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Still Have Pain Following Back Surgery? How Can StemCell ARTS Help?

Still Have Pain Following Back Surgery? How Can StemCell ARTS Help?

For patients suffering from back pain, there are a number of treatments that can be suggested. Although surgeries of the spine, such as ‘fusions’ or ‘laminectomies’, can sound daunting and invasive, in some instances they are necessary steps to help patient return to a functioning lifestyle. For some patients, these surgeries are successful and patients can resume living their lives pain free. However, for other patients, the pain level post procedure is similar to what was experienced prior to having a surgical procedure of the spine. If surgery fails to resolve the patients pain, are all options exhausted? Are these patients destined to continue with life-limiting pain?

Luckily, StemCell ARTS is able to provide several regenerative treatment options that have helped our patients say “good-bye” to their post-surgical pain. Our procedure use the patients’ body’s own biologics to help itself heal. Our trained phlebotomists take a sample of the patients’ blood and process this, by hand, in the lab found in each of the StemCell ARTS offices. The blood is placed into a centrifuge that spins the blood at high speeds to separate the platelets from red blood cells. Those platelets are further processed and concentrated depending on their specific use. In Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), the platelets are injected into, and around the point of injury to jump start the body’s natural healing curve. For Platelet Lysate (PL), the platelets are frozen and broken open for immediate release. PL is recommended by the regenerative physician when PRP may be expected to cause too much inflammation. PL may also be suggested if the patient needs prompt relief since this procedure is comparable to a cortisone injection, but with the body’s own platelets in lieu of steroids.

One patient shares his story about how StemCell ARTS helped him regain his life following his spinal decompression surgery. When surgery failed to provide the necessary pain relief, Judge Thomas Moore sought the regenerative procedures offered at StemCell ARTS. Read more to see how our procedures changed Judge Moore’s life!

 

Exciting New Treatments for Chronic Back Pain

Exciting New Treatments for Chronic Back Pain

Regenerative Approach to Low Back Pain

Low back pain is one of the most common issues seen see at StemCell ARTS. The physicians perform a comprehensive exam to determine the cause of the back pain. Once the cause has been identified, the next step is to formulate a treatment plan to address the diagnosed condition. Fortunately, Regenexx procedures are revolutionizing the way the regenerative physicians at StemCell ARTS approach those problems. StemCell ARTS, with offices in Tysons Corner, Virginia and Chevy Chase, Maryland, have several regenerative procedures that can be utilized to combat low back pain.

Regenerative Treatment Options

Prolotherapy, Platelet Rich Plasma, and Platelet Lysate are all common injections utilized in the StemCell ARTS offices. Due to the specialized method in which the regenerative samples are processed, the physicians at StemCell ARTS are able to design a customized treatment plan to treat the specific patient and condition. These procedures are utilized to treat a wide range of diagnoses. This includes everything from minor strains and sprains, to varying degrees of Spinal Stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal). The procedures are done in the physician office, under local anesthesia. The procedures are very similar to interventional treatments, such as epidural cortisone injections, but use regenerative materials in lieu of steroids. The video below shows a complex disc treatment performed Dr. Pitts in the Broomfield, Colorado clinic. The procedure shown in the video is very similar to the disc treatments, using platelets instead of stem cells.

 

Back Pain is SO 2016

Back Pain is SO 2016

Don’t start 2017 wrestling with the same back pain that had you sidelined in 2016. Visit StemCell ARTS, where the phsysicians take extra care to diagnose the underlying cause of the back pain, leading to more focused and effective treatment options. In addition, the physicians are able to offer regenerative treatments, such as Platelet Rich Plasma and Platelet Lysate. These procedures can help patients who have failed , or those who may not be able to receive, traditional interventions for one reason or another.

Back pain is a broad term that can encompass a variety of conditions. Is the back pain related to the facet joints? What about the epidural spaces or the disc? Sometimes, determining the cause of back pain can be difficult, resulting in treatments that can be insufficient. Often, patients are treated with well-known, traditional treatments when they cite back pain as their primary area of discomfort. These treatments can include steroid injections, physical therapy, surgical intervention, bracing, etc. But what happens when those treatments fail to provide long-term relief? What happens when patients have residual pain following surgery? StemCell ARTS has alternative treatments that can help!

Listen to Dr. Wagner describe different causes of back pain, how the physicans at StemCell ARTS develop accurate diagnoses, and some of the regenerative treatment options.

 

How Regenerative Medicine and Interventional Orthopedics will Change Everything

How Regenerative Medicine and Interventional Orthopedics will Change Everything

When beginning the process of researching regenerative treatment options, patients can be presented with an overwhelming amount of information. This information can often result in more questions. Am I a candidate for regenerative therapies? How can these therapies help treat my condition? What can I do to help make my treatments more successful? Luckily, StemCell ARTS is able to help provide patients with a one-stop-shop to help patients get these questions answered. Dr. Chris Centeno, founder of Regenexx, created a guide that explains how Regenexx is pioneering the new field of Interventional Orthopedics, where the use of regenerative biologic treatments, such as adult stem cell therapy and platelet rich plasma, are being used to help repair and strengthen damaged tissues. Utilizing a vast amount of internal data and research, the Orthopedics 2.0 book helps patients better understand their own conditions and how regenerative therapies can play a rital role in their recovery.

You might be asking yourself, “how do I get my hands on this great book?” StemCell ARTS is here to help. Next time you’re in the office, ask the staff for your own copy to take home with you. Looking for more information before scheduling your consultation? We have provided a link below to download your own free digital copy. Happy Reading!

Click here to download

Helping CrossFit Athletes Treat Injuries and Avoid Surgery

Helping CrossFit Athletes Treat Injuries and Avoid Surgery

For those interested in getting involved in an exercise routine, it is hard not to come across the world of CrossFit. Over the past couple years, there has been a significant increase in this fitness regime that combines resistance and aerobic exercise. Unfortunately, CrossFit often gets a bad rap due to its perceived propensity to cause injury. Shoulder injuries are particularly common due to the athletes performing snatches and other complex overhead movements. Typically, when one sustains shoulder injuries, such as rotator cuff tears, the first visit is to a surgeon. Research has shown that surgery may not be the answer. Fortunately, StemCell ARTS offers patients suffering from shoulder injuries an alternative to treating their shoulder conditions, while avoiding invasive surgical procedures.

Why is this so important to CrossFit athletes? Or anyone, for that matter?

Avoiding surgery also allows the patient to avoid the downtime and recovery that is typically associated with shoulder surgery. Patients are able to get back to the activities that they love, sooner than the patients who undergo surgical procedures. For CrossFit athletes, this means getting back in the gym faster and the ability to keep improving on their fitness. For patients outside of CrossFit, they are able to continue their day to day activity, without much interruption following a regenerative procedure.

Below, you will find a link to an article that features a CrossFit athlete treated by one of the physicians at StemCell ARTS. Bill, a high-level CrossFit athlete was able to avoid surgery to repair his rotator cuff by electing to proceed with the stem cell procedure offered at StemCell ARTS. Click the link below to read more about how Bill is doing following his stem cell procedure and learn more about why shoulder surgery may not be the way to go.

CLICK HERE

As Regenerative Therapies Gain Popularity, What Sets StemCell ARTS Apart?

Regenerative therapies are gaining more and more popularity within multiple modalities of the health care field. Orthopedic practices, in particular, are seeing an increase in patients due to professional athletes sharing their experiences with stem cells and platelets for treatment of sports injuries and orthopedic conditions. With orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine professionals, etc. offering regenerative therapies, how does a patient determine which practice is best?

At StemCell ARTS, we use the Regenexx method of processing to produce, what we believe, is the most concentrated and pure version of stem cell and platelets to inject at the patients’ site of injury. What does the Regenexx method of processing mean? Most practices utilizing regenerative therapy as a form of treatment use machines called “bedside centrifuges” to process the regenerative samples. These samples can be full of red and white blood cells and only produce a concentration of 5-7x the concentration found in the human body. By processing the samples by hand, StemCell ARTS is able to produce a pure sample, free of red and white blood cells. We can also increase the concentration to much higher levels.

Not only is Regenexx and StemCell ARTS ahead of the game when it comes to the processing of regenerative therapies, but are also responsible for over 33% of all published articles regarding regenerative therapies. Regenexx is a research consortium that combines the knowledge and experience of over 30 physicians across the country. Regenexx researchers compile this information to consistently examine and improve the method of processing and injection of regenerative therapies.

The video below includes commentary from Dr. Chris Centeno, founder of Regenexx, and describes how the idea of utilizing regenerative therapies for interventional orthopedics came to fruition. By understanding the story behind Regenexx, we hope that patients will see what sets Regenexx-affiliated clinics, like StemCell ARTS, apart from the rest!