Bone Marrow Stem Cell Treatment

Bone marrow is obtained via a short (less than 5 minute), minimally invasive procedure done right in our office using only local anesthesia. The best location for extracting bone marrow is the posterior pelvic crest. Using special, state of the art harvesting equipment from Marrow Cellution, there is no need to spin down or centrifuge the marrow, so large quantities (60-100 cc or more) are no longer required. The bone marrow aspirate is ready to be injected immediately after harvesting, so there is no wait time for processing, spinning, or cell counting. (Please review our FAQ on cell counting and why it is not necessary.) Less than 5% of patients say obtaining the bone marrow was an extremely painful process. Most patients state they felt a tolerable constant “pressure” when the bone marrow was being extracted. Once the procedure is done, you will have a tiny incision covered with a small bandage. You must keep the incision clean and dry for a couple of days to prevent infection.

This depends on the severity of the underlying joint, muscle, tendon or ligament problem and patient’s adherence to physician-recommended post-procedure protocols, like physical therapy. The stem cells themselves take a few weeks to start working. Usually by week 3-4 most patients are beginning to see a noticeable decrease in their pain levels. The good news is the improvement continues during most of the first 6-8 months after the injection, so every month you get better! Of course, we always recommend physical therapy along with stem cell injections. Studies have proven that stem cell therapies work even better and faster to get patients out of pain when combined with good physical therapy.