REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

About cellular therapy

Regenerative medicine, or cellular therapy is one of the booming disciplines within sports medicine and in traumatology in general.

The goal of these therapies is to accelerate and promote tissue healing for rapid and complete recovery from injury. These therapies are currently used in multiple injuries including those in tendons, cartilage, and muscles.

There is currently a large interest in this treatment from the scientific community to establish the precise efficacy of these treatments and for which injuries are best suited for them.

What is regenerative medicine?

Regenerative Medicine, also known as Cellular Therapy, are treatments, therapies, or techniques that use biological material such as cells or tissues of the same patient to heal, improve, heal, or regenerate organs.

That is, the sick person’s own body cells are used to improve and self-heal some tissues, organs, and damaged areas.

These treatments can be performed with blood or fat cells from the patient, which contain stem cells, blood cells (platelets), and other types of cells that help support and regenerate tissues.

The surgeon will attempt to …

OFFER THE PATIENT THE MOST VIABLE OPTIONS WITH RELIABLE TREATMENTS IN ORDER TO REPAIR INJURIES AND RETURN THE BODY TO ITS PRE-INJURY STATE.

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What kinds of treatments exist?

There are different types of treatment options are applied in regenerative medicine, such as growth factor treatments, stem cell treatments, and more.

Growth Factor Treatments
Growth factors are a set of proteins that are mainly found inside platelets and in plasma. Their actions, which contribute to the natural repair processes of our tissues, are widely varied but, among other functions, these proteins are responsible for informing the cells in charge of repair that there is damage in a tissue. This ‘recruiting’ ability allows your body to naturally repair tissue, and is why its use, in the form of platelet-rich plasma or factor-rich plasma, has become a common treatment in trauma consultations.
Stem Cell Treatments
Stem cells are a type of cell that are characterized by being “pluripotent,” that is, they have the ability to become any type of cell if the appropriate stimulus is administered. This capacity for transformation gives it a leading role in cell regeneration therapies.

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What are the advantages of these kinds of regenerative treatments?

The advantages of using this type of medical intervention are diverse. One advantage is that it is an easy and non-invasive treatment. In addition, it doesn’t allow for the possibility of immune rejection, since you are using cells from the patient himself. With regenerative medicine, there is a very low risk of infection or complications.

How is a platelet-rich plasma injection performed?

Prior to the injection, the traumatologist must verify that the patient’s injury can improve with the addition of platelet-rich plasma. In addition, the patient must meet medical requirements that are governed by blood transfusion regulations. A previous analysis of the treatment (serology and blood count) must be performed. These treatments should not be performed in patients with HIV, Hepatitis B or C, syphilis, or anemia.

Platelet-rich plasma is obtained by drawing blood from the same patient that will receive it. The blood obtained is centrifuged to separate a small component of it, the plasma, out. This plasma, rich in platelets, is what is ultimately injected into the patient. The injection is performed in outpatient trauma clinics, sometimes with the help of an ultrasound to locate and treat the patient’s injury with greater precision.

What are potential side effects of receiving regenerate medicine treatments?

No serious side effects have been reported in patients and the only minor side effect reported is discomfort at the injection site.

Why should I trust regenerative medicine treatments?

This type of medical intervention and treatment is reliable since it utilizes our body’s natural ability to repair some injuries that, purely due to age, has decreased. With cellular therapy, we are increasing the concentration of cells and growth factors within a patient’s body at the precise area of injury to improve its ability to repair and heal it.

Arthroscopic surgery can be used as an alternative to regenerative treatments or in conjunction with them. Find out about specific injuries that we treat with arthroscopic surgery on our website or in our clinic.

REFERENCES

Mishra A, Harmon K, Woodall J, Vieira A. Sports medicine applications of platelet rich plasma. Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2012;13(7):1185-1195. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21740373

Informe de la Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios sobre el uso de Plasma Rico en Plaquetas. https://www.aemps.gob.es/en/medicamentosUsoHumano/medSituacionesEspeciales/docs/PRP-AEMPS-DEF-mayo13.pdf

Alsousou J, Thompson M, Hulley P, Noble A, Willett K. The biology of platelet-rich plasma and its application in trauma and orthopaedic surgery: a review of the literature. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2009;91(8):987-996. doi:10.1302/0301-620X.91B8.22546

Filardo G, Kon E, Roffi A, Di Matteo B, Merli ML, Marcacci M. Platelet-rich plasma: why intra-articular? A systematic review of preclinical studies and clinical evidence on PRP for joint degeneration. Knee Surgery, Sport Traumatol Arthrosc. 2015;23(9):2459-2474. doi:10.1007/s00167-013-2743-1

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