Is medicinal signaling Cell (MSC) Therapy Right For You?

MSC therapy is showing great promise and rapid development as a non-surgical treatment for pain, particularly in in the back and joints. While this type of therapy is a relatively new treatment option for many applications, many patients who have turned to this form of therapy have reported positive outcomes.

Curious about how this type of therapy can help you? Here are some facts to help you decide whether MSC therapy is right for you.

What are Medicinal Signaling Cells?

Different cells in our body have specific jobs, and specialized forms to do them: skin, blood, bones, organs, muscles and so on are made of specialized cells.

MSCs develop into specific types of cells in a process called differentiation, after which they’re ready to do their jobs.

Where do they come from?

There are two types of cells : embryonic and adult. Every developing embryo starts as a cluster of cells in the womb. These then differentiate into the various organs and structures of the body.

Taking cells from human embryos is controversial, but adults of all ages have living cells too. These can aid in repairing damaged tissue, healing wounds, and even growing hair.

There are many studies and clinical trials involving the medical uses of cell therapies to treat a wide range of issues, from heart disease to infertility, and even to regrow teeth.

Harvesting the cells

It has proven difficult to grow MSCs in a lab in enough quantity for research.

At in2It Medical, we solve this problem by using the patient’s own cells utilizing a procedure called bone marrow aspiration. It’s not as bad as it sounds — in fact, we do it in our office and use only a local anesthetic. You’re awake for the whole process.

Then we separate the MSCs from the sample we’ve collected from your bone marrow, and inject it into the affected area. At in2It, this is commonly the knee, lower back, shoulder, and other joints. The whole procedure takes about 90 minutes.

Risks

Any treatment that involves injection carries some risk of infection, bleeding or nerve damage. We reduce this by using ultrasound monitoring to guide the harvesting and the injection of cells, and following best practices for eliminating chance of infection.

In contrast to procedures that use cells grown in a lab from donors, our procedure has no risk of allergic reaction or rejection because we use your own cells.

Also, this procedure avoids the risks associated with any surgery.

Results

MSC therapy is a relatively new treatment. Clinical case reports show effectiveness in orthopedic use. There continue to be emerging studies within the field, but the majority of patients at our office have reported positive outcomes and many return for treatment if and when they’re experiencing pain in a new area.

Is it right for you?

If you’re suffering pain from osteoarthritis in joints, or from damage to knee cartilage or muscle tears, you might be a good candidate for this type of therapy.

Sports injuries and repetitive motion injuries also generally have positive outcomes utilizing this type of therapy.

Another possible case is degenerative disc disease — which all human adults have to some extent, and which can cause significant, chronic pain in the low back. In this case, we would inject MSCs into the degenerated discs, and monitor your progress over time.

You don’t have to live with chronic pain. Schedule an appointment with us to find out whether MSC therapy is the right choice for you