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The main role of adult stem cells is to maintain healthy tissue and aid the healing of damaged tissue by replenishing damaged or dying cells. When injected into the knee, stem cells find the damaged cartilage and have the capacity to initiate its repair or regeneration.
The process is natural and happens in all tissues in the body. Stem cell repair is the fundamental healing mechanism present in the body. Tissues like knee joint cartilage and the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) get limited blood supply. This limited supply of prevents adequate delivery of stem cells to the damaged tissue to initiate the body’s natural healing mechanism.
The delivery of a large amount of stem cells by injection can help to trigger the healing response. Stem cell therapy can repair degenerative partially torn tendons, knee cartilage, and provide pain relief when the traditional treatments had been unsuccessful. You can get yourself checked by a knee doctor Dallas to know the exact condition of your knee.
What Are The Advantages Of Stem Cells Over Other Knee Pain Treatments?
Minimally Invasive: Stem cell procedures by Dallas orthopedic are performed in an office-based treatment procedure room and cause minimal tissue damage.
Quick Recovery Time: Patients will be able to increase their activity levels within a few weeks and return to sports within a span of 4 to 6 weeks.
Quick Return to Daily Activities: Patients after taking stem cell therapy for their knees generally can return to work in 1-2 days and do not require bracing or crutches to be able to support their knees.
Natural Healing Process: Stem cells come from the patient’s own body, and they trigger the body’s mechanism to heal naturally.
Cost Efficient: Stem cell therapy, though not covered by insurance, costs significantly less. The actual cost for the procedure is far less than the traditional procedure, i.e., surgery; and the price per joint can be improved further when the patient undergoes a stem cell procedure for many areas in the same day. In addition to that, quick recovery time means that patients who take stem cell treatment miss fewer work days and have considerably lower rehabilitation costs.
Less Medication: Stem cell therapy requires very less postoperative use of pain medication, which again, depends on the patient’s condition
What Is The Procedure For Stem Cell Treatment For Knees?
The stem cell procedure for knee pain treatment is minimally invasive and takes about 3 hours to complete. The patients can walk out of the office on their own after the treatment is done. First, stem cells are harvested from the abdominal or love handle fat using high-tech and minimally-invasive liposuction equipment. Also, stem cells from the bone marrow are utilized as well. The bone marrow concentrate is harvested with the help of a specially designed, low-trauma needle which is placed into the posterior iliac or hip crest under live x-ray guidance.
Mild IV sedation along with local anesthetic is given to the patient to provide them comfort during the process. The harvested cells are then prepared for injection by an advanced separation and centrifugation method.
The cells and growth factors are injected into the damaged or injured knee joint with the use of live x-ray guidance, under sterile conditions. The aid of proper image guidance ensures the cells are reaching their targeted area so that the patient has the best chance for improvement.
Sometimes, methods such as PRP, A2M, and placental derived growth are used to complement the high stem cell count.