Pain that originates from the shoulder or rotator cuff can make doing the simplest tasks a chore, such as driving, lifting or even just playing with your kids. It’s an area that is very susceptible to injury, and as many as 600,000 US citizens consider complicated surgery for rotator cuff injuries each year, leading to often long and arduous recovery times.

What if we told you there was another, pain free way to treat your shoulder pain? Stem cell therapy is a revolutionary and effective way of treating affected joints and other damaged areas of the body, without the risks associated with surgery.

No More Surgery

Surgery is the most common form of treatment for severe shoulder pain, but it’s certainly not an easy option, and you could take as long as six months to recover. Up to six weeks of that time, your movements will be even further restricted by a sling, making getting back to work nigh on impossible for weeks or even months.

Non-surgical stem cell therapy could be the answer, with procedures taking place within just one day and offering a viable, effective solution for those in pain and facing surgery, or even a joint replacement. You’ll be able to return to your usual activities following the treatment, without the need for long and painful rehabilitation periods where you’d have to work to recover your mobility, strength and full range of motion that you’d usually have to experience after an invasive surgical procedure. The risks associated with surgery are also eliminated, such as blood clots, a bad reaction to anesthetic, or infection.

What are Stem Cells?

Your body holds billions of specialized cells that form particular organs such as your skin, brain, heart, muscles, joints, ligaments and even bone. Every day the cells in your body degenerate and regenerate, in a process where old cells die and new ones are created via stem cells, which can create multiple types of cells.

However, when you sustain an injury, this regeneration process is less effective and the affected area becomes painful, weaker and less functional. There are several types of stem cells, and they act like your body’s own repair kit. They hold the key to your body’s natural ability to heal itself, but sometimes your body needs a helping hand.

How it Works

Modern technology has allowed us to find a way to harvest stem cells from the patient’s own fat tissue, prepare and concentrate them using a specialized lab process, before re-injecting them directly into the injured tissue area. Advanced imaging (such as ultrasound) can be used as guidance to focus a concentrated treatment of stem cells directly into the rotator cuff exactly where they are needed. From there, the stem cells are able to significantly enhance your body’s natural healing process, and can help to generate healthy new tissue, as well as attracting more reparative stem cells to the area.

Stem cell therapy is minimally invasive and can reverse the damage of injury, arthritis or disease, halting the natural breakdown process we often experience as we get older or experience injuries. There is also less risk of rejection, as the treatments use your body’s own stem cells.

The Procedure

You will be awake during the procedure, which is carried out in an office with a doctor or experienced physician. You will be asked to lie face down while the doctor cleans and numbs the area, and then with image guideance, the stem cells are then carefully extracted. The stem cells are then purified and prepared in a lab so that they are concentrated enough to heal your injury.

Stem cell therapy for shoulder pain is a fairly quick procedure with minimal discomfort. As a rule of thumb, treatments generally take around four hours, and you’ll be able to go back to work the very next day. The affected area may be a bit tender, and in some cases there may be some bruising.

PRP injections can also be used in order to keep the stem cells activated to give your body the best chance of healing.

The Risks

Just like any other medical treatment, stem cell therapy comes with its fair share of risks. The biggest risk is infection, as treating an area such as the rotator cuff involves using a small concentration of Adipose or fat tissue. Occasionally, infection can occur, but the risk for this is quickly reduced as your body produces more white blood cells.

Are you Suitable for Stem Cell Treatment?

If you are currently experiencing shoulder pain, osteoarthritis or are suffering from a rotator cuff injury, you may be suitable for the regenerative process of stem cell therapy, and should seek further consultation from your doctor.