Regenerative Medicine & Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) can relieve some back and neck pain without surgery. Regenerative medicine accelerates the body’s own natural healing powers. This can include PRP (Platelet Right Plasma), stem cell therapy and A2M therapy that blocks the onset of arthritis.

Stem Cell Therapy

There can be some misunderstanding related to stem cell therapy, with some people thinking that stem cells are harvested from an outside source. That is not the case with stem cell therapy at Colorado Spine Partners, explains Dr. Ghiselli, an orthopedic spine surgeon who is proficient in regenerative medicine.

“We harvest fat from a person’s own body, spin it down with a centrifuge and then inject the person’s own stem cells back into their arthritic knee joint the same day,” Dr. Ghiselli explains.  “This condensed fat provides the necessary cushion and can help the joint cartilage begin some level of healing. Within this extricated fat are important living stem cells that provide a healing function to damaged cartilage and meniscus.”

“Stem cell therapy helps thousands of weekend athletes to enjoy movement without pain,” Dr. Ghiselli adds. “The person is able to buy 10 or 20 years with regenerative medicine to reach that age where they have a good chance of outliving the lifespan of that artificial joint. The result is one joint replacement surgery rather than several risky re-do surgeries at an older age.”

There is huge demand currently in the U.S. for stem cell therapy and regenerative medicine when it is provided correctly.While the treatments are not yet covered by insurance, and the treatment can cost a few thousand dollars out of pocket, thousands of these stem-cell patients have found that it works and they are back to activity without major surgery. In this sense, the non-surgical treatment option saves them the cost of joint replacement and all the associated rehab costs post surgery.  As with any medical advance, it may take insurance companies a couple years to realize the cost savings in covering Regenerative Medicine procedures.

Platelet rich plasma (PRP)

When injury occurs in the body, blood flow is needed to supply the necessary cells and nutrients to drive the healing process. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy accelerates the natural healing process. PRP can help patients with painful osteoarthritis or tendonitis as well as acute and chronic muscle injuries, meniscus and labrum injuries, ligament injuries and plantar fasciitis.

First, a small amount of blood is drawn from the arm. The blood is placed into a centrifuge which spins the blood fast enough to separate it into layers based on weight. Red blood cells settle to the bottom because they are heavier, plasma floats to the top because it’s lightest. Platelets settle in between the two. The middle layer containing the concentrated platelets is then collected and is then injected into the problematic joint or tissue to speed healing. The whole process typically takes less than one hour. Because the injected platelets are produced from your own body, there is no concern for rejection or disease transmission. Many famous athletes — PGA’s Tiger Woods, NBA’s Kobe Bryant and Steph Curry, MLB’s Alex Rodriguez, tennis star Rafael Nadal, and several others — rely on PRP for various problems.

Alpha-2-Macroglobulin (A2M)

Alpha-2-Macroglobulin is a protein naturally occurring in a person’s plasma that blocks the mechanism that creates arthritis in the body. By harvesting a patient’s A2M and re-injecting the super concentrated A2M mixture into a diseased joint, the progression of osteoarthritis can be blocked. This also can prevent further loss of cartilage to reduce pain and inflammation.

How regenerative medicine and stem cell treatment can provide a non-surgical treatment option for back and neck pain

In 2018, the Mayo Clinic produced a definitive study showing the benefit of stem cells in treating arthritic joints. Over the last 10 years, regenerative medicine has now become a respected nonsurgical option to explore before surgery. Here are the benefits of Regenerative Medicine:

• It’s a minimally invasive outpatient procedure not requiring a hospital
• There are less complications and risks than surgery
• There is minimal post procedural recovery discomfort and time
• There is no use of general anesthesia
• There is no risk of rejection since the stem cells are your own, harvested from your own body

HOW PRP THERAPY IS DONE: A small amount of blood is drawn from the arm and then placed into a centrifuge which spins the blood to separate it into layers based on weight. Beause red blood cells are the heaviest, those go to the bottom of the container. The “plasma” is the lightest and floats to the top. The platelets settle in between the two. This middle layer with the concentrated platelets is collected and then prepared for use in the injection into the injured tissue or joint. The entire process typically takes less than an hour. If necessary, a numbing agent like lidocaine may be used to decrease any pain at the injection site.