Stem cell therapy uses your body’s natural regenerative ability to heal injuries and tissues damaged by diseases like arthritis. At InStride Foot & Ankle of the Carolinas, Eric Ward, DPM, and Blaise Woeste, DPM, are on the cutting edge of regenerative medicine, helping to relieve your pain and restore your mobility with stem cell therapy. If you have ongoing pain or a slow-healing foot injury, call one of the offices in Matthews or Monroe, North Carolina, or book an appointment online.
Stem cells thrive in your body for as long as you live, where they regenerate new cells to heal injuries and replace old or damaged tissues. Adult stem cells accomplish this remarkable job thanks to their ability to self-replicate. They can continuously divide to produce a new cell that develops into many different types of tissues.
Any time you sustain an injury or tissues are damaged due to a disease, adult stem cells living in your body naturally travel to the area to regenerate cells and repair the problem. Stem cell therapy takes advantage of this same process by injecting concentrated adult stem cells.
Adult stem cells come from several sources, but one of the best is your own body fat and bone marrow. After removing a sample of body fat or bone marrow from your hip, the sample is processed to separate and cleanse the stem cells. Then the cells are immediately used in your injection.
As the field of regenerative continues to grow, other safe and effective sources of stem cells are becoming available. Some injectable products currently on the market contain stem cells obtained from amniotic membranes of donated placentas.
Using real-time imaging to guide the needle, your podiatrist injects the stem cells directly at the site of your injury. Once they’re in place, the stem cells start to rebuild and repair the damaged tissues.
Stem cell therapy is not the first line of treatment for injuries. Instead, your podiatrist considers using this treatment when:
If you need surgery, stem cells may be used during your procedure to promote faster healing.
Certain types of adult stem cells, including those harvested from body fat and bone marrow, specialize in regenerating tendons, ligaments, muscles, blood vessels, cartilage, and bone. As a result, your podiatrist may use stem cell therapy for any type of injury or problem affecting those tissues. Tendon and ligament tears are two examples of common injuries that may benefit from stem cell therapy.
To learn more about stem cell therapy, call InStride Foot & Ankle of the Carolinas or book an appointment online.
