If You Want To Shorten Your Injury Recovery Time, Consider Regenerative Medicine
September 4, 2019 at 4:00 AM
by Carl Gittens, MD Regenerative medicine
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Taking part in sports and exercising are two of the best things you can do for your body. Unfortunately, there's always a risk of injury. In the vast majority of cases, it's possible to recover from a sports injury and return to your fitness routine. If you want to shorten your recovery period, you may want to consider using regenerative medicine. With techniques such as stem cell therapy, you can work with your body to accelerate the healing process. At Carl Gittens MD Regenerative Medicine, we provide medical services throughout the Stuart, Florida area.

What is regenerative medicine?

The aim of regenerative medicine is to repair and replace damaged tissue. When it comes to sports injuries, a lot of patients worry about over-using pain medications or opting for surgery. This is especially likely to happen when they encounter a ligament or tendon injury. While pain medications and surgery have their role in medicine, we believe in taking a different approach. At Carl Gittens MD Regenerative Medicine, we use approaches such as stem cell therapy to reduce inflammation and restore your range of mobility. In addition to proving less expensive than surgery, these approaches are kinder to your body and have fewer side effects. Unlike when you take pain medications, you're unlikely to form an addiction.

What are the benefits of using stem cells for recovery?

Although stem cell therapy is far from new, you may not have considered it for your sports injuries. In our experience, using stem cell therapy comes with plenty of advantages.Unlike other types of cells, stem cells can divide and replicate. As they don't serve one particular bodily function, this means they have the potential to take on the role of the cells in the area we're treating. For example, if you've suffered a ligament injury, injecting stem cells into the area could result in healthier ligament cells. As a result, you'll hasten your recovery and enjoy a more stable joint.Evidence shows that we can use stem cell therapy to develop new blood vessels in the area of the injury too. With better vascularization, your injured tissues receive more of the oxygen they need. This could decrease inflammation, which lessens the pain that comes with strained tendons and ligaments. When this results in an improved range of mobility, you can engage in active recovery, which also improves your bone density.

How does plasma rich platelet therapy work?

Plasma rich platelet therapy involves taking some blood from you (the patient), spinning it in a centrifuge, and then separating your plasma from the rest of your blood products. As plasma contains growth factors that promote healing, injecting it into the injured area can speed up the recovery process.Many of our patients find that regular PRP treatments reduces the amount of pain they're experiencing. As a result, they have an increased range of mobility that makes active recovery possible. As regenerative medicine specialists, we can provide further guidance on maintaining a safe level of mobility during your recovery.

Who is regenerative medicine suitable for?

Regenerative medicine is a specialty that doesn't discriminate in terms of age. However, we still need to assess every patient on a case by case basis. Much like other areas of medicine, we can only recommend treatments when it's ethical to do so. This means we can provide them when there's a reasonable expectation that they'll prove effective and that they won't cause harm.At Carl Gittens MD Regenerative Medicine, we serve the Stuart, Florida area with our services. If you'd like to make an appointment or if you have any questions about our services, call today at 772-288-4111.