The Promise of Regenerative Sports Medicine

The idea of treatments that can help the body’s muscles, tendons and ligaments heal themselves sounds futuristic, maybe even too good to be true.

But these advanced treatments already exist. They’re helping athletes and other active people heal faster from a variety of sports injuries. They may even help many people avoid surgery.

What Are Orthobiologics?

The field of regenerative medicine is also referred to as orthobiologics. “Ortho” means these therapies are primarily used to treat orthopedic injuries. “Biologics” come from natural substances, typically from your own body.

The name ‘regenerative medicine’ may be a bit misleading. “Orthobiologic treatments don’t directly cause tissue regrowth or repair,” says Giorgio Negron, MD, a nonsurgical sports medicine specialist at Memorial Healthcare System. “But they work by encouraging your body’s own healing process.”

Regenerative therapies can help reduce inflammation by stimulating the release of anti-inflammatory messengers. They also introduce growth factors, signaling molecules that tell the body to start the repair processes.

“Substances found naturally in the body, such as blood platelets and stem cells, contain a highly potent soup of growth factors,” says Dr. Negron. “These growth factors help promote tissue healing.”

Types of Regenerative Medicine Treatments

Biologics get their healing powers from tissues and natural substances, many of which are produced by your own body. Some of the more common types of biologics used to treat orthopedic injuries include:

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections

Platelets are small particles in your blood plasma that contain growth factors. By drawing your blood and then spinning it in a centrifuge, the platelets and growth factors become more concentrated.

Injected directly into damaged soft tissue, platelet-rich plasma stimulates and speeds up the repair process. So far, research into the effectiveness of PRP injections has found the greatest benefits for chronic tendon injuries, strained muscles and ligaments, and knee arthritis.

Stem cell therapy

Healing stem cells can be harvested (taken) from bone marrow or fat tissue. Typically, bone marrow stem cells are collected from the pelvic bone using a needle. Fat tissue is usually collected from the belly or thigh.

While these stem cells don’t directly build or repair tissues, they play an important role in the process. Harvested stem cells contain growth factors that act as signaling cells. They’re injected into injured tissue and stimulate your own existing stem cells. The message: Step up and create new tissue or fix damaged tendons or ligaments.

Hyaluronic acid injections (viscosupplementation)

Hyaluronic acid is naturally found in the fluid that surrounds and lubricates the joints. When you have arthritis, you have less hyaluronic acid to cushion your bones and help the joints move smoothly.

Viscosupplementation adds hyaluronic acid into your joints to help them feel like they did pre-arthritis. Some people with mild to moderate arthritis report feeling less pain after a hyaluronic acid injection.

Prolotherapy

This treatment involves injecting a dextrose (sugar) and saline solution into a damaged joint. The solution causes irritation, which signals the body to send anti-inflammatory molecules to the area.

Conditions Treated With Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative therapies are still relatively new and not yet proven or approved for all types of injuries. But there is growing evidence that orthobiologics can help heal several conditions, including:

• Cartilage damage, such as labral tears and damage to knee, hip and shoulder joints
• Ligament strains or tears, including the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) in the knee
• Tendinitis, including the Achilles tendon, rotator cuff, and tennis or golfer’s elbow
• Osteoarthritis

Regenerative Sports Medicine at Memorial Healthcare System

If you have a new or nagging sports injury and physical therapy alone isn’t giving you the results you want, you might be a candidate for regenerative medicine.

At Memorial Healthcare System, our sports medicine specialists use a variety of regenerative techniques, including PRP injections, to treat injuries. In many cases, these treatments allow you to avoid surgery and return to your favorite activities sooner and with less pain.