy older person after having stem cell injections for shoulder arthritis
Happy older person after having stem cell injections for shoulder arthritis

What stem cell therapy is, is a valid medical treatment based on sound scientific principles, the need to minimize procedure complexity and eliminate hospital stay. It is compatible with all other forms of treatment and has a fixed cost.

Schedule a free 1-hour consultation with Neogenix Stem Cell Treatment by calling 704-727-6551 and let’s see how we can get that burden off of your shoulder.

Dr. James Altizer
Dr. James Altizer has been performing stem cell therapy treatments in North Carolina since January of 2016. Dr. Altizer received expert training from recognized leaders in the regenerative medicine field, including training on bone marrow aspiration with Duke University-affiliated physicians. He has performed thousands of stem cell and growth factor procedures, more than any other medical doctor in the Carolinas.