What is a Stem Cell?
Stem cells are human cells with unique abilities. Alone among cell types, they can develop into different, specialized cells. In the case of injured or damaged tissue they have the ability to signal and coordinate a healing response.
These special properties have inspired stem cell researchers to create therapies that use the body’s own stem cells to drive repair. Physicians at Summit Orthopedics in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area use stem cells as a source of orthobiologic treatments, alternative therapies that help relieve pain and inflammation nonsurgically.
First, the Basics
Stem cells are found in almost all the tissues of the body. They help replace both injured tissues and cells lost naturally. Stem cells originate from two main sources: embryonic and adult body tissues.
While human embryonic stem cells have the power to become any cell type, from heart muscle cells to brain cells, most adult stem cells have gone through a maturation process and are limited in terms of what kinds of cells they can turn into. Also known as mesenchymal stem cells, these are the type of stem cells used in orthobiologic therapy. While mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate into cartilage, bone, fat and other kinds of cells, a large part of what they do in the body involves signaling and coordinating a healing response.
Adult stem cells can be found many places throughout the body. Most adult stem cells live, however, in bone marrow. Others are found on or around the outsides of blood vessels, meaning that when you’re injured, they’re on the spot, ready to respond and organize the body’s healing process.
Stem Cell Injections to Speed Healing
Stem cell injections are a nonsurgical treatment that uses your own stem cells to treat damaged, diseased or injured tissue.
Physicians most commonly collect these cells from bone marrow. In a simple procedure, bone marrow is removed from the pelvic bone and concentrated in a centrifuge to form bone marrow aspirate concentrate. This concentrate is then injected into the joint or affected tissue.
The injection initiates your body’s healing response. As the stem cells multiply, they rebuild and restore damage to soft tissues.
Is a Stem Cell Injection Your Next Step?
If you’ve tried physical therapy and other nonsurgical treatments, but your joint pain persists and prevents you from doing the things you love to do, a stem cell injection may be a good option. Your doctor may also recommend stem cell therapy if surgery is not a preferred route or you are not a surgical candidate. A full medical screening, including a review of relevant imaging and physical examination, will help you and your doctor choose the best treatment approach for your pain.
Schedule your consultation at one of our Minneapolis/St. Paul locations to explore whether stem cell therapy is right for you.
Listen to Summit Orthopedics’ regenerative medicine experts Steven Stulc, D.O., and Kirk Scofield, M.D., discuss the specific kinds of stem cells that are used in regenerative therapies, and how they can work to coordinate the body’s healing abilities.
