At Prairie Spine & Pain Institute, we have launched a medical treatment that we believe is the future of medicine. In this article we will talk about stem cells, and specifically mesenchymal cells. Working in Orthopaedic spine, we often have to do invasive surgeries with rods, screws, and internal hardware. What if we could avoid the knife completely? What if we could use your own cells to treat your condition? Would you consider it? This is no longer a “what if” scenario, but an option that is available NOW!
Mesenchymal cells were first suggested to create fibroblasts 130 years ago by a German scientist. Since this original research, we now know that these cells have the ability to regenerate bone, cartilage, muscle, ligament, tendon, and adipose. From an Orthopaedic standpoint, this is almost every patient that walks into the clinic. Arthritis is a massive problem in this country, and now we have an option to treat that and potentially reverse it. Whether you have knee pain, hip pain, shoulder pain, or back/neck pain, you could be an excellent candidate for stem cell treatment.
There are numerous treatable conditions with mesenchymal stem cells. For example, Horwitz and colleagues have been studying the treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta. This is a disease in which osteoblasts produce defective type I collagen which leads to osteopenia (precursor to osteoporosis), multiple fractures, bony deformities, and shortened stature. In this study, mesenchymal cells were administered systemically. At three months, there was new bone formation, an increase in total body bone mineral content, an increase in growth velocity and reduced frequency of bone fracture in all patients. What this shows is that these cells migrate to where there are problems and can help stimulate growth. These are incredible findings with exciting results.
OUR PROCEDURE:
At Prairie Spine & Pain Institute we are offering stem cell treatment for arthritic and degenerative conditions. This is an outpatient procedure which basically involves taking stem cells from the iliac crest (posterior part of the pelvis), gathering mesenchymal cells, and placing the cells into the affected area. So basically we are taking cells from one part of the body, concentrating them, and placing them into another part of the body. This could be a degenerative disk, an arthritic knee, hip, or shoulder. There is no incision, and there is no hardware. These cells then begin to replicate and work on the affected tissue whether that is bone, cartilage, etc. So ask yourself, would you rather have 2 needle sticks versus a total knee replacement or back fusion? If you have back/neck pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, come see us at Prairie Spine & Pain Institute.
About The Author: Derek N. Morrow, PA-C is a physician assistant with Prairie Spine and Pain Institute. Derek works in the clinic setting as a health care provider seeing patients. He is also utilized in the operating room as a first assist in surgery. In the clinic setting, his key function is to diagnose new patients and conduct their initial treatment. He works directly with patients to establish customized treatment programs and to monitor their progress. He also conducts history and physical evaluations for many patients. He performs many office procedures including trigger point injections, large joint injections, and bursa injections, all with the help of ultrasound guidance. He is radiologically trained, and uses his knowledge of X-ray, Ultrasound, MRI, CT, and EMG-Nerve Conduction Studies to establish a diagnosis and determine the appropriate treatment. Derek is surgically trained and plays a vital role in the procedures we perform at Prairie Spine and Pain Institute.
