What are stem cells?
Stem cells are highly specialized cells that produce and maintain every tissue in your body. They accomplish the job through their exceptional ability to divide, replicate, and differentiate, or develop into the many different cells needed to build and restore your body.
As long as an adult stem cell is alive, it can continuously produce new tissues. Stem cells can also go dormant when they’re not needed and burst back into action to repair damaged tissues when you’re injured.
There are multiple types of adult stem cells in your body. Some are designed to replicate one specific tissue, like skin cells. Others can self-replicate then develop into many different tissues.
What is stem cell therapy?
When you suffer an injury, or a degenerative disease takes hold, stem cells naturally go to the damaged area and help you heal by replacing damaged tissues with new, healthy tissues.
Stem cell therapy takes advantage of this natural process by injecting a concentrated amount of stem cells directly into an injured or diseased part of your body. After an injection, the stem cells jump into action and do what they always do: heal and repair.
Where do the stem cells for my therapy come from?
One group of adult stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, can be extracted from your own fat or bone marrow. Dr. Purswani can do this in the office, using a needle to remove a sample of fat or bone marrow, processing it to separate the stem cells, then using them in your injection.
Mesenchymal stem cells relieve your pain by:
- Accelerating wound repair
- Reducing inflammation
- Triggering collagen production
- Promoting blood vessel growth
- Producing cartilage, tendons, ligaments, muscles, and bones
Stem cell therapy can also be performed using amniotic stem cells. These stem cells come from amniotic fluid that’s freely donated by women after a cesarean section. Amniotic stem cells are safe and very effective because they develop into numerous types of cells.
What health conditions are treated with stem cell therapy?
Stem cell therapy is often used to treat musculoskeletal conditions, such as:
- Osteoarthritis
- Facet joint syndrome
- Herniated disc
- Sciatica
- Degenerative disc disease
- Hip bursitis
In other words, stem cell therapy can relieve many sources of knee, back, neck, and shoulder pain.
To learn whether you’re a good candidate for stem cell therapy, call Shyam Purswani, MD, or book an appointment online.
