Regenerative medicine is an exciting new field in medicine that focuses on naturally repairing and restoring damaged tissues in the body caused by overuse, injury, or aging over time. Regenerative medicine is a game changer for healing and relieving pain in joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
Regenerative medicine is the exact opposite of a cortisone shot. While cortisone shots only mask the pain by temporarily shutting off the pain receptors, regenerative medicine actually repairs damaged tissue in your injured area. Therefore, it takes time for regenerative medicine to work. On average, most patients start to see results within 3-6 weeks, and studies show the healing and repairing of the damaged tissues can continue for up to 6-8 months.
Stem cells are essential for life; we all have stem cells throughout our bodies. The tissues all over your body are not the same as they were ten years ago. All of our body tissues are constantly breaking down and building back up. There is a harmonious balance between tissue breakdown and new tissue formation. Some scientists believe that because the balance slowly shifts over time to tissue breakdown, that is the reason that we age! Our skin completely replaces itself every 30 days. Our blood cells turn entirely over every four months. The lining of our GI tract sloughs off in tiny amounts every day and is completely replaced in a month.
Our bodies are miraculous machines able to repair damaged and worn-out tissue with new tissue of the same type! Think about it if we replaced GI tissue with skin tissue, we would all starve to death because we would no longer be able to absorb nutrients. So the body can heal itself to a large extent, a cut to the skin, broken bone, bit your cheek? It all heals because those tissues have good circulation, and the body can bring growth factors and stem cells to the injured area and repair it.
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So why don’t joints self-repair? Why can’t we repair damaged cartilage before it gets thinner and thinner, eventually leading to denuded areas of bone-on-bone arthritis? The simple reason is that joints do not have adequate circulation. There is no artery inside any joint. Cartilage gets oxygen and nutrients that diffuse or are dissolved in tissue fluid from the underlying bones. This circulation is enough to keep it alive but is inadequate to repair the damage that occurs with trauma, repetitive use, and aging.
Over time and after trauma, our joint cartilage starts to wear out, sometimes slowly over a couple of years and sometimes very quickly over a few months. In the past, surgical joint replacement was the only remedy for a worn-out joint. But regenerative medicine has changed all that. It has and will revolutionize the treatment of arthritis.
One of the most popular uses for regenerative medicine injections is to speed up healing and offer pain relief for people suffering from injured, damaged, or degenerative joints. Treatment can allow individuals to stay clear of joint replacement surgery, a crucial procedure that requires a lengthy recovery.
There are many studies that there stating that regenerative medicine can regrow cartilage in your joints. However, it is crucial to put this into context. If you have a stage 4 knee that is bone on bone, regenerative medicine will not regrow all of the lost cartilage in your knee and give you a grade 1 knee again. It simply does not work that way. Regenerative medicine can help reduce inflammation and repair damaged cartilage and tissue in your joints by smoothing and filling in rough spots, improving cartilage quality so the joint will function better. Regenerative medicine also produces cytokines and other chemicals that help reduce the inflammation in the arthritic joint.
There are several different types of regenerative medicine treatment offered at NeoGenix. The type of treatment recommended to the patient for their joint pain will depend on the area being treated and the severity of the condition.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP): Tiny but specialized blood cells that circulate in our bloodstream, packed full of cytokines and growth factors. PRP is used for mild to less moderate arthritis in the lumbar facet and SI joints, large and small joints.
Adipose (Fat) Tissue: Found superficially all over the body, the best sites for stem cell harvesting are the abdomen, flanks, and buttocks. Adipose tissue is used for moderate to severe arthritis in knees, hips, shoulders, and ankles.
Bone Marrow Aspirate: A semi-solid tissue found within the spongy or cancellous interior portions of bones rich in stem cells and growth factors. Bone marrow aspirate is used for moderate to severe arthritis in the lumbar facet and SI joints, large and small joints.
Alpha 2 Macroglobulin (A2M): A naturally occurring protein that circulates in our blood. A2M is used as a prep injection in moderate to severe cases of arthritis in knees, hips, and shoulders.
Ready to learn more? Call 704-727-6551 now or request a free consultation through our online form.
Do not agree to surgery until you’ve got a second opinion to see whether or not regenerative medicine can help. The less invasive treatment is, the easier and more successful your recovery will be.
Many patients who have undergone regenerative medicine treatments at NeoGenix for arthritis and muscle, and tendon ligament tears, have found this minimally invasive procedure to be an excellent alternative to total joint replacement, arthroscopic surgery, or muscle, tendon, and ligament surgical repairs. Regenerative medicine only carries the extremely rare risk of infection from puncturing the skin, where surgery can have life-altering side effects, with the most extreme scenario being death.
Regenerative medicine uses your body’s natural healing properties to heal and repair damaged cartilage and tissue in your joints. Surgery offers no tissue regeneration at all. Recovery time for joint replacement surgery can be 6-8 months. After a regenerative medicine procedure at NeoGenix, you will be sore for 48-72 hours after the procedure. By one week after the procedure, nearly every patient is fully recovered and back to baseline.
The cost of regenerative medicine can vary greatly, ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Three significant factors determine the cost of regenerative medicine:
1) What area of the body are we treating? Each part of the body has a different treatment protocol, which can affect the price of your treatment.
2) How severe is your condition we are treating? Depending on the severity of the arthritis or soft tissue injury we are treating, the doctor will recommend different types of regenerative medicine, each of which has a specific cost associated with them.
3) How many areas of the body will we be treating? We do not double the cost if you are treating two areas instead of 1 area. We just have a small upcharge to add on additional areas.
Learn more about the specific costs associated with regenerative medicine treatments at NeoGenix in Charlotte.
People all over the Carolinas trust NeoGenix for regenerative medicine to relieve pain in their knees, back, hips, shoulders, and other joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. These powerful, all-natural treatments regenerate and heal damaged tissues to get you back to living the life you deserve. There is little to no downtime, and these all-natural, non-surgical treatments carry none of the potentially life-threatening risks of surgery.
Ready to learn more? Call 704-727-6551 now or request a free consultation through our online form at one of our two Charlotte locations in Ballantyne or Lake Norman.
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Based on thousands of stem cell and growth factor procedures performed by Dr. Altizer since January of 2016, over 94% of patients have subjectively, objectively, and through activities of daily living reported the procedure was successful. The success of the procedure was determined by the patient achieving at least a 50% or more overall improvement with lasting results.
When asked after 1 year what their overall improvement was, patients have subjectively, objectively, and through activities of daily living reported an average overall improvement of between 83-84%.