Posted on Jan 14th 2019
Chronic knee problems are debilitating. They're painful. And they stop you from doing the things you love. We know that some of you have been suffering for many years, having tried absolutely everything with little to no results. And now, you feel like you've come to your last resort: A complete knee replacement surgery.
But is surgery really the only option? Is it
At Chronic Care of Richmond & Regenerative Medicine, we treat all types of knee problems. For many of our patients, regenerative medicine that utilizes stem cells have worked when nothing else did. We have seen patients that were told by qualified surgeons that surgery was the only option left to consider. In many cases, doctors dread treating patients with chronic knee problems due to the difficulties these represent.
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The outcomes of this medical trial were also evaluated at regular intervals (1, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, and 52 weeks) by an orthopedic surgeon. This surgeon had no involvement with the study prior to the evaluation and he was blinded to patient allocation.
This is just one of many studies and medical journals that have been published on the topic. For those of you who wish to delve deeper, you may want to look at some of the following peer-reviewed studies:
Many people have heard of regenerative medicine that utilizes stem cells but don't know too much about it. In this discussion, we're going to give you a quick overview of what stem cells are, how the procedure works, how it's helped our patients, and why it's a viable alternative to knee surgery.
Stem cells are the precursor to almost every type of cell that exists in the body, whether muscle, skin, or blood cells. They are what we call building blocks, and their unique characteristic is that they are able to renew themselves.
In short, stem cells go where they're needed and become what your body requires to self-heal. Instead of simply masking the symptoms (which is all that NSAIDs do!), stem cells help your body repair damaged tissue and regenerate new, healthy tissue.
Regenerative medicine using stem cells are non-surgical. Regenerative medicineis injected into the body and, in our Richmond practice, consist of human umbilical cord-derived stem cells (specifically Wharton's Jelly). The regenerative medicine that utilizes stem cells reduce inflammation, while also repairing and regenerating tissue.
The advantage of regenerative medicine using stem cells
Some people worry about the treatment, which is understandable as it's relatively new (in medical terms, at least!). However, the treatment is a simple, in-office procedure.
You've read about what regenerative medicine using stem cells is and what it does. You understand the concept, but let's get to what patients really care about.
For example, Debbie B (last name withheld for privacy reasons) had been suffering from chronic bilateral knee pain for a number of years. She found it difficult to walk long distances and even struggled to sleep. After six weeks of treatment, her condition improved tremendously, being able to walk to the supermarket without aid, cross her legs for the first time in over seven (!) years, and is finally able to have a pain-free night of sleep.
Joy B perhaps best encapsulates why we believe knee replacement surgery is a last resort. She came to see us with extreme pain in the right knee, with frequent swelling in the both the joints and her right foot. An orthopaedic surgeon had previously suggested that she was a good candidate for surgery. After just six weeks of regenerative medical procedures, however, she was able to see a significant improvement: the swelling and inflammation has subsided, she is now able to see her knee cap again (for the first time in years!), and she can walk up and down stairs without experiencing excruciating pain.
The important takeaway here is this: do not settle for chronic knee pain. It's not just part of getting older. It's not something you should just learn to live with. There are viable treatment options available to you and they don't necessarily involve surgery.
You can get back to the things you love doing using non-surgical regenerative medicine. Perhaps one of our patients, Lottie Sacks, put it best when she declared that with regenerative medicine using stem cells she feels “life is fuller!" To find out more, sign up for a free educational seminar about regenerative medicine that utilizes stem cells with Chronic Care of Richmond & Regenerative Medicine.