Do you experience chronic pain? If not, imagine you do. Then imagine you have tried over-the-counter pain relievers, prescription narcotics, physical therapy, and every other traditional treatment – all to no avail. You do not know where else to turn. It wouldn’t be surprising for someone to recommend medical cannabis as an alternative to traditional treatments. But there is another option in regenerative medicine.
Regenerative medicine does not get nearly as much attention as medical cannabis. For that reason, I like to refer to it as the ‘alternative to the alternative’. Medical cannabis is promoted as an alternative to narcotic painkillers and other traditional treatments. Regenerative medicine is an alternative to medical cannabis.
As popular as medical cannabis has become, it is not a treatment all chronic pain patients are comfortable with. And at least a few states still do not allow medical cannabis treatments. Yet regenerative therapies are both legal and practiced nationwide under current FDA rules.
The Regenerative Medicine Philosophy
Regenerative medicine is based on the philosophy of helping the body do what it’s naturally designed to do. Rather than intervening with pharmacological solutions and surgeries, practitioners rely on a variety of treatments that encourage natural healing. Regenerative medicine is really about addressing the source of the problem rather than merely masking symptoms.
The three most common forms of regenerative medicine for chronic pain are:
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections.
2. Autologous stem cell injections.
3. Prolotherapy.
Although the exact mechanisms of each therapy are not clearly understood, it is believed that all three act to jump start the natural healing process. PRP and stem cell injections provide the raw materials necessary for healing as well.
PRP Injections for Chronic Pain
PRP therapy is one of several regenerative therapies offered at the Lone Star Pain Medicine clinic in Weatherford, TX. Lone Star doctors say that it is utilized to treat osteoarthritis pain as well as soft tissue injuries. Like just about every other medical treatment, it works for some patients but not others.
The therapy is simple enough to understand. It involves a simple blood draw from the patient being treated. That blood is processed in a centrifuge to isolate platelets and growth factors. Finally, the isolated material is injected into the patient’s body at the site of injury or disease. The growth factors and platelets work together to promote natural healing, thereby reducing pain.
Safe and Approved
It is important to note that PRP therapy is both safe and approved. It is safe because the injected material is taken directly from the patient’s body. Therefore, there is no risk of rejection or adverse side effects. The only real risk is a risk common to all injections: infection.
PRP therapy is also approved under existing letters FDA rules. The current regulatory framework allows for the use of autologous biological material – material taken directly from the patient being treated – as long as that material is minimally manipulated.
Stem Cell Injections and Prolotherapy
The other two therapies are also injection therapies. Stem cell therapy relies on stem cells drawn from the patient’s bone marrow or fat tissue. Stem cells are harvested, processed, and injected at the site of injury or disease. As for prolotherapy, it is a procedure that involves injecting a solution designed to promote inflammation. Inflammation signals the body to an injury in need of healing.
Some chronic pain patients respond very well to traditional treatments. Others don’t. Those in the latter category need alternatives. And while medical cannabis is perhaps the most talked about alternative right now, regenerative medicine should not be ignored. It is an alternative to both traditional treatments and cannabis.
