Your Guide To Stem Cell Joint Injections

Joint pain is a widespread issue affecting millions worldwide. It can stem from a variety of causes, such as acute injuries, chronic inflammation, degenerative arthritis, or age-related wear and tear. Even everyday activities, if performed improperly, can result in joint pain.

Conventional Treatment Options

Mainstream medicine treatments play a crucial role in managing joint pain and have helped countless individuals regain mobility and reduce discomfort. Medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids, play a critical role in reducing inflammation and providing temporary relief from joint pain.

Physical therapy, on the other hand, can strengthen the surrounding muscles, improve joint stability, and promote healthier movement patterns. Hyaluronic acid injections, also known as visco supplementation, mimic the joint's natural lubricating fluid, reducing pain intensity and improving joint function.

For severe cases where the joint is significantly damaged, orthopedic surgeons may recommend traditional knee replacement surgery, replacing the parts of the damaged joint to restore functionality.

While these methods are often successful, they primarily manage symptoms rather than address the underlying degeneration. Moreover, long-term use of certain medications may come with side effects. For individuals with chronic joint pain, these treatments may not provide the long-lasting relief they desire. This has led many to seek out other effective treatments, especially regenerative therapies that harness the power of regenerative cells like stem cells, hoping to stimulate the body's inherent healing process and tackle the root cause of their constant pain.

Regenerative Medicine Options

Regenerative medicine is an exciting field that promises to redefine how we treat chronic conditions, like joint pain and degenerative arthritis. In the USA and 1st world countries like Canada, Australia, Europe, the primary approaches to regenerative therapies for joint pain involve Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) and Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), both considered researched and effective treatment options.

The Role of Platelet-Rich Plasma

PRP therapy harnesses the power of your own blood. A sample of your blood is spun in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets, creating a powerful cocktail of growth factors that can promote healing. When injected into an injured joint, PRP can stimulate tissue repair and reduce inflammation.

The Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

MSCs, on the other hand, have a unique role in regenerative medicine. This type of stem cell is found in various tissues such as bone marrow (bone marrow stem cells) and fat tissue (adipose tissue transfer), have a unique capacity to home in on areas of injury and inflammation in the body. They are especially effective at signaling repair in joint tissues – it's a role they've been designed for by evolution.

Research and clinical trials on MSCs have grown in recent years due to their availability and relative ease of harvest, especially from sources like bone marrow and adipose tissue. This growth has led to an increased understanding and utilization of these cells in therapeutic applications, including joint pain management.

However, one key consideration is the age of the MSCs. All stem cells age, and this impacts their potency and efficacy. MSCs derived from allogeneic sources like umbilical cord or placental tissue are already considered adult – and therefore aged. Autologous MSCs, harvested from an individual's own tissues, are even much older, further reducing their regenerative capacity.

Given this, patients and clinicians are now finally seeking more potent and versatile types of stem cells for therapy, leading to  interest in pluripotent stem cell therapy. 

The Advantages of Pluripotent Stem Cells

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) represent an exciting advancement in regenerative medicine. These cells have the unique ability to signal repair and cellular reprogramminng all 220+ tissues of the body.  Because of their inherent versatility and potential for comprehensive tissue repair, PSCs have several distinct advantages over adult stem cells like mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

1. The Youth Advantage of PSCs

PSCs are the youngest stem cells available for clinical use. Unlike adult stem cells, which age and lose potency over time, PSCs are pre-differentiated and contain a signaling profile that is able to reverse biological age of all tissues.

2. Comprehensive Organ Reach of PSCs

Due to their pluripotency, these cells can potentially signal repair in any tissues and organs in the human body. Whether it's heart tissue, liver cells, the brain, PSCs have the innate capability to reprogram and promote healing in every area of the body, including joint tissue like bone, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, muscle and associated soft tissue.

3. Consistency and Reliability of PSC Lines

Stemaid's PSC line, for example, has been consistently grown over a decade. This level of reliability, coupled with the line's positive treatment outcomes in over 4,000 patients, makes it a robust and effective therapeutic option.

4. Affordability of PSCs

Lab-grown PSCs offer a much more reasonable and cost-effective alternative to other types of stem cells. Since these cells can be cultured in a laboratory setting, they are not subject to the same high cost and availability constraints as donor-harvested cells.

5. Safety of PSCs

The safety of PSCs is another key advantage. Being lab-grown means that they come from a clean, standardized line, derived from a single genetic source. This eliminates the need for donor tissue harvesting, which carries risks such as potential DNA damage and infection and adds to the overall cost as well. 

While MSCs play an important role in regenerative medicine, the unique characteristics of PSCs - their youth, comprehensive tissue repair potential, consistency, affordability, and safety - make them an intelligent option in the field of regenerative medicine.

The Regulatory Hurdles

While the potential of PSCs is clear, their clinical use in the USA, Canada and Europe is currently limited by regulatory hurdles. This stems from long-standing debates around the use of embryonic stem cells in medicine, which have resulted in legislative restrictions on the use of such cells.

Although these debates are rooted in outdated conceptions of stem cell medicine, the laws that resulted from them remain in effect, putting them many decades behind the current state of stem cell research and therapy. As a result, many doctors in the US, despite understanding the potential benefits of PSC therapy, are legally unable to offer these treatments to their patients. In addition, insurance companies and insurance provider agencies do not cover cultured stem cell therapy, so these treatments are cost prohibitive to many in the States. 

In response to this regulatory limitation, and cost of stem cell treatments, patients are turning to Stemaid Institute to get access to PSC therapy. Stemaid is currently the only provider in the world offering treatment with its unique and consistently grown PSC line. Based in Los Cabos, Mexico, Stemaid Institute delivers these therapies in a caring and luxurious clinical environment.

Since PSC are laboratory grown, they are also better value than options in the United States. With rigorous quality control in its laboratories and a commitment to providing a comfortable, high-quality patient experience, good price, Stemaid Institute is the place patients go outside their home country for full body rejuvenation, repair and cellular reprogramming, therapeutic effects directly relevant to joint pain.

A Two-Pronged Approach to Joint Therapy

A vital aspect of effective pluripotent stem cell therapy for joint pain involves the method of delivery. In order to achieve comprehensive treatment of the joint, it's crucial to deliver stem cells both systemically and directly to the joint area. This is achieved using a combination of intravenous (IV) infusions and local injections.

IV Infusions: Reaching the Joint Space

When stem cell injections are administered through IV infusions, they enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. Given their innate ability to home in on areas of injury or inflammation, stem cells will naturally navigate towards damaged tissues in the body, including those in the joint space.

The IV delivery method allows pluripotent stem cells and their secretome, exosomes, to reach the intra-articular tissues within the joint, where they can exert their regenerative effects. By releasing all kinds of repair factors (growth factors, neurotrophic factors, angiogenic factors, anti-fibrotic factors, Mitochondrial and DNA repair factors, reprogramming factors and other signaling molecules), these cells can help stimulate the body's own repair processes to heal damaged tissue and reduce inflammation.

Local Injections: Addressing Extra-articular Tissues

While IV infusions allow stem cells to reach the joint space, local injections are essential for targeting the extra-articular tissues surrounding the joint. These tissues, including nerves, ligaments, tendons, muscle, meniscus, synovial membrane, can be significant sources of joint pain.

Through local injections of pluripotent exosomes, or Plurisomes, directly into these tissues, we can deliver a concentrated dose of regenerative signals to the exact areas of damage or inflammation. Plurisomes, which are the secretions of pluripotent stem cells, contain a powerful cocktail of reprogramming factors and other signaling molecules that can kick-start the healing process for long-term effect. 

This two-pronged approach ensures that both the intra-articular and extra-articular tissues are treated, offering a comprehensive strategy to alleviate joint pain and promote healing.

FAQs

Are there any adverse effects?

Like any medical procedure, stem cell injection treatments carry a certain risk of adverse reactions. However, pluripotent stem cells and Plurisomes, being highly biocompatible, are generally very safe and well-tolerated. These pluripotent stem cells have a unique compatibility with the human physiology, which significantly reduces the risk of adverse effects.

In fact, in all our programs and  stem cell treatments at Stemaid, we observe that any discomfort experienced by patients during treatment is more likely to be related to the additional treatments like chelation or NAD, rather than the stem cell infusions themselves. We adhere to stringent protocols and procedures to ensure the safety, reliability, and efficacy of our stem cell procedures.

Who is an ideal candidate for stem cell therapy?

Broadly speaking, an ideal candidate for stem cell therapy could be anyone dealing with chronic joint pain or joint disease that has proven resistant to traditional treatment options. This includes individuals suffering from osteoarthritis, knee injuries, ligament injuries, and a host of other orthopedic injuries. However, the unique qualities of pluripotent stem cells expand the scope of potential beneficiaries. 

Given their pre-differentiated nature, pluripotent stem cells can signal repair in every tissue type throughout the body, making them a valuable therapeutic resource not just for specific joint issues, but for systemic health as well. It is important to understand that joint issues are often not just localized problems; they can signal wider systemic concerns that need to be addressed in conjunction with targeted joint therapy.

At Stemaid Institute, we regularly treat all joints, ex: shoulders, back, knee joints, pain of all sorts ex: arthritic joint, joint injury, knee pain, knee instability, hip pain, degenerative knee disease like knee osteoarthritis, post joint replacement repair, cartilage injuries, soft tissue injuries, advanced osteoarthritis and so on. 

So, in essence, anyone seeking a comprehensive approach to their health, one that supports and initiates healing in multiple body systems (including the brain, muscles, and cardiovascular system), could be an ideal candidate for pluripotent stem cell therapy. In addition, there is no age limit. The stem cells benefit all ages.

What can I expect during the therapy?

Depending on the Program you are signed up for, you will be receiving daily IVs of a variety of nutraceutical peptides and other integrative combinations, and IVs of Pluripotent Stem Cells PCS and or Plurisomes PLU. You will also be receiving regular local injections of stem cells to support the extra-articular tissues of the joint. In some cases, we invite a physiotherapist to treat patients or also recommend simultaneous chiropractic treatment, which can be booked outside the clinic with an associate. 

How long does it take for the therapy to take effect?

The immediate efficacy of stem cells and plurisomes and long-term benefit of stem cell therapy can vary from person to person, depending on the severity of the condition and individual response to treatment. However, many patients begin to experience reduced joint pain and improved function within weeks of treatment. Autologous stem cell therapy typically has longer lasting effects. 

How long does the effect of stem cell therapy last?

Injection of stem cells promotes the natural healing abilities inherent in the body. As such, the benefits can last for many years. However, factors such as age, overall health, and the severity of joint disease can influence the longevity of results. There are also clear blocks to repair and healing and we cover them in the blog https://stemaidinstitute.com/blog/how-long-do-stem-cell-injections-last.html

Remember, efficacy of stem cell therapy is not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are many different types of cell being used at clinics world-wide. Each patient is unique and requires a personalized approach to treatment. Always consult with a healthcare provider to discuss the potential benefits and risks before deciding if what kind of stem cell therapy is right for you. If you'd like to read about a good approach to finding the best treatment, we cover this in our blog https://stemaidinstitute.com/blog/best-stem-cell-treatment-in-the-world.html