Regenerative Medicine

What is regenerative medicine?

Regenerative medicine treatments are a novel approach to healing and cell production. Using these treatments, Dr. Snowball can repair tissue damage caused by injuries, degenerative conditions, and diseases.  

Regenerative medicine techniques use healing substances taken from your body, or from healthy donors. Concentrating cells like growth factors and cytokines into an injectable treatment significantly enhances your body's tissue repair and replacement processes.

This approach targets the root cause of numerous chronic pain problems, namely tissues that your body can't heal properly using normal means. 

If you can heal damaged areas or replace scar tissue, the pain should lessen or even disappear. This is a better way of treating chronic pain than masking the symptoms with pain medication.

What are the types of regenerative medicine?

Dr. Snowball uses several types of regenerative medicine at Integrated Pain Solutions, including:

Stem cell therapy

Stem cells are present in your body in large quantities before and after birth, then decline in numbers. They play a vital role in healing, as they can change into other types of cells your body might need for tissue repair.

As an adult, you still have a natural supply of stem cells, found most plentifully in your bone marrow. Dr. Snowball can extract these stem cells and concentrate them to create an injectable serum.

Placental matrix

Placental matrix products come from the placenta, which feeds a baby when it's growing in the womb. After birth, the placenta normally goes for disposal as a waste product, but research shows it contains valuable cells that can help with tissue repair.

Placental matrix tissues have FDA approval and come from healthy women who undergo rigorous screening.

Exosome therapy

Exosomes are parts of your cells that perform essential functions relating to inflammation, your immune system, and central nervous system (CNS) operation. Among other things, exosomes contain cytokines and mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid), which are vital for healing.

One of the key regenerative medicine treatments Dr. Snowball uses is PRP therapy.

What is PRP therapy?

PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy consists of a concentration of platelets taken from your own blood. These platelets contain growth factors — cells that stimulate cell generation. PRP can contain up to 10 times the number of platelets that your body would have available to deal with an injury.

To obtain the platelets, the Integrated Pain Solutions team takes a sample of your blood and  puts it into a centrifuge. This device spins at high speed to separate the white and red blood cells from the platelets and plasma (the liquid part of blood). The platelet-fortified plasma is injected back into your body.

Because the PRP contains cells only from your body, PRP therapy is very safe and highly effective.

What conditions can regenerative medicine therapies treat?

Regenerative medicine therapies can treat a wide range of musculoskeletal disorders, including:

• Back and neck pain
• Knee pain
• Shoulder pain
• Sprains and strains
• Nerve damage
• Arthritis
• Cartilage damage
• Muscle tears

Dr. Snowball finds that PRP therapy is particularly useful for relieving knee pain caused by arthritis and sports injuries.

Find out how regenerative medicine could help you with your chronic pain condition by calling Integrated Pain Solutions today or booking an appointment online.