Research and TerminologyWhat the terms mean and what we contribute

Stem Cell Therapy

In stem cell therapy for chronic pain, a patient’s own adult cells are collected, concentrated, and placed into damaged tissue. It is used for some patients with neck or low back pain from disc degeneration and for osteoarthritis of the knees, hips, or shoulders. The procedure is usually non-surgical with little recovery time, though soreness or slight bruising at the treatment site is common.

Stem cells have a long history in medicine. Bone marrow transplantation has been used to treat leukemia since the late 1960s. Researchers are now studying engineered tissues that might one day help conditions such as macular degeneration, stroke, osteoarthritis, and spinal cord injury.

Amniotic Membrane Products

Amniotic membrane products come from donated birth tissue. The membrane contains epithelial and stromal cells with some stem cell-like features, and early research, including animal studies and some human studies of tendinitis, has explored their use.

Inconsistencies in how these cells are isolated and processed still need to be resolved, and many products contain few or no living cells after processing. The Michigan Center for Regenerative Medicine uses your own cells and platelets instead.

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)

PRP was first used in the 1970s, but early equipment was large and expensive and needed a lot of blood, so it was limited to the operating room. From the 1990s on, studies reported improved healing, and PRP spread to bone grafts, fracture care, plastic surgery, wound care, and sports medicine. It drew wide attention after professional athletes, including NFL receiver Hines Ward, were treated before major games.

To prepare PRP, blood is spun in a centrifuge, which separates it into layers: clear serum on top, platelets and white blood cells in the middle, and red blood cells at the bottom. Normal blood has about 150,000 to 350,000 platelets per microliter; PRP can reach around one million, concentrating growth factors roughly five to ten times.

Studies have examined PRP for tennis elbow, patellar and Achilles tendinopathy, osteoarthritis, MCL tears, and rotator cuff problems, among others. Research continues, and results vary by condition. See PRP therapy.

Why an Accurate Diagnosis Comes First

Chronic pain affects sleep, work, mood, and activity, and it can feed a cycle of less movement and more pain. Before regenerative treatment, an experienced physician confirms the diagnosis and considers the treatments already available.

Regenerative medicine can help many chronic pain conditions, but some people will not respond, and some conditions need other forms of care. Your physician will help decide which approach fits your situation.

How FDA Rules Apply

When your own cells are minimally processed and placed back into your body during the same procedure for a similar purpose, they fall under a lighter set of FDA rules. Cell products that are heavily processed, combined with other substances, or used for unrelated purposes are regulated as drugs that need clinical trials and FDA approval.

No exosome product is FDA-approved, and the FDA warns consumers about unapproved stem cell and exosome products. Read the FDA consumer alert.