Adventures in Stem Cell Therapy
Our regenexx (www.regenexx.com) procedures are going extremely well and we have many satisfied patients who have been able to reduce their pain, improve their function and avoid invasive orthopedic or spine surgeries.
Today's blog post is a little hot-headed, as I continue to be dismayed by other local providers offering "stem cell therapy" and here are two examples in the past week:
1. A local physician posts a photo of offering a 'stem cell knee injection' to a patient. From observation of the photo, I can see multiple problems:
- No imaging guidance. ALL of our procedures are done with fluoroscopy (live xray) and/or ultrasound.
- Non sterile technique. This is ESSENTIAL, particularly if injecting into the joint space.
- From the photo, it appears the doctor is injecting into the vastus medialis, which is a muscle on the side of the knee. An intra-muscular injection does NOT go into the joint space
- Multiple independent researchers have shown no live cells in powdered, amniotic tissue. To call this type of injection "stem therapy" is inaccurate at best, fraudulent at worst.
2. A local chiropractor announces he will soon be adding in 'stem cell therapy' injections and is advertising for a nurse practitioner to hire to perform said injections. My objections:
- As mentioned above, amniotic products are not stem cell injections!! They may offer abundant growth factors, but that is NOT a stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy involves harvesting your OWN BODY'S stem cells from bone marrow.
- If I were a patient, I would not want a brand new nurse practitioner injecting me. I would want a physician with years of training in orthopedic and musculoskeletal problems, who would know when to refer me to a surgeon (if needed) and who would know how to use imaging guidance for precise placements.
Patients! Do your research! Regenerative injections and stem cell therapies offer unique treatment options, but must be done by a physician with adequate training in a safe, sterile environment with imaging guidance to guarantee proper placement. Demand the best for yourself!
Yours in health,
Dr. V