Why You Have Nothing to Fear from Regenerative Medicine

1. Why You Have Nothing to Fear from Regenerative Medicine Lone Star Pain Medicine recently began offering a limited number of regenerative medicine services to help patients with chronic pain. Those services include both stem cell and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. The treatments are appropriate for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, including osteoarthritis. We want you to know that you have nothing to fear from them, or regenerative medicine in general. Unfortunately, regenerative medicine has received a lot of bad press in recent years due to the actions of a small number of unscrupulous doctors and clinics. But just like a single bad surgeon doesn’t disqualify surgery in general, an unscrupulous pain clinic using regenerative medicine improperly does not disqualify regenerative medicine across the board. What We Offer Regenerative medicine is rather broad in its scope. We offer two very specific services: stem cell and PRP injections. Both are designed to alleviate pain and facilitate natural healing. They are minimally invasive and natural treatments that do not rely on pharmaceutical products, surgeries, or expensive medical devices. During a stem cell procedure, we inject stem cells that you donate directly at the site of injury or disease. During a PRP procedure, we inject a platelet-rich plasma serum derived from your blood. Both procedures have the same goal: to provide your body with the cells, growth factors, and nutrients it needs to heal.

2. Medical science does not yet fully understand all the mechanisms involved in these two treatments. However, there is plenty of evidence proving that stem cells and platelets are critical to natural healing. Not only that, but the concepts behind the procedures are also not new. For example, did you know that bone marrow transplants associated with leukemia treatment are actually stem cell procedures? And surgeons have been relying on PRP treatments for decades to help promote faster healing following surgical procedures. Deemed Safe by the FDA We also want you to know that the procedures we utilize have already been deemed safe by the FDA. The key is the material we use to treat patients. It is considered autologous because the patients themselves provide it. If you were to undergo a stem cell treatment for chronic neck and shoulder pain, you would provide the stem cells yourself. Likewise, if one of our pain management doctors recommended PRP injections for chronic arthritis, you would provide the blood from which those platelets would be derived. This is what makes the procedure safe. Because we use your stem cells or blood, there is no risk of rejection. There are no risks of any complications other than the minimal risk of infection present with all injections. Our Doctors Are Fully Trained Lastly, we want you to know that our pain management doctors have been fully trained in the proper way to administer stem cell and PRP injections. They have been trained in the latest methodologies, including the use of fluoroscopy and ultrasound to determine optimal injection sites. This is critical, because neither procedure will work as well as it should if the doctor does not pinpoint the best location for injection. Please know that we would never recommend any pain treatment if we did not believe in its safety or efficacy. We would also never push a treatment on you. We would rather your fully understand how regenerative medicine works, as well as whether or not it is appropriate for you, before letting you make the decision for yourself. If you are interested in learning more about these new treatments, make an appointment to visit our Texas pain clinic. One of our doctors would be more than happy to consult with you.