Stem cell therapy has grown in popularity quite a bit over the last few years.
In fact, companies that focus on this technique have raised $2.2 billion in the last year — that’s a 416 percent increase from the year before!
Physicians have turned to stem cell therapy to treat a wide range of health conditions. It’s especially beneficial to people who are dealing with injuries and orthopedic issues.
Have you ever considered giving it a try?
Read on to learn more about stem cell therapy and why you might want to choose it over surgery and other traditional treatment options.
What Is Stem Cell Therapy?
Stem cells are a specific type of cell. They have the ability to develop into other types of cells. They can also divide and renew themselves, even after long periods of inactivity.
When a stem cell divides, the new cells can become one of two things. They can become more stem cells, or they can become other types of cells, such as muscle cells, brain cells, or blood cells.
Physicians and researchers have a lot of hopes for stem cells, including the following:
Understand How Diseases Occur
Researchers hope that, by observing stem cells and the way they mature into other types of cells, they can gain a better understanding of how specific disease and conditions occur. This, in turn, can help them to learn new strategies for treating and preventing these conditions.
Replace Diseased Cells
Researchers believe that stem cells have the potential to replace diseased cells and help those who are suffering from a wide range of conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, osteoarthritis, and even cancer.
There is also the potential for stem cells to be grown and become new tissue. These new tissues, in turn, can be used to help those who are in need of organ transplants.
Stem Cell Sources
Stem cells can come from a few different sources.
They can come from embryos that are between three and five days old. They’re also present in adult tissues, such as bone marrow.
Stem cells are also present in amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood.
Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy
There are lots of benefits that one can experience when they undergo stem cell therapy. The following are some of the greatest perks stem cell therapy has to offer:
Treat Orthopedic Injuries
Stem cell therapy is a great tool for managing orthopedic injuries in a .
Surgery puts you out of commission for weeks or months at a time. With stem cell treatments, though, you’ll be able to get back on your feet much sooner.
It helps to promote tissue repair and minimize inflammation so you can heal from your injury and regain function and range of motion.
Treat Cardiovascular Disease
Stem cell therapy also has the potential to help with cardiovascular disease, too.
Stem cells can stimulate the repair and regrowth of the blood vessel tissues. They can also help to generate the special muscle cells needed to regrow heart tissue.
Heal Wounds
In addition to healing orthopedic injuries, stem cells may also help to heal other types of wounds.
Folks who are dealing with burns and other serious wounds can experience relief and faster tissue repair when they undergo stem cell treatments.
This is because stem cells help to promote collagen production and get rid of scar tissue buildup.
Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases
Stem cell treatments show a lot of promise for people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Stem cells help to minimize inflammation throughout the body and protect the tissues. This, in turn, slows down the progression of these diseases.
Treat Autoimmune Diseases
Thanks to the fact that they can reduce inflammation, stem cells also have the potential to help those suffering from autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes and thyroid disorders.
Stem cells can replace the cells that these conditions destroy so that the body can function properly.
What to Expect from Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cell therapy typically requires several appointments. Most of the time, during these appointments, the physician will use stem cells that they extract from the bone marrow.
The process usually goes something like this:
- Local anesthetic gets applied to the hip
- 1-2 ounces of bone marrow stem cells get withdrawn, along with less than one ounce of fat-derived stem cells in some cases
- The sample gets spun in a centrifuge to separate platelets and stem cells
- The physician injects the separated stem cells into the injury site or another part of the body
Some physicians also follow up stem cell therapy with another regenerative medicine therapy, such as platelet-rich plasma injections. This can speed up the healing process and yield better results.
How to Choose a Provider
If you’re interested in trying to learn more about stem cell therapy or giving it a try, it’s important to make sure you’re working with a qualified stem cell therapy specialist.
Here are some tips that will help you search for the right specialist:
- Consider their education and training
- Consider their experience providing stem cell therapy
- Ask about their success rate using stem cell therapy
- Ask about the type of conditions they usually treat with stem cell therapy
- Ask for references
When you receive references from the specialist (and, if you don’t, that’s a major red flag) follow up with those references and ask about their experience. That way, you can determine whether or not this specialist is a good fit for you.
Try Stem Cell Therapy Today
Now that you know more about stem cell therapy, its benefits, and what to expect during treatment, are you interested in giving it a try?
If you want to try this approach to deal with your injuries or to manage other symptoms, keep the information in this post in mind so you can find a provider who’s qualified to administer the treatment.
Are you interested in learning about other healthcare techniques and surgery alternatives? If so, be sure to check out the of our site today.
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