Using Stem Cells in Therapy to Help Treat Your Chronic Pain

You wake every morning wondering how much your pain is going to interfere with your day, and you’re understandably sick and tired of the constant battle. While there are many ways interventional medicine can help you tackle chronic pain, these measures do little to address the underlying problem. 

If you want to take a new approach to resolving your chronic pain, it’s time to consider regenerative medicine. 

Dr. Moisés Irizarry-Román and our team at No Mercy Sports Medicine in Miami, Florida, have had great success in helping our patients overcome chronic pain through regenerative medicine, including the use of stem cells in therapy. Here’s a look at how this approach to healing can help you regain a pain-free life.

Understanding the power of stem cells

The first thing to understand about stem cells is that they’re the building blocks upon which all other cells are formed. For example, during fetal development, stem cells differentiate to become the cells needed to form the human body. From liver cells to skin cells, these specialized cells all come from stem cells.

A fully formed human body retains stem cells to help with future repairs and rebuilding. While these stem cells aren’t as powerful as they were during fetal development, they still have the amazing ability to transition into specialized cells and then multiply as that cell.

Tapping your stem cells

With the use of stem cells as part of therapy, we harvest existing stem cells in your body, which are largely found in your bone marrow and in your adipose fat tissue. Once we extract and process these cells, we reintroduce them into your damaged tissues, giving these tissues added resources that can help them rebuild and repair themselves.

Making stem cell use even more beneficial, this treatment approach is quite safe thanks to the fact that the cells come from your own body and don’t trigger an immune response.

Using stem cells to combat chronic pain

While there are many issues that can lead to chronic pain, some of the more common are those that are ideal for stem cell use in therapy, including joint pain and arthritis, as well as musculoskeletal injuries, such as meniscus or rotator cuff tears.

Using stem cells, we can provide these connective tissues with the tools they need to rebuild more quickly and strongly.

Osteoarthritis, one of the leading drivers of chronic pain, can provide a more specific example. With osteoarthritis, the protective cartilage in your joints begins to break down, leaving your joint painful and inflamed. 

The primary problem with this disease is that your cartilage doesn’t enjoy any regenerative resources due to a lack of blood vessels. We work around this deficit by directly supplying your damaged tissues with stem cells, which create a powerful regenerative environment in which your tissue can rebuild itself.

This process takes time, and most of our patients require a series of stem cell treatments, which we deliver over the course of several weeks. At about the 6- to 8-week mark, you should notice an appreciable difference in your treatment area, especially in the form of pain relief. 

Please note that results vary. Some patients experience results sooner while others may take more time.

If you’d like to explore whether stem cells in therapy can help with your chronic pain, please contact our office to set up a consultation.