Your cells; your life. Take control by learning how Adult Stem Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine can help you heal naturally, safely, and in most cases, faster than with traditional surgery or therapy alone.
by Northern Arizona Pain Institutes
Science of Adult Stem Cells
Adult stem cells have been used for decades in spinal applications. Recently, scientists and physicians have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory and regenerative effects for orthopedic applications. Today, physicians are using stem cell therapies in the treatment of a wide array of medical diseases/disorders and traumas.
Presently, the use of stem cells is becoming common practice with orthopedics as it may help deter a knee replacement or a surgical procedure and improve function of joints following injury.
Practitioners today also are using stem cells within disciplines like pain management, cardiology, rheumatology and neurology.
What are stem cells?
Stem cells are cells with the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. They serve as a repair system for the body. There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.
Stem cells are different from other cells in the body in three ways:
- They can divide and renew themselves over a long time.
- They are unspecialized, so they cannot do specific functions in the body.
- They have the potential to become specialized cells, such as muscle cells, blood cells and brain cells.
Stem cells are a direct therapy derived from bone marrow concentrate. Within your bone marrow you have mesenchymal stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, growth factors and proteins. These stem cells, growth factors and proteins are:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Anti-microbial
- Anti-apoptotic
- Anti-angiogenic
- Matrix remodeling
- Cell differentiation
- And, present no risk of immune response
- Compared to surgery
Another major benefit of using Stem Cell Therapy compared to undergoing the knife in surgery is that the post-procedure downtime is slim-to-none.
In addition, say you did a knee replacement. You will have to pay your deductible, out of pocket after the deductible, time-off costs, and will need a longer recovery time. Stem Cell Therapy could potentially be a cheaper and an easier route than surgery.
The cost of stem cell injections are on a case-by-case basis. Stem Cell Therapy is typically a cash pay market, however some of the treatment costs can be covered by your insurance.