Perhaps as a child you marvelled at how your body dealt with the minor cuts and scrapes that came your way. A scab would form, change, dry out, and finally fall away to reveal a perfect skin repair.
The fields of regenerative medicine and biologics recognize the powerful healing abilities that you carry in your body, standing by to jump into action in times of illness and injury. Instead of intervening, these branches of medicine seek to assist, augment, and speed natural healing.
Stem cells are a resource already flourishing within your body, the raw materials needed for all types of healing. Franz Jones, DO, is a stem cell therapy specialist, using the technique to reduce pain and speed healing for many medical conditions.
Although the term ‘stem cell’ can be a bit vague and if often used incorrectly, it has become a popular term used to describe biologic cellular therapies used in medicine today.
It’s drug-free and ideally compatible because the stem cells we use come from your own body. Here, we discuss the basics of stem cell therapy and healing. Find out more by scheduling a personal consultation with Dr. Jones.
No one knows precisely how many cells there are in a human body, but plenty of estimates range from the billions to hundreds of trillions. No matter what the true number is, these cells are grouped into types. Skin cells are different from bone cells, muscle cells are different from nerve cells, and so on.
When your body needs to make repairs after an illness or injury, it needs certain raw materials to replace damaged tissue. Storing each individual type of cell would carry a huge biological load. Your body’s answer to this logistical burden is stem cells.
Though there are different types of stem cells, they all share two important characteristics: Stem cells can make copies of themselves, and they can convert into other types of tissue cells.
When you need new skin to heal over a wound, your body sends the appropriate types of stem cells to the repair location and uses growth factor hormones to signal the conversion of stem cells into tissue. The same process creates new blood vessels or new nerves, whatever type of cell is needed to make a repair.
Most of the cells used in musculoskeletal and orthopedic medicine today are really called MSC’s (mesenchymal stem cells). These are the cells most commonly needed for repair and pain relief.
Stem cells are delivered around the body by your blood, which has plenty of other jobs to do. The theory behind stem cell and cellular therapy is that doctors can assist your body by taking stem cells from their point of origin and delivering them directly to the site of an injury.
This provides raw materials more quickly than waiting for your circulatory system. With these additional resources at hand, your body has what it needs to reduce inflammation and pain so it can heal. Many stem cell therapy patients find their need for pain medication falls off, freeing them from drug-based side effects.
Stem cell therapy often works hand in hand with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, the blood component that carries the growth hormones that signal stem cells when and how to convert. Dr. Jones finds that regenerative medicine techniques produce real results for patients suffering from issues like:
Stem cell therapy typically doesn’t interfere with treatments you’re already receiving, so it’s an ideal addition when you’re not noticing the improvements you expect with standard treatment.
Contact Franz Jones, DO, at the most convenient of his three South Florida locations to find out how stem cells and regenerative medicine techniques can help you. Book your appointment by phone or online today.
