Stem cell therapy is an exciting and highly effective form of regenerative medicine practiced all over the country. This therapy is used for many conditions occurring in the organs, tissues, and the musculoskeletal system. Thousands of people have found relief from knee pain caused by an assortment of conditions. You could find relief sooner than you think at Revive MD Center in Glen Allen, Virginia.
How Long Does Stem Cell Therapy Last for Knees?
The amount of time that patients experience relief varies from person to person. Typically, results last anywhere from 6 months to several years. Some patients never return to the level of pain they had before the treatment. This is due to the fact that stem cell therapy is not just a band-aid that treats the symptoms.
This stem cell therapy, as the name implies, actually regenerates the knee tissue including the cartilage, bone, and ligaments. Repairing the tissues from the inside out with stem cells has shown exciting and promising results.
Common Causes of Knee Pain
If you are experiencing knee pain, you may have one of the following common conditions:
- Strained or sprained knee ligaments and/or muscles
- Arthritis
- Tendonitis
- Torn Cartilage
- Torn Ligaments (ACL, MCL, PCL)
- Bursitis
Stem cell therapy can be used in all of these conditions. You don’t need to wait months or years to finally start feeling better. You may also be able to avoid or push back knee surgery like many of our patients have. Conventional treatments such as topical creams, cortisone shots, pain medications, and other anti-inflammatories have a temporary effect at best. In addition, many conventional treatments have unwanted side effects that can further decrease your quality of life.
What Are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are the earliest occurring cells in the human embryo. These are unspecialized cells that can differentiate into cartilage, tendon, bone, skin, red blood cells, and more. Some stem cells such as those derived from amniotic and umbilical cord tissue are pluripotent, meaning they can differentiate into any type of cell the body needs (over 200 different types!).
Adults have stem cells too, but not as many and not as highly concentrated. As we age, we have fewer stem cells in our body, making tissue regeneration a bigger challenge.
What Do They Do?
A stem cell’s job is to respond to the body’s signals by transforming into the cell types that are currently needed. They are essentially blank slates that can turn into whatever type of cell the body presently requires for regeneration.
When stem cells from an internal or external source are injected into the body either locally or intravenously, they are transformed by the body into the cell types that are needed to heal the damage that has occurred. As we age, the concentration of stem cells naturally occurring in our bodies decreases, as does their ability to create new cells.
How Stem Cell Therapy Has Improved Over Time
Although stem cell therapy has gotten more popular in recent years, the first successful stem cell therapy in the form of a bone marrow transplant occurred in 1956. Dr. E Donall Thomas in New York treated a patient with leukemia who went through radiation. The patient’s identical twin donated bone marrow to replace the marrow damaged by the radiation treatment.
Dr. Thomas continued to develop methods to match donors and recipients closely enough to avoid rejection. He was able to significantly reduce the mortality rate of leukemia and his research in the field earned him the U.S. National Medal of Science. Fast forward to 1981 when Martin Evans discovered embryonic stem cells in mice. Scientists immediately saw the implications that this discovery held for the future of medicine.
It wasn’t until 1998 that scientists were able to isolate human embryonic cells. Due to the ethical controversy of extracting embryonic stem cells, other therapies have been introduced as you will read momentarily. None of the therapies we offer involve stem cells taken from embryos. Our umbilical cord and amniotic tissue cells used for our therapies come from consenting mothers who are having scheduled live birth c-sections.
Comparing Different Forms of Therapy
Treatment options have come a long way since the first successful bone marrow transplant. Now you have the option of several less invasive types of therapy. These are all outpatient procedures that will take less than an hour and recovery times are very minimal.
Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy
This treatment option has become very popular in the athletic community as it has been effective in treating muscle strains, tendonitis, chronic joint inflammation, arthritis, and cartilage defects. Injured athletes are able to get back on the field in a matter of weeks, not months. The patient’s own blood is drawn, then put into a centrifuge where platelets are separated out.
The platelet-rich formula is then reintroduced into the body via a localized injection. These platelets release over 1,000 biologically active proteins that facilitate tissue regeneration. Unlike a cortisone injection that treats pain and inflammation in a temporary way, a PRP treatment facilitates regrowth of cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and other tissues which not only treats the immediate pain but also prevents future occurrences.
PRP therapy also attracts more stem cells to the injured area, speeding up healing even more. A knee arthritis study was performed at The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. It showed substantial pain relief, preservation of the cartilage, and functional improvement after only one injection.
Exosome Therapy
There is currently much research going on regarding using exosomes for arthritis and other conditions. Exosomes are not actually cells. In fact, they are cellular byproducts, known as extracellular vesicles. Exosomes are essentially cell messengers that carry information from one cell to another. While these cellular byproducts are not stem cells themselves, they can communicate to the body that it needs to produce more stem cells, thereby causing the body to generate more of its own.
A young person has a much more active exosome response than an older person. Therefore, providing the patient with young exosomes can send messages to the body that tell it to produce stem cells and exosomes in a way similar to someone much younger. When analyzing exosomes, we can see there are many anti-inflammatory cytokines in them so people with autoimmune disease may see relief. Studies are still in the early stages, but exosome therapy has been proven to be completely safe and has caused no adverse reactions in our patients.
Umbilical Cord Tissue Cell Therapy
Revive MD Center has performed thousands of umbilical cord tissue cell therapy treatments with great success. This cutting edge treatment is so effective because umbilical cord tissue has an extremely high concentration of stem cells. During a scheduled C-section, a healthy mother gives birth to a healthy baby.
The umbilical cord and amniotic fluid that would normally be discarded are saved with the mother’s consent and compensation. The umbilical cord tissue is processed along with umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid, placental membrane, and Wharton’s Jelly at an FDA Certified facility.
The umbilical cord, amniotic fluid, and placenta contain extremely high concentrations of pluripotent stem cells (these have the ability to transform into any cell the body needs). These stem cells have shown to be very effective in repairing and regenerating damaged tissues in the adult body. These biologically rich umbilical cord cells contain growth factors, exosomes, cytokines, microRNA, and stem cells. This procedure is done in less than an hour and greatly improves the quality of patient’s lives.
Amniotic Stem Cell Therapy
Amniotic therapy uses stem cells concentrated in the amniotic sac and has often been used in the treatment of knee pain. Types of arthritis pain this treatment helps are:
- Degenerative
- Post-traumatic
- Rheumatoid/Psoriatic
Types of soft tissue pain this treatment can help are:
- Ligament
- ACL/Collateral
- Tendonitis
- Meniscal
- Instability, IT Band Syndrome, and more
Amniotic therapy works in over 80% of patients. There is an extremely low-risk treatment and can help you avoid getting surgery so you can get back to living your life.
IV Therapy
While localized injections are great for specific conditions, IV therapy is for those who wish to treat their whole body with stem cells. The patient receives an IV drip of stem cells in a saline solution for 30-45 minutes.
These stem cells travel through the body and once they identify damaged tissue, they start forming into specialized cells to help regenerate the area. This total body approach is a great way to treat various conditions simultaneously and naturally.
How Long Will It Take to Get Relief?
Many patients experience some immediate relief from the treatment, but typically the results get better over time. As the stem cells work in your body by replicating and forming specialized cells that facilitate healing, the damaged area repairs and regenerates for years to come. Patients typically experience relief within 48 hours, though individual results will vary.
Regenerative medicine is both exciting and revolutionary. We are moving away from a paradigm where we put a bandaid on a problem, towards a paradigm where we solve problems. Stem cell therapies have given us hope for a real solution to chronic pain, inflammation, arthritis, tendonitis, and so many more conditions that show signs of improving with these therapies. Due to advanced medical technologies, these treatments are faster, easier, and less painful than ever before.
It’s Time to Get Back in the Game
Are you ready to get your life back and start enjoying your days again? You don’t have to settle for conventional therapies that don’t work anymore. Join thousands of people just like you along with athletes such as Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods, and Peyton Manning who are ready to get back in the game. Stem cell therapy can help you:
- Significantly reduce pain and inflammation
- Regenerate worn down cartilage
- Experience increased range of motion
- Get your energy back
- Sleep like a baby again
- Be able to walk, run, and exercise like you used to
- Enjoy time with your family again
- Feel better in your body
- Improve your mood because you feel so much relief
Get Rid of Your Knee Pain
It is a joy and a pleasure to see so many of our patients getting relief from these therapies, and we want you to be next! Call us at Revive MD Center in Glen Allen, Virginia to schedule a consultation today. We accept all major insurances and FSA/HSA accounts. We truly look forward to seeing you in the office soon and helping you feel better naturally!
