Circulating inside your body right now are stem cells. Regardless of your age, these cells (also known as MSCs or Mesenchymal Stem Cells) generally hang out in your bone marrow. Much like college recruiters scouting out a high school football team, when your body is injured these specialized cells are recruited to help the healing process. These cells are vital in the healing process and the specialists at the Center for Pain Management in Wilmington, NC have a procedure to use your own stem cells to promote healing.
So how do stems cells know where to go? Excellent question. Like a fire station, when you are injured a bell goes off to alert stem cells they are needed. A special natural chemical called “Cytokines” signals stem cells and attracts them to where they are needed.Platelets, which help your body to slow and stop bleeding also signals stem cells to arrive. In a young and healthy body, this system is very efficient. When you get older, the number of available stem cells decrease. Unfortunately, this is when you need stems cells the most!
The board-certified specialists at our medical clinic can help encourage healing by taking stem cells from plentiful areas of your body and injecting them to where you need them most. It’s like getting a ride from a friend to school. Sure, you could walk there, but this is much faster. Our experts will use x-rays or ultrasound scans to find the best stem cells located on your iliac crest, located on your hip. This area is roughly where you put your hands when you “put your hands on your hips.”We will extract the stem cells and prepare them for injection into the injured area of your body.
Where can these stem cell injections go? The most common locations are:
• Knees
• Hips
• Shoulders
• Spines
We inject them using a small needle. The hope is that this extra boost will jump start the healing process. We have found in some cases; this extra boost will help move the healing process along that has been stalled due to inflammation or poor blood flow. There are many factors that go into whether this procedure is successful or not. Come in today and talk to our doctors one on one to discuss if this is the best choice for your current medical situation.
In fiction, stem cells are sometimes portrayed as an easy end all solution to a variety of medical problems. If injected with these specialized cells, will you regenerate parts of your body or develop super human skills? Very unlikely.However, we have seen great improvements in pain management, function, and quality of life. Study after study has confirmed this to the point where the benefits of your own stem cells cannot be ignored.
If you are in constant pain or have an area of the body that just isn’t healing properly, call our friendly staff today at (910) 218-9742 and set up an appointment with us. Meet with our board-certified doctors and specialists to see if Stem Cell Therapy is right for you. Regardless of the evaluation, our staff is committed to help you achieve your health goals and improve your quality of life. We look forward to talking to you!
