STEM CELL THERAPY FOR WRIST PAIN
If you or someone you know is suffering from acute or chronic wrist pain, stem cell therapy may be able to help. At the Orlando Center for Regenerative Medicine, we commonly use our state-of-the-art nonsurgical procedures, including stem cell therapy and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, to improve the lives of our patients. We understand how joint pain can have a dramatic effect on your day-to-day life; with our hands and wrists operating as one, they are our primary means of interacting with the world. Fortunately, stem cell therapy is a viable alternative to surgery and steroid injections, relieving wrist pain efficiently and naturally.
Commonly Treated Wrist Conditions & Injuries Using Stem Cell Therapy
One of the most common conditions the wrist faces is that of arthritis. While no one is exempt in developing arthritis of the wrist, a higher percentage of affected patients are middle-aged and elderly adults. When developed at a younger age, intense and prolonged trauma is frequently the underlying reason, such as athletes taking part in rough or high-impact sports. However, younger patients are not completely immune from wrist pain. We have been seeing an increasing incidence of wrist pain affecting the lives of young patients, often limiting their ability to remain active and affecting their quality of life.
Good candidates for stem cell therapy will be considered individually and treated in the most effective way possible. A plethora of ailments affect our patients suffering from wrist pain: arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, triangular fibrocartilage complex tears, and tendonitis to name a few. In most cases, these conditions can be easily treated without surgery.
Common wrist conditions and injuries treated using stem cell therapy:
Wrist Instability
TFCC tears
Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy for Wrist Pain
Whether it’s an injury, arthritis or a number of other conditions, stem cell injections have the ability to restore damaged ligaments and tendons, providing long-lasting relief for those dealing with wrist pain. Stem cell therapy is a minimally invasive procedure, with minimal postoperative rehabilitation requirements.
How Does Stem Cell Therapy Work?
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells found in our bodies that have the unique characteristic to self-renew. Stem cells have the ability to regenerate and in turn repair damaged or injured tissue. At the Orlando Center for Regenerative Medicine we only use your own mesenchymal stem cells, or adult stem cells, to promote healing in the body. We aspirate these cells from your bone marrow found in the pelvis, or iliac crest. We use bone marrow from the iliac crest because research has found that this part of our body contains a very high amount of adult stem cells. When a concentrated source of these adult cells are placed in the proper environment of the body, they are able to differentiate into cells that are a part of the musculoskeletal system, allowing the advancement of healing in bones, tendons, cartilage, and ligaments.
The Stem Cell Therapy Treatment Process
Many patients find stem cell therapy to be a pain-free procedure with little to no downtime, post-procedure. Our center uses advanced, state of the art equipment for each and every procedure performed in our office. Before being considered for a regenerative medicine procedure, such as stem cell therapy, you must have a consultation with our team in order to ensure that you are a good candidate for the treatment. After being approved for the procedure, you will be provided with a list of medication and supplements that should be avoided pre- and post-procedure. There are some medications, such as anti-inflammatories, that may hinder the healing process for stem cell therapy and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy.
The procedure is performed in one of our beautiful treatment rooms under the guidance of an ultrasound machine. The procedure begins by cleaning and numbing the skin and bone around the pelvis area. A special needle is then inserted into the iliac crest in order to harvest stem cells located in the bone marrow blood. This process of aspiration is usually painless and is carefully done by one of our doctors.
Once the proper amount of bone marrow blood has been obtained, the tube of blood is spun in a high-spinning centrifuge in our facility. The machine concentrates the blood mixture so that the highest amounts of stem cells are separated from other cells. There is no other manipulation to these cells other than the simple process of centrification. This concentrated source of powerful stem cells is then re-injected into the area of pain or injury in order to promote healing in the body.
These procedures are considered minimally invasive and are done on an outpatient basis. We ask patients to expect that the procedure will last 90 minutes.