“The Super Shot” Stem Cell Treatment

About “The Super Shot” Stem Cell Treatment

How is “The Super Shot” used in joint regeneration, cartilage, muscle tendon, and ligament repair?

Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy or cancellous interior portions of bones. In mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production or haematopoiesis. It is composed of hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, marrow adipose (fat) tissue, and other important types of stem cells. In addition, bone marrow is rich in platelets, and platelets are the blood cells that store vast quantities of extremely important growth factors that aid in tissue healing. In adult humans, bone marrow is primarily located in the ribs, vertebrae, sternum, and bones of the pelvis. Bone marrow transplants have been performed for decades to treat severe diseases of the bone marrow, including certain forms of cancer such as leukemia. Over the past decade, scientists and clinicians worldwide have used bone marrow aspirates to help heal tissue damage caused by injuries and degenerative processes in joints, tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Adipose tissue is found superficially all over the body, but the best sites for stem cell harvesting are the abdomen, flanks, and buttocks. Adipose tissue injections have been used for over a decade worldwide in millions of patients. These injections have proven to be safe and effective for millions of patients. Adipose tissue has many times more mesenchymal stem cells than bone marrow does, and these are the types of stem cells that can induce the formation and growth of new cartilage. When used together, bone marrow stem cells and adipose tissue stem cells work complementary to each other. These two different populations of stem cells interact with one another, and they all work better together to help initiate and maintain the healing cascade necessary for tissue repair to occur.

Who is a candidate for “The Super Shot”?

“The Super Shot” is the best treatment, bar none, for moderate to severe Arthritis in knees, hips and shoulders. If you have a house that needs rebuilding, you don’t just call an electrician. You also call a plumber, a roofer, a brick mason, and others all working together to fix the house. In the same manner, the combination of different types of stem cells in bone marrow and adipose tissue, along with the growth factors that come along with them, work much better and more synergistically to repair tissue damage. It makes sense…the more tissue damage you have, the more stem cells and growth factors you need to repair it. “The Super Shot” has saved many of our patients from surgery over the years. If you have been told surgery is your only option, “The Super Shot” is your best chance to save your joint.

Is the procedure painful?

Bone marrow is obtained via a short (less than 5 minutes), 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.

Adipose Tissue is obtained via a short (less than 20 minute), minimally invasive liposuction done right in our office using only local anesthesia. After the fat is collected, it is spun in a centrifuge for a few minutes to separate out the anesthetic solution and any oil that separates out. The fat tissue is then emulsified or made into a thinner consistency so it can be easily injected through a needle. Nothing is added to the fat tissue prior to injection and there is no need to count the number of cells obtained. (Please review our FAQ on cell counting and why it is not necessary.) Less than 1% of patients will say obtaining the adipose tissue was an extremely painful process. Most patients state at most they felt a “twinge” around the area the fat 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.

How long before I can expect results?

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.

Is it true the number of stem cells in our Bone Marrow and Adipose (Fat) Tissue decreases with age?

While it is true the number of stem cells in our bone marrow decreases with age, elderly patients still have plenty of stem cells and growth factors available to do the job we require them to do. Even in elderly patients, adipose tissue remains the most concentrated source of stem cells in the body and they are exactly the types of stem cells required to help repair tissue damage in cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. It is NOT true elderly patients must only be given stem cells and growth factors from birth-related products. However, that is exactly what patients are told from clinics ONLY providing birth-related products. Most of these clinics in our area are run by a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner that see all the patients and perform all the injections. Most of them do not have the training or skills to perform bone marrow and adipose tissue harvesting procedures. According to the recent study below, “it is feasible to obtain large numbers of high-quality autologous (your own) MSCs (Mesenchymal Stem Cells) from the elderly population.”