Regenerative Therapy

What are Regenerative Therapies?

Regenerative medicine provides a tremendous ability for our bodies to repair certain acute and chronic conditions. Regenerative tissue therapy as one of our orthopedic specialties may be an excellent alternative to surgery, which has excellent results in helping to heal degenerative tendon injuries and tendonitis. Other regenerative therapies we offer are Prolozone, Platelet-Rich Plasma, and Alpha-2-Marcoglobulin.

Prolozone

If you suffer from joint pain, this might be of interest to you. Prolozone is an amazing solution for treating joint pain. This injection therapy is based on the science that as we age, our joints lose nutrition and oxygen resulting in joints that are stiff, sore and prone to injury. Rather than turning to rehabilitation or surgery, this natural, non-surgical regenerative approach is made up of two parts.

The first part of the treatment adds nutrition back into the injured area (vertebra, ligament, tendon, muscle, connective tissue or joint area). The second part of the treatment incorporates ozone, helping nutrition to properly fuel the injured area. The result of these two steps are the proliferation, regeneration and repair of damaged tissue.

Platelet-Rich Plasma

Plasma is the liquid portion of whole blood that is composed primarily of water and proteins, and it provides a medium for red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Platelets, also known as thrombocytes, are blood cells that cause clotting and other necessary growth healing functions. Platelet activatation plays a key role in the body’s natural healing process.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy uses injections of a concentration of the patient’s own platelets to accelerate the healing of injured tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints. In this way, PRP treatments use your own healing system to improve musculoskeletal conditions.

Alpha-2-Macroglobulin

When a patient has injury to their joint or develops arthritis, protein enzymes (catabolic proteases) and inflammatory mediators (cytokines) such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF are released by the body to “clean up” damaged tissue. Medical research shows that after the initial repair cascade, these proteases and cytokines often persist in the joint, causing further tissue and cartilage destruction, resulting in progressive arthritis and pain.

What is Alpha 2 Macroglobulin (A2M)?

A2M, produced by the liver, is a large, naturally occurring protein that functions to bind destructive proteases and cytokines throughout the body. As the A2M captures and neutralizes the damaging chemicals, the body will work to eliminate them. A2M halts the progression of damage at the molecular level by inactivating the chemicals that cause the tissue breakdown. The tissue will then recover, as the inflammation is subdued and harmful chemicals are no longer present. A2M remaining in the tissue will promote repair and can begin the restoration process. This could then lead to healthier joints, allowing patients to return to active lifestyles.

Unfortunately, though, because of its large molecular structure, A2M has difficulty entering a joint to work as the body’s natural defense mechanism. As a result, these chemicals are not eliminated, causing progressive pain and stiffness.

How does A2M treatment work?

This, perhaps, is our most exciting and promising non-surgical treatment of arthritic joint pain. An A2M treatment deposits a rich concentration of A2M protein directly into the painful joint. The A2M quickly gets to work, binding proteases, removing destructive enzymes from the joint tissue and begins the process of tissue repair.

At your appointment, you will receive a thorough evaluation by the provider of your condition. If you are determined to be an appropriate candidate, your blood will be drawn and spun in a centrifuge to separate it into red and yellow plasma. The yellow plasma will undergo proprietary filtering processes to yield the concentrated A2M molecules.

The injection procedure is minimally invasive and most patients report no pain. After treatment, some patients report the joint may be uncomfortable for the first 2-3 days, but then improvement begins, averaging 4-6 weeks to see the full effects.

**A2M treatment is not FDA approved but is FDA compliant as a “minimally manipulated tissue”.

Tendon Regeneration

Tendon regeneration has been clinically proven to improve tendonitis in the elbow, shoulder, knee and foot, reducing pain and improving functionality. More importantly, it can accomplish this without surgery.

We have selected to use Tenex Health TX® for tendon regeneration treatments. They developed their technology with the MAYO clinic to eliminate pain caused by damaged tissue.

Schedule an Appointment

If you would like to see if you are a candidate for regenerative therapy, please schedule an appointment at either of our clinics.