Stems Cell Therapy for Knee Pain
There have been multiple articles lately, including this press release that address the advantages of using stem cell therapy to treat knee pain in some patients. By using stem cells as opposed to surgery many of the risks involved with traditional knee replacement surgery can be avoided such as complications from anesthesia and post op infections. The release also points out that if a patient can also use their own stem cells the risk for an autoimmune reaction in the body could be eliminated.
This regenerative medicine procedure is also very simple compared to other surgical options. The stem cells are simply injected into the body by the doctor. Hopefully the pain of the needle would be the worst of it. The article does not address the long term success rates for this type of treatment, however, that may be attributable to the relative newness of stem cell procedures for treating the knee.
The bottom line is that the introduction of new and less invasive treatment options and therapies is welcome news for the millions who suffer from all forms of joint pain.
Am I the only one who is concerned by the fast pace of this type of medicine? Do we really know or understand what the long terms effects of regenerative medicine will be on the human body. Sure, I’m ok now, but is there a chance that twenty years from now my body won’t take so kindly to this tissue.
I appreciate the discussion of this treatment, but I would encourage everyone to please do their research first. Lot and lots of research.