If you’ve suffered an injury involving tendons, ligaments, or cartilage, you know that healing can be extremely slow. To bring about rapid healing, you need to undergo specific treatments to give the process a boost. See Dr. Serge Pierrecharles and his team at the Superior Performance Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. His team is well versed in various regenerative medicine techniques and can help you to recover quickly. Call or click to schedule an appointment today.
What is regenerative medicine?
Regenerative medicine is the process by which living, normal functioning tissue is created in a laboratory to replace tissues in your body that are lost due to trauma, disease, or aging. It’s specifically helpful for treating orthopedic injuries that can’t regenerate normally.
What are regenerative treatments used in sports medicine and rehabilitation?
Common treatments used for conditions relating to sports medicine include stem cell therapy, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), prolotherapy, and cartilage regeneration techniques.
Stem cell therapy
Stem cell therapy is primarily used in the treatment of orthopedic conditions. It’s used in the treatment of tendons, ligaments, muscles, and cartilage.
The stem cells are sourced from amniotic fluid, cord blood, bone marrow, blood, or adipose tissue. After sourcing the stem cells, your Superior Performance provider can then administer the cells where needed.
Platelet-rich Plasma
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a popular form of regenerative therapy increasingly used as the non-steroid alternative to improving tissue healing and rehabilitation. The team at the Superior Performance Center collects blood samples and separate the platelets by centrifuge.
Your Superior Performance provider collects the PRP and they deliver it to the precise site of injury, sometimes under ultrasound guidance, to promote healing and tissue regeneration. The platelets release growth factors which stimulate cell repair. PRP is effective in treating conditions like tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis, patellar tendonitis, and plantar fasciitis.
Prolotherapy
Prolotherapy introduces an irritating agent at the site of injury to obtain a healing response. The irritating agents commonly used are hyperosmolar dextrose, zinc sulfate, glycerin, and phenol. These agents increase inflammation at the site of application and bring on the deposition of collagen which helps to bring in fibroblasts that promote healing.
Cartilage regeneration
Cartilage doesn’t have a blood supply, which prevents regeneration and healing. Cartilage regeneration involves making small cuts in the bone below the cartilage, where the blood from the damaged bone can help facilitate the cartilage growth.
As your first step towards a rapid recovery, call or click to schedule an appointment today.
