Stem Cell Treatment Options

4 Regenerative Medicine Treatment Options

1) Regenerative Medicine: Bone Marrow + Adipose (Fat) Tissue

Bone Marrow + Adipose (Fat) Tissue:

• Source of Stem Cells: Autologous (from you)
• Treatment Areas: Knees, Hips and Shoulders
• Stage of Arthritis: Moderate to Severe

Dr. Altizer was one of the first physicians in the United States to combine bone marrow and fat tissue stem cells to treat severe arthritis and since then many of the leading stem cell physicians in the country have followed his lead. He calls this injection his “Super Shot,” a double dose of stem cells to aggressively treat severe arthritis.

The “Super Shot” is recommended for the worst cases of arthritis, patients that have been told they are “bone on bone” or are very close to bone on bone. If you have been told you need a knee, hip or shoulder replacement, the “Super Shot” may be your only option to save your joint and avoid joint replacement surgery.

2) Regenerative Medicine: Bone Marrow

Bone Marrow:

• Source of Stem Cells: Autologous (from you)
• Treatment Areas: Lumbar facet and SI joints, large joints, small joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments
• Stage of Arthritis: Moderate to Severe

Bone marrow stem cells are the most versatile regenerative medicine treatment offered at NeoGenix for moderate to severe conditions. Dr. Altizer and his team of experienced physicians have performed thousands of bone marrow procedures, so they are very quick and easy. The procedure only takes 3-5 minutes and is performed with a local anesthetic only to numb the back part of your hip.

Patients compare having the bone marrow taken out to getting a tooth filled: you know something is going on and you feel some pressure, but you are so numbed up in the back you do not feel any sharp pains. Bone marrow is a great treatment option for moderate to severe conditions in your lumbar spine and SI joints, arthritis in larger joints like knees, hips and shoulders and arthritis in smaller joints like elbows hands and ankles. Bone marrow is also the most effective treatment available at NeoGenix to treat moderate to severe tendonitis, rotator cuff tears, meniscus tears, bursitis, labrum tears, muscle tears, and ligament strains.

3) Regenerative Medicine: Adipose (Fat) Tissue + PRP

Adipose (Fat) Tissue:

• Source of Stem Cells: Autologous (from you)
• Treatment Areas: Knees, Hips and Shoulders
• Stage of Arthritis: Moderate to Severe

Fat tissue stores more stem cells than any other area in the body. Because the fat tissue stem cells are so thick, they can only be used in large joints such as knees, hips and shoulders. It only takes Dr. Altizer and his team of experienced physicians 10-15 minutes to remove the fat from your stomach or buttocks.

Fat tissue also contains natural hyaluronic acid (some of you may have already had the synthetic hyaluronic acid gel shots in your knees) and scaffolding to hold the injected stem cells in the large joints. If you have moderate to serve arthritis in your knee, hip or shoulder, Dr. Altizer and his team of experienced physicians will always include fat tissue stem cells are part of your treatment protocol.

4) Regenerative Medicine: Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP):

• Source: Autologous (from you)
• Treatment Areas: Lumbar facet and SI joints, large joints, small joints,
  muscles, tendons and ligaments
• Stage of Arthritis: Mild to Moderate

Platelet Rich Plasma or PRP is the most popular form of regenerative medicine utilized in the United States. Everyone is doing PRP these days, from stand alone stem cell clinics like NeoGenix, to Orthopedic surgeons to pain management doctors. PRP is NOT stem cells, it is growth factors and platelets from your blood. After a simple blood draw is performed, the PRP is spun down in a centrifuge machine to concentrate the platelets and growth factors.

PRP can literally be injected into any joint, tendon, muscle or ligament. It is especially popular for tennis and golfer’s elbow, Achilles tendonitis, muscle trigger points or minor tears, mild ligament sprains and strains, and mild arthritis in any joint. The key thing to understand about PRP is that is has its limitations. It is a wonderful, cost-effective treatment for mild to less moderate conditions. However, for more moderate to severe conditions, PRP in most cases is simply not a powerful enough treatment to obtain a successful, long-lasting outcome. NeoGenix is also the only clinic in the Charlotte area offering “Super PRP,” which not only utilizes the platelet rich plasma, but also takes cells from the platelet poor plasma for a faster acting, more power version of traditional PRP.