Am I A Good Candidate for Stem Cell Therapy?

Stem cell therapy can be an excellent treatment option for the right patient. This form of regenerative therapy involves using specialized cells to harness the body’s ability to heal itself. 

If you have joint pain or other musculoskeletal discomfort, treating those symptoms is the top concern of regenerative orthopedic surgeon Bruce Fishman, MD, and the team at Dr. Stem Cell in Encino, California. Stem cell therapy helps your body rebuild damaged tissue naturally — without surgery. It’s one of the most promising novel treatments. 

Providers use stem cell treatment in orthopedics to address both chronic and acute issues. Here, we aim to help you determine if stem cell therapy is right for you.

Stem cell therapy overview

Stem cells are adaptable specialized cells that can divide and become other types of cells. This makes stem cell therapy a unique approach to treating orthopedic conditions. 

The idea is to inject the problem area with cells that go to work to promote healing, allowing the body to mend itself sufficiently enough to alleviate symptoms for extended periods.

What conditions benefit from stem cell treatment?

Stem cell therapy promotes the formation of new, healthy cartilage and tendons. This is beneficial for various orthopedic issues, including:

• Low back pain due to degenerative discs
• Osteoarthritis of the knee and hip
• Rotator cuff tears
• Tennis elbow
• Plantar fasciitis
• Tendon tears 
• Cartilage tears 
• Muscle strains

As new cells form, inflammation decreases, which reduces pain and improves joint function. Stem cell therapy may help delay or prevent the need for joint replacement surgery in some patients with joint arthritis. 

We collect the stem cells that we use in treatment from your own body, process them at our office, and then inject them into the injured joint.

In addition to injections, stem cells are employed to aid in the healing process following orthopedic surgery. The stem cell solution is administered directly to the tissues before the incision site is closed.

Is stem cell therapy right for me?

If you’re dealing with pain related to joint or tendon damage, you may be a good candidate for stem cell therapy. Many patients are still good candidates even when a doctor has recommended surgery. 

You’re a good candidate if you’ve tried noninvasive therapies without adequate improvement in your symptoms. Patients who are interested in alternatives to joint surgery may also want to consider stem cell therapy. 

It’s important to recognize that stem cell therapy is still in the developmental stages. Good candidates for this therapy have realistic expectations. 

What can I expect from stem cell therapy?

Most people notice initial improvements within a few weeks of starting treatment. The entire healing process within your joint takes a little longer — usually a couple of months, depending on the type and severity of the underlying injury, your baseline health and activity level, and other considerations. 

The benefits of stem cell therapy can last for a year or longer. At the end of that period, you may receive further injections to prolong the results.

Although stem cell therapy can be used as a standalone treatment, your doctor can combine it with other approaches, including physical therapy, to reduce pain and improve joint function.

Stem cell therapy is another way Dr. Fishman can tailor your treatment to your specific needs and goals. If you’re interested in learning more about stem cell therapy and other treatment options at Dr. Stem Cell, call our office to schedule an appointment, or use the request form here on our website.