Living with a chronic disease or degenerative nerve, joint, and bone conditions is often exhausting and depressing. Pain medications used to mask the pain rarely work to heal the root of the problem. As the population ages, more people find themselves needing treatments that deal with the source of their problem rather than merely managing their pain via medication. Regenerative medicine is a promising and effective option if you live with chronic pain in your knees, back, hips, shoulders, wrists, or other joints.
What is Regenerative Medicine?
Regenerative medicine aims to transform the current model of some medical approaches by treating the root causes of injuries, diseases, and disorders. Whether the tissue or organ has been damaged due to congenital defects, age, disease, or trauma, regenerative medicine works to heal by creating functional, living tissue that can replace or repair the existing damaged tissue. Often, if treated soon enough, this prevents the need for surgery by treating the tissue before the damage progresses further.
The aim of regenerative medicine is to truly heal the tissue rather than mask the pain felt. It is not merely treating symptoms but restoring the body to health. This is done without dangerous surgeries or addictive medications, allowing the patient to heal quickly and return to full activity often within just a couple of weeks.
Regenerative Approaches
While there are various regenerative approaches, we focus on four different methods: Ozone, Ozone Clot Matrix, Stem Cells, and Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF). Each of these therapies is proven to enhance the body’s ability to regenerate tissue, leading to a healthier, better quality of life for those suffering from chronic pain related to muscle and joint issues.
Ozone
Most of us have used the word ozone in relation to the Earth’s atmosphere, but it is less commonly known for its ability to heal and regenerate tissue. Ozone, both in the atmosphere and in regenerative therapy, is the term used to refer to O3, a reactive form of oxygen. When injected, ozone stimulates cellular metabolism, prompting the immune system to begin its healing process. Ozone therapy has many benefits and some of these are decreased inflammation, offering cells oxygen to boost healing of tissue, decreasing the presence of scar tissue, stimulating degenerated and damaged joints to regenerate, and enhancing the immune system.
Ozone Clot Matrix (OCM)
Ozone Clot Matrix therapy combines two forms of therapy: ozone therapy and PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy. Platelet-rich plasma therapy uses the body’s own healing mechanisms to treat joint and muscle conditions through tissue regeneration. It does this by capitalizing on the role of platelets in the body’s natural healing response. Platelets are perhaps most commonly known for their important role in blood clotting. However, they also contain proteins referred to as growth factors. When a person is injured, platelets signal the body and these growth factors begin the process of regeneration and healing. PRP treatment involves the injection of plasma that contains a high concentration of platelets to stimulate the natural regeneration process at the site of injection. Once injected, PRP is typically active for about 24 hours.
Ozone Clot Matrix (OCM) is an augmented form of PRP that utilizes whole blood with activated platelets mixed with ozone gas. This allows for a higher capture rate of platelets as well as oxygen rich red blood cells and stimulated white blood cells that help in cleaning up damaged tissue. This highly concentrated mixture creates a matrix that supports the platelet-rich mixture to stimulate healing at the site of injection for up to two weeks. Because the OCM is active for two weeks rather than 24 hours, the rate of regeneration and the efficacy of the treatment is greatly increased when compared to traditional PRP therapy.
Stem Cells
Perhaps you’ve heard the term “stem cells” before, but what are they? Stem cells are immature cells within the body that are able to develop into various types of cells in your body. In other words, because they aren’t “set” to become a certain type of tissue cell, they can be used to renew or repair the damaged cells within your body. Although there has been controversy over the use of stem cells and their use has been highly regulated within the United States, stem cell therapy is both safe and effective in aiding the body to repair and heal various conditions. It is one of the fastest growing areas of medicine with endless possibilities in the realm of healing and life-saving regenerative therapies. However, it is not currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of specific conditions. Therefore any use of stem cells for treatment of degenerative conditions is considered experimental and “off-label”.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) are found in bone marrow and adipose (fat) tissue as well as in the amniotic membrane tissue. MSC’s can become muscle, tendon, cartilage, ligament, bone, fat, or other structural cells within the body. These cells have a great capacity for self-renewal, while also maintaining their ability to rejuvenate, renew, and repair a wide array of tissues that have been damaged due to age or injury. Additionally, when injected into an injured site, MSC’s that have been extracted from bone marrow, adipose and amnion tissues appear to have more of a stimulatory effect on generating new and healthy stem cells to encourage the body to heal itself. This is all done without invasive surgery and with faster healing times. When used in conjunction with OCM, the combination with stem cells appears to have a synergistic effect, leading to even speedier healing and recovery experience.
PEMF- Pulsed Electromagnetic Field
PEMF works much as its name suggests. By using pulses of low-level electromagnetic radiation, this therapy can heal injury-related damaged tissue and bone, relieving pain without medication. It is a non-invasive, restorative approach to healing chronic pain, injuries, and other chronic conditions, but how exactly does it work?
In practice, doctors apply pads, paddles, or rings that radiate electromagnetic pulses of energy which pass through the skin and penetrate deeply into tendons, bones, muscles, and organs. These pulses activate the cell’s energy, found in the mitochondria, and boost the cell’s naturally occurring mechanisms that lead to repair. This pulse, and the energy boost it creates in the cell, allows the cell to produce a healthier cell when it replicates. PEMF works on a cellular level and is effective on a myriad of different types of tissue. Due to this, Pulsed Electromagnetic Field therapy can be used to address an isolated issue, such as a pulled muscle or it can be used to help ameliorate chronic pain or even rejuvenate entire body systems. At Temecula Center for Integrative Medicine, PEMF is used in conjunction with the various injection therapies to help facilitate and enhance the healing process that begins with Ozone, OCM, or OCM + Stem Cell therapy.
Is Regenerative Medicine Right for You?
Regenerative medicine is non-surgical, free of long-term risks, and does not require addictive painkillers. Ozone, OCM, Stem Cell, and PEMF therapies work with your body’s natural healing mechanisms to fix the root of your pain and discomfort. If you have pain in your knees, back, hips, shoulders, or other joints, regenerative medicine may be the safe, effective, non-invasive approach you have been looking for to help jump start your road to recovery.
Dr. Lundquist is Board Certified in Family Medicine with ABFM and he is sub-specialized with the American Board of Integrative Medicine (ABoIM). He also has received a certification from the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine (ABIHM).
Dr. Lundquist has a special interest in Integrative and Holistic medicine. He is currently the founder and medical director for the Temecula Center for Integrative Medicine specializing in all aspects of Functional Medicine. He is a member of the American Holistic Medical Association as well as the Institute of Functional Medicine. He specializes in endocrine disorders especially thyroid and adrenal dysfunction, chronic fatigue, migraine headaches, cardio metabolic disorders, and chronic pain.
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