The Past of Regenerative Medicine

As much as we want to think that Regenerative Medicine is something modern and futuristic, the reality is that it has been around since the early 20th century with the first transplants of bone, soft tissue and corneas.  It didn’t take off until the mid-century with the first successful kidney transplant.  From that point, the rest as we say is history with transplants of multiple organs including transplants from living donors.

The Present of Regenerative Medicine

Fast forward to the year 2000, and beyond and Regenerative Medicine gets a “boom” with the “baby boomer” generation.  There are now more people in need of organs and tissues than there are donors. That has resulted in the demand for tissue engineered skin, organs, bone and connective tissue growth.  There are a variety of ways these scientifically engineered products are being developed; some are being derived from a patient’s own cells grown outside the body and transplanted, a material developed from the small intestines of pigs is increasing in use by surgeons to restore damaged tissues and encourage healing, along with stem cells and adult tissues.

The Future of Regenerative Medicine

The future is an exciting time and place for the continued development of Regenerative Medicine. The investment and scientific efforts are well underway to improve the quality of life for people by providing healthy, functioning tissues and organs.  Medical visionaries see a world where there is no longer a waiting list for organs, where spinal cord injuries aren’t a life sentence to a wheel chair and where weak hearts and lungs are simply injected with cells from an organ and become healthy and vibrant by healing themselves.

Regenerative Medicine Techniques for Back, Neck and Joint Pain

Regenerative medicine now offers several solutions that offer relief to back, neck shoulder, hip and knee pain through means of natural healing.  Regenerative medicine can renew and repair joints and improve their function using platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell therapy injections. Bone Marrow aspirate is removed from a patient’s hip area, and the stem cells are separated, then concentrated for injection into damaged tissue to repair and regenerate painful joints. Regenerative medicine treatments allow people previously limited by joint pain to return to their normal activities without the limitations of chronic pain.

 The Role of Stem Cells

In general, stem cells have the ability to morph themselves into many different types of cells; from the outside such as skin cells, to the inside such brain cells, lung cells, among many others.  For pain management specialists at Jacksonville Spine Center stem cells are at the heart of regenerative medicine, because they are the key to opening the door to many new uses and healing therapies. “This is an exciting treatment option because patients experience pain relief as the body works with its new ability to heal and regenerate itself,” said Dr. John Carey, Pain Intervention Specialist, Jacksonville Spine Center. “Some patients need only one treatment to ensure results,” adds Dr. Carey, “while others respond best after only two or three injections of PRP or stem cells.”

 A2M, The Next Big Thing for Treating Arthritis

A2M is short hand for Alpha 2 Macroglobulin Injection Therapy.  It’s the newest weapon in successfully treating osteoarthritis at its source.  More than 50 million adults and 300,000 children have some type of arthritis.  It is the leading cause of disability in America.

So how does it work? A2M is a powerful chemical that can destroy the proteins that cause arthritis.  There are three major chemicals that lead to joint deterioration and damage.  A2M traps these destructive chemicals so the body can then eliminate them.  “Can you imagine the impact of A2M on the millions of people debilitated and suffering with arthritis,” said Dr. Carey.  “We are already seeing impressive results at Jacksonville Spine Center with the procedures, we are doing on our patients.  There is nothing better than to be able to provide this kind of pain relief and healing to their joints and back.”

The implications of Regenerative Medicine are still not fully known and more testing will determine more possibilities.  There are risks with any procedure so talking with your pain specialist is key to determining if you are a candidate for any Regenerative Medicine procedure.

For more information on Regenerative Medicine or for any other pain relief procedures, call the Jacksonville Spine Center or Jacksonville Spine and Pain Center at St. Augustine for an appointment. Jacksonville Spine and Pain Center is also a Veterans Choice Program. Call 904-223-3321 to get started today.

*Patient results may vary. Contact Jacksonville Spine and Pain Center to determine if you are a candidate for any of these Regenerative Medicine Techniques.