If you or a loved one has ever suffered from a debilitating, degenerative disease then you know the toll it takes on individuals. Whether it’s Alzheimer’s disease or osteoporosis, it can feel hopeless. But what if there was a way to reverse such conditions. What if you or your loved ones could benefit from novel therapies that can correct these ailments? While most degenerative conditions are still incurable, medical science has made great strides in alleviating the pain and devastation caused by some of them. For example, at the Pro Health Center, more natural therapies are being used as an alternative treatment for the pain caused by some serious degenerative conditions like joint inflammation from arthritis.
Basics of Regenerative Medicine
With modern medicine heavily reliant on pharmaceutical drugs and surgical intervention, it’s easy for most people to forget that the human body has a remarkable ability to heal itself. While early man heavily relied on such self-healing properties, humans today still benefit from it even though this ability is often unnoticed or taken for granted. For example, every day our bodies experience minor injuries to our tiny blood vessels as a result of the rigors of everyday activities like sitting down. However, you don’t get to experience the negative effects of such things because your body deals with this problem. The core principle of regenerative medicine is to harness and direct these self-healing properties of the human body. If, for example, a particular tissue is damaged, regenerative medicine aims to channel the body’s self-healing resources toward that particular tissue to promote recovery. Even for many incurably painful conditions, regenerative medicine offers substantial pain relief for sufferers.
An Alternative to Surgery
Even with the level of advances realized in medical surgery, numerous conditions are still incurable. For instance, osteoarthritis is a painful condition that results from the wearing down of the ‘cushions’ at the end surfaces of bones (cartilage). There is no known surgical procedure to remedy this condition. Sufferers usually turn to pain medications, many of which are not recommended for long-term use. In such cases, regenerative therapy becomes an ideal option. While it doesn’t reverse osteoarthritis, it can ensure that the body uses its natural capabilities to confer pain relief.
What Can be Treated?
Ever since the concept of regenerative medicine was pioneered, it has become an exciting field. People in the sports industry are some of the major beneficiaries. Many regenerative therapies deal with joint damage and how to fix them. Tear of the rotator cuff of the shoulder or the knee’s anterior cruciate ligament is a prime example of sports injuries that can take longer to heal. Regenerative medicine helps to speed this process up. Of course, regenerative medicine is also helpful to the non-sports person.
Regenerative medicine helps to deal with the following conditions:
i)Hair Loss: While most people wouldn’t consider hair loss a serious medical condition, those who suffer from it do experience self-esteem issues. Regenerative medicine helps solve this problem by repairing the hair follicles necessary for hair growth.
ii) Bursitis: Body joints have a closed biological sac, filled with fluids to act as a cushion for everyday activities like walking. When inflammation occurs in these closed sacs (bursae), movements become difficult and painful. Regenerative medicine can help to gradually heal such joints.
iii) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: This condition involves pain due to compression of nerves in the wrist, usually due to repetitive movements. Injecting platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a regenerative medicine option to alleviate the pain due to this condition.
iv) Tendon Tears and Tendinitis: Tendons are strong, fiber-like body tissues that connect muscles to bones. Tendon rupture occurs in both the elderly and young. Tendinitis is inflammation of the tendons. Regenerative medicine can help with healing in such cases. Stem cell therapy is the type of regenerative therapy most suited for tendon injuries.
v) Disc Degeneration and Tears: When the vertebral bones experience wear on their articular surfaces, this is described as disc degeneration. This can sometimes lead to tears. Injection of stem cells is a type of regenerative therapy that has been shown to slow down, and even reverse such degenerative effects.
These are some of the major conditions that can benefit from regenerative medical therapies. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is particularly important because it is useful in many of these therapies. PRP techniques involve using a patient’s blood to churn out platelets. These platelets are then added to a sample of the patient’s plasma (the watery part of the blood) and re-injected at a target tissue to achieve therapeutic effects.
Ultimately, you may consider regenerative medicine if you want some respite from conventional treatment options.
