Stem cell therapy is becoming an extremely popular medical treatment, with many doctors recommending it and many patients reaping the benefits. Doctors are even recommending stem cell therapy for medical issues that once seemed as if they had no option for treatment other than surgery.

But how does stem cell therapy work? To help you answer that question, we’re going to take a look at what stem cell therapy is, how it works and how it could help you.

What Is A Stem Cell?

Stem cells are the body’s own repair kit. When you receive an injury, your body’s stem cells rush to the injured area and start the healing process.

But sometimes, your own stem cells cannot get through to the injured area due to the amount of damage from the injury or surgery.

The net result is an injury that never heals properly or an injury that persists and takes a long time to heal.

Where Do Stem Cells For Treatment Come From?

Modern stem cell therapy techniques harvest stem cells directly from the patient’s own body. This is a quick and safe process that only involves the gathering of fat cells — also known as adipose tissue — from a patient, which are loaded with stem cells.

Once the adipose tissue has been gathered, the stem cells are separated by spinning them in a centrifuge. They are then injected back into the injured part of the body. It is important not to confuse these types of stem cells with embryonic stem cells.

What Does Stem Cell Therapy Do?

Stem cell therapy is the process of using the aforementioned cells to help patients’ bodies repair damaged tissue. It can either accelerate an otherwise slow healing process or allow the body to heal tissue that would have otherwise remained damaged permanently because stem cells couldn’t get to it.

The medical advancements in stem cell therapy have been remarkable for the advancement of non-invasive medical treatments. Instead of opting for surgery, which is usually the only option many doctors present, patients now have safe, natural and effective alternatives for joint disorders and beyond.

It is also possible to combine PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) Therapy with Stem Cell Therapy, in certain situations, to provide an additional element that helps in the healing process.

What Types Of Problems Does Stem Cell Therapy Work For?

Stem cell therapy is being used for a variety of ailments, from virtually untreatable diseases to joint injuries. Here is a list of a few of the medical problems being successfully treated with stem cell therapy:

• Joint Injuries
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Heart Disease
• Rotator Cuff Tears
• Diabetes
• Liver Disease
• Neurological Diseases
• Cancer
• Retinal Diseases
• Blood Disorders
• Immune Disorders
• Metabolic Disorders

There are many other medical issues that stem cell therapy can treat and this list is expanding every single day. For example, one of the newest stem cell therapies is successfully treating osteoarthritis.

How Long Does Stem Cell Therapy Take?

Despite the advanced nature of stem cell therapy, the process has a surprisingly short lead time. In most cases, a single treatment will only take about four hours. Depending on the injury, other treatments may be performed in conjunction with stem cell therapy, such as PRP.

What Are The Risks Of Stem Cell Therapy?

As with any medical procedure, stem cell therapy does come with risks. However, advances in stem cell treatment have nullified many of the risks. For example, there was once a high level of concern that a patient’s immune system would reject stem cells. The fact that stem cells now come directly from the patient’s own body make this, in addition to many other risks, either negligible or nonexistent.

The biggest risk most patients undergoing stem cell therapy face is an infection from the removal of adipose tissue or the injection of stem cells.

How Long Does It Take To Recover From Stem Cell Therapy?

The recovery time from a stem cell therapy treatment is virtually nonexistent. A stem cell therapy treatment is an outpatient procedure. Other than some minor discomfort at the injection site for a short time after the treatment, patients can return to work the next day.

This makes stem cell therapy a great treatment alternative for those who are concerned about the long recovery time associated with a surgical procedure.

What About The Cost Of Stem Cell Therapy?

Stem cell therapy usually costs between 20 and 50 percent less than surgery for treatments of the same ailment; this doesn’t even account for the need for surgery revisions. The range of cost is between $4,000 and $6,000, depending on your injury.

Stem Cell Therapy Is The Future Of Modern Medicine

If you have a medical issue that you need resolved, then you should seriously consider stem cell therapy as a treatment option. It is much less invasive than most other types of treatments and it allows your body to heal the way that it was meant to.