Chronic pain, whether from age or injury, can leave your life feeling hollow and foreign. Many people struggle to accept that they can no longer do the things they love. Here at Phoenix Regenerative Medicine in Tempe, AZ, we believe you shouldn’t have to give up on your lifestyle. With our regenerative solutions, you can reverse many of the effects of age, recover from injuries faster, and maintain an active, healthy life. Regenerative treatment is no longer science fiction. Studies over the past 20 years have revealed the immense potential of these techniques. We proudly offer the latest in regenerative medical technology and combine it with physical therapies to get you back into the best shape possible.
What Is Regenerative Medicine?
Regenerative medicine refers to treatments that cause your body to regenerate tissue naturally. Instead of cutting away damaged tissue, we trigger the body’s natural healing mechanisms and replace damaged cells with healthy ones. There are several ways to do this, all of which are minimally-invasive, outpatient treatments that can be done very quickly.
How Regenerative Medicine Compares to Traditional Medicine
The traditional response to injury or prolonged wear and tear has always been a surgical intervention. While there are some situations that demand surgery, we feel that it should never be the first option when there are better alternatives. Regenerative options offer patients significant benefits and are often superior to surgeries. Traditional medicine also pushes pharmaceutical use on patients. Like surgery, there are certainly times where pharmaceuticals can be beneficial, such as with antibiotics to prevent infections. However, most pills simply mask symptoms and fail to treat the underlying causes of the problem. Regenerative methods of treatment address issues at their roots. Here are just some of the advantages of choosing regenerative treatments over traditional methods:
Reduced Risks
Surgery involves significantly more risk than regenerative treatments. Firstly, there is an increased risk of infection from having an open wound. Additionally, surgery usually calls for general anesthesia, which carries its own risks. Then there is the possibility of malpractice, which can lead to yet another surgery to fix problems the first procedure created. Our regenerative options are carried out via injections, making them extremely safe. Studies of regenerative practices have consistently shown very low rates of complications.
Improved Results
For many patients, the results from our platelet-rich plasma treatments have been more than satisfactory. If you read reports from patients who have undergone regenerative treatments, you can see that most of them saw significant improvement in just a couple of weeks. What’s more, the treatment continued to have an effect nearly a year later. Regeneration takes time, but it produces lasting results. Best of all, these results are obtained without the pain and costs of surgery.
Affordable Treatment
Speaking of costs, you might be surprised to learn that regenerative options may end up costing less than traditional treatment. Because of the ease with which they are administered, there are fewer expenses related to treatment. Surgery, on the other hand, requires anesthesiologists, multiple assistants, the use of an operating room, and likely at least one overnight stay in a hospital. All of these costs add up, and in the case of an elective procedure, your insurance is unlikely to cover it all. Meanwhile, regenerative options do not carry those additional costs, so even when insurance isn’t willing to step in, the treatment will still end up more affordable.
Faster Healing and Recovery
Surgeries take months to recover from. Treatment using PRP, however, does almost zero damage to the area, meaning that you won’t need to spend extra time healing from your treatment. You can see results from a regenerative treatment in as little as 2 weeks, and as we mentioned, these results continue to accumulate as time goes on. If you opt for a second treatment, later on, you can see even more improvement. Regenerative treatments are also great for recovering for minor injuries. Numerous athletes have taken PRP treatments to recover from sprains in record time.
What Are the Main Regenerative Techniques?
Now that we’ve looked at the advantages, let’s explore some of the treatment options available. Our practice utilizes several different techniques to restore your body. The two main regenerative medicine options are platelet-rich plasma, or PRP treatment. We also employ other techniques that help to heal your body without destructive surgeries.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)
PRP treatment has been around for over 50 years. It was originally devised as a way to help patients recover from surgery, but has since found its way into a variety of sports medicine and cosmetic treatments. How does PRP help you to recover and restore damaged tissue? PRP is a high concentration of platelets suspended in a volume of plasma. Both of these are key ingredients in your blood. We extract platelets and plasma from your blood using a centrifuge. Once we have achieved the right ratios, we can then inject the PRP back into any part of your body, especially joints that have suffered damage from injury or wear and tear.
Method of Action
The reason PRP works so well is that it triggers your body’s natural healing mechanisms. When platelets accumulate in an area, they tell healthy cells to divide by releasing growth factors. They also mark weak or injured cells to be removed. This process is actually very similar to what happens when you cut yourself or have a traumatic wound. Platelets in your blood build up at the wound site, since one of their main functions is to form blood clots. Once there, they activate the healing process. But your joints don’t experience this kind of trauma and lack blood flow. When we apply PRP directly, we get your body to do the healing for you.
Advantages of PRP Treatment
Besides being extremely easy to extract and apply, PRP is also one of the safest treatment methods available. Since it comes from your own blood, there is no risk of donor material being rejected, and infection risks are near zero. The cost of PRP treatment is also very affordable. The results speak for themselves. Every year, more medical research recommends using PRP as one of the first treatment options for patients. Studies in the last decade alone have affirmed its use in everything from burn treatments to anti-aging applications.
Other Regenerative Methods
Besides PRP we also incorporate other methods of regenerative medicine to ensure the best possible results. These include advanced physical therapy machines and the use of other injectable materials to help the body heal. Your body is capable of regenerating itself, and these techniques help it along.
Hyaluronic Acid
Known under several brand names, including Orthovisc®, hyaluronic acid is a substance that naturally occurs in the body. However, it can become depleted over time and your joints depend on it to stay lubricated and healthy. An injection of viscosupplement essentially replaces the lost hyaluronic acid in your joints. Relief is often immediate for patients, but multiple injections will be scheduled for several weeks to ensure that the joint is properly lubricated. This will reduce swelling and promote hydration in the joint tissues, which helps your body to heal the previous damage.
Machine-Assisted Recovery
Recovering from an injury can be a difficult process. Fortunately, we have industry-leading equipment that can make it easier for you. Optiflex® machines at our facilities help to promote an increased range of motion, improve circulation, and prevent the formation of scar tissue. All of this serves to encourage your body to heal itself naturally. We also employ temperature management machines that safely manage swelling and pain using both heat and cold. Compression-based machines apply even pressure to the right places, ensuring healthy blood flow and minimizing swelling. When machine-assisted recovery is combined with the other methods we’ve mentioned in this discussion, our patients routinely see very positive results from their treatments. We are constantly on the lookout for better ways to restore our patients’ health using modern technology and equipment.
Contact Us Today
If you would like to learn more about our regenerative medicine programs and treatments, then contact Phoenix Regenerative Medicine, Arizona today. All you need to do is give us a little bit of information about the problem or injury you’ve been dealing with, and we’ll go to work to determine the best possible treatment for you. Restorative medicine can now be accessed by anyone, and you owe it to yourself to consider all of the options available. Schedule your consultation with us today!
