From diabetes to spinal cord injuries, stem cells have the potential to treat diseases and ailments of all types. And the list continues to grow. Regenerative medicine has become a beneficial option for patients with back problems.
Advances have enabled spinal surgeons to use stem cells to treat patients helping in the regeneration of degenerated discs, healing spinal cord injuries, and helping bone growth in spinal fusions – according to a study in the World Journal of Stem Cells.
Regenerative cell injections are also a viable option for patients suffering with lower back and leg pain. Which could open the doors to more treatment types in the future.
How It Works
There are multiple types of regenerative cell procedures: embryo, fat, and bone marrow. Dr. Castillo uses both exosomes and fat cells for his procedures. He also uses PRP cells as well. Exosomes are cell-derived vesicles present in many if not all-eukaryotic fluids including: blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and cultured medium of cell cultures. Stem cells from fat cells are called adipose stromal vascular fraction stem cells. These cells pluripotent, meaning they have the ability to become various types of tissues, as well as being regenerative having the ability to repair and rebuild damaged tissue.
The concentrated stem cells can offer pain relieve, accelerate the healing process, and improve overall function. In the case of SVF cells once the collected sample is extracted, it is filtered and a centrifuge separates the stem cells and makes them viable for injection into the injured site.
The procedure is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that takes roughly one to two hours start to finish. It’s recommended patients be between the ages of 20-70 years old since the quantity and quality of these cells declines as we age.
Regenerative medicine can be used to treat osteoarthritis, joint pain, low back pain, and other conditions.
Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy
The injection site may experience temporary pain and the injection itself may take up to three months to show improvement. Regenerative medicine is not an instant fix, and healing can still take time. Stem cell therapy has been shown many benefits:
- Minimally invasive
- Fewer side effects compared to surgery
- Natural approach using patient’s own cells
- Little to no down time
- Regenerative properties promote healing and pain relief