Stem Cell Therapy
for Soft Tissue Injuries
Helping You Take the Next Step Toward Recovery
Stronger Healing for Soft Tissue Injuries
A soft tissue injury can bring your life to a sudden halt. Whether it’s tendonitis, tennis or golfer’s elbow, a partial tear, or a more severe rupture, the recovery process for these debilitating conditions is often long, frustrating, and filled with limitations – crutches, boots, and constant pain becoming part of your daily routine. Even after healing, many patients struggle with lingering discomfort or the fear of re-injury, making it difficult to return to the activities they love. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and soft tissue stem cell therapy might be the solution you’ve been looking for.
Stem cell therapy at thriveMD offers a promising, minimally invasive approach to treating Achilles tendon injuries, elbow injuries, and other soft tissue damage by supporting your body’s natural ability to repair and regenerate damaged tissue. This innovative treatment is helping patients recover from both acute injuries and chronic pain, with the goal of restoring strength, improving mobility, and rebuilding confidence. Schedule your consultation today to see if stem cell therapy is right for your Achilles tendon injury or other concern.
Stem Cells Can Effectively Treat
- Hip labral tears
- Hip arthritis
- Achilles tendon tears
- Partially torn ACLs
- Rotator cuff tears
- Tennis Elbow
- Golfers Elbow
- Bicep Tendonitis
- Soft tissue injuries of the knees, shoulders, wrists, ankles, hands, and feet
A thriveMD patient from California uses stem cell therapy for both of his Achilles tendons, returning to exercise and construction work.
A Groundbreaking Treatment for Soft Tissue Injuries
We’re excited to report that thriveMD patients with Achilles tendon injuries, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, and other soft tissue problems have responded well to stem cell therapy. Many have been able to avoid surgery or, for those who required surgery, were able to expedite their recovery.
The results we’ve witnessed include dancing a month after the stem cell injection, running a marathon less than twelve months after, and returning to demanding construction labor without pain.
Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy for Soft Tissue Injuries Compared to Surgery
Common Soft Tissue Injuries
Achilles Tendon Injuries
An Achilles tendon rupture is a painful condition that occurs when the tendon separates fully or partially, often with an audible pop. The injury most commonly occurs during sports activity for people between the ages of 30 and 50. This is especially true when the motion involves quick starts and stops, side-to-side motion, and heavy strain without sufficient training. The inability to raise one’s toes and a noticeable gap on the back of the heel are telltale signs.
Tennis Elbow
Tendinitis is the painful swelling of a tendon, most frequently occurring in surrounding joints that experience repetitive movement or chronic overuse. When it settles in the elbow, it’s frequently called “tennis elbow” and can be extremely painful, but usually improves with time. However, in some cases, damage to the tendon is more extensive and necessitates clinical interventions beyond rest and over-the-counter pain medication. This is when using stem cell treatment for tennis elbow offers great hope.
Golfer’s Elbow
Golfer’s elbow, or medial epicondylitis, is a form of tendonitis that causes inflammation and pain on the inner side of the elbow and forearm (compared to tennis elbow, which is an injury on the outside of the elbow). This type of injury is caused by repeated stress, such as gripping a club, clenching fingers, swinging, or flexing the wrist, which leads to tiny tears in the tendons.
The Process: How Stem Cell Therapy for Soft Tissue Injuries Works
Your Initial Consultation
- Review of your imaging
- One-on-one consultation
- Education on what to expect
Outpatient Procedure
- IV sedation and local anesthesia
- Harvesting of stem cells from fat tissue and bone marrow
- Blood draw for PRP
- Processing the biologics
- Injecting the biologics into the soft tissue, under live image guidance
Post-Procedure
- Return to daily activities and work within a day or two after the procedure
- Come back one month later for a follow-up injection
Stem Cell Knee Therapy Treats:
- Chronic pain due to knee cartilage degeneration or overuse
- Acute knee injuries from sports or other activities
- Degenerative knee cartilage following years of athletic activity
- Injured knee ligament or meniscus
Meet Our Providers
thriveMD is proud to offer exceptional service by leading practitioners in the field of regenerative and longevity medicine. Their extensive and diverse experience in multiple areas of medicine allows them to quickly adopt newer, ever-evolving, technology-rich treatments to identify and treat health concerns using the most advanced therapies available today.
Learn more about our doctors who are dedicated to helping patients not just feel better, but stay healthier, longer.
Soft Tissue Stem Cell Therapy Frequently Asked Questions
Take the first step toward feeling your best.
What is thriveMD’s current best practices for stem cell regeneration?
Whether the damaged area is the result of a traumatic sports injury or the product of daily “wear and tear” (osteoarthritis), stem cell therapy for soft tissue may offer a powerful solution to resolving the ongoing discomfort. Both long-standing and more newly acquired injuries have the potential to benefit from this state-of-the-art treatment.
thriveMD’s newest biologic treatment, Alpha 2 macroglobulin (A2M), is proving to be an excellent complimentary treatment to our regenerative stem cell procedures. Scientific evidence points to A2M being the key to stopping arthritis at the molecular level. A2M is a Broad Spectrum Multi-Purpose Protease Inhibitor that captures and inactivates the three major chemicals that lead to joint breakdown and cartilage damage.
By combining A2M to our current stem cell therapies, we are capable of not only building new soft tissue, cartilage and tendon, but also halting the degenerative arthritic process and further protecting the treated joint.
Am I a candidate for soft tissue stem cell therapy?
A suitable candidate for stem cell therapy for soft tissue is someone who suffers from a painful cartilage injury from overuse, trauma, or debilitating conditions, including degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or osteoarthritis. thriveMD’s autologous adult stem cell therapy can also be beneficial for patients suffering from tendonitis and ligamentous injuries, or from a slow-healing or non-union fracture.
Soft tissue injuries and conditions can include:
- Knees
- Shoulders
- Wrists
- Ankles
- Hands and Feet
- Hips
- Elbows
- Achilles Tendonitis
- Tennis and Golfers Elbow
- Bicep Tendonitis
thriveMD will conduct a careful history and physical examination as well as thorough review of appropriate imaging (x-ray and/or MRI) to determine whether your condition is suitable for stem cell therapy.
How much does stem cell therapy cost?
Pricing depends on your individual treatment plan and will be determined with your provider. Financing is available through Cherry. Please contact us to schedule an appointment to discuss stem cell therapy rates.
Stem Cell Therapy for Tennis Elbow Frequently Asked Questions
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What is stem cell treatment for tennis elbow?
Stem cells are components of our body’s natural healing processes. In the earliest stages of life, stem cells direct cell differentiation, causing our bodies to develop specific kinds of tissues and organs. But stem cells also exist in adult bodies, helping to regulate cell function and even, sometimes, cell regrowth. It is this type of stem cell, adult (not embryonic) stem cells, that can be used to potentially improve tennis elbow symptoms.
At thrivemd, we harvest adult stem cells from a patient’s own body. Adult stem cells naturally reside within many sources throughout the body, but we believe those found in adipose and bone marrow tissue offer the best therapeutic potential and frequently draw our samples from fat stores in the flank and bone marrow from the iliac crest. We then combine the extracted stem cells with growth factors and other biologics to form a concentrated aspirate. This aspirate is subsequently injected back into the patient at the point of injury (in this case, the elbow).
How does stem cell treatment for tennis elbow work?
Research shows that adult stem cells can be taken from one part of the body and applied to another in order to facilitate natural tissue repair. This is because of the adult stem cell’s inherent ability to differentiate into just the type of cell needed at any particular time and place. Thus, when applied to a point of injury or degeneration, adult stem cells can possibly stimulate the body to reduce inflammation and regenerate cells, accelerating the healing process, offering pain relief and improving your game, as well as your life!
Who can get tennis elbow?
While up to 50% of athletes using over-the-shoulder arm motion experience tennis elbow, the majority of tennis elbow sufferers aren’t actually tennis players! Approximately 95% of patients diagnosed with tennis elbow get it while participating in other activities, most often an occupation (such as plumbing, construction, car maintenance and even cooking) that requires recurring arm movement and weight-bearing activity.
Stem Cell Therapy for ACL Injuries Frequently Asked Questions
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How do stem cells help an ACL injury?
When an ACL ruptures or tears, it’s often only a partial tear with the outer sheath remaining intact, or only minimally retracted, which leaves the ligament still mostly in place. When this is the case, stem cell treatment can be an excellent option for repairing the damaged ligament.
This state-of-the-art procedure uses stem cells from your own body, which are injected into the damaged ligament. The procedure takes about 3 hours, with no need for surgery or anesthesia, and offers a far less painful recovery. Many patients return to some forms of exercise within several weeks and back to full activity within several months.
ACL injuries of the knee and Achilles tendon injuries are particularly representative examples of how a stem cell procedure can potentially be an effective alternative to invasive surgery. Skiers, mountain bikers, and many other athletes with a torn knee ligament can now consider forgoing the usual choice of invasive surgical repair.
Stem Cell Therapy for Achilles Tendon Frequently Asked Questions
Take the first step toward feeling your best.
What Is Achilles Tendonitis?
Achilles tendonitis is the result of overuse of the Achilles tendon, the band connecting calf muscles to the heel.
This chronic condition frequently occurs when athletic activity is inconsistent. Common scenarios include a rapid increase in intensity of runs, or intensive weekends of tennis or soccer during otherwise sedentary weeks. The associated pain usually begins as a mild ache, with more severe pain after strain. Daily activities, such as walking upstairs, become problematic. Symptoms include tenderness, stiffness, swelling, and persistent pain.
Commonly applied conservative treatments for Achilles tendonitis include deep tissue massage, physical therapy, ultrasound, rest, and dry needling. Achilles tendon pain can be persistent, so results of the conservative treatments vary greatly. Tendon injuries have a challenging recovery because their natural repair process is inefficient and intricate.
How do stem cells help with Achilles tendon pain and injuries?
Stem cells are an active and multi-potent repair agent in your body. Yet, certain body parts, such as joints, tendons, ligaments, and spinal discs, don’t have an adequate supply of stem cells that would be required to repair some injuries or conditions resulting from years of wear and tear.
Applying findings of modern stem cell research and years of patient experience, a skilled stem cell physician will harvest stem cells from your adipose tissue and bone marrow. The resulting ortho-biologic is injected directly into the site of injury or chronic pain. The cells then find the damaged tissue and have the potential to help improve the tendon structure, neutralize inflammation, and accelerate healing.
For Achilles tendon pain and injuries, stem cells may have the potential to target the cause of inflammation or to regrow tissue where a partial tear exists. With some patients, that leads to avoiding surgery. For patients who have undergone surgical reconstruction already, stem cells have the potential to significantly speed up the recovery.
Does stem cell therapy treat all Achilles tendon injuries?
As groundbreaking as stem cell therapy is for treating Achilles tendon injuries, it’s certainly not the answer to every Achilles tendon injury or condition. So, it’s important to understand the indications for stem cell therapy.
Stem cell treatments may have the potential to treat a partially torn or chronically inflamed Achilles tendon, but it’s not the recommended treatment choice for a completely torn Achilles tendon that hasn’t had surgical reconstruction yet.
thriveMD puts an emphasis on educating our potential patients. This helps you make a well-informed treatment decision. Learn more about stem cell misconceptions in our article about 10 Stem Cell Myths. Better yet, contact us to talk to a medical professional about your particular case and get answers to your specific questions.
How fast do I recover from Achilles tendon stem cell treatment?
Within a day or two after the procedure, most patients* return to normal daily activities and work.
Within 4-12 weeks, most Achilles tendon patients report significant improvement in their daily pain scores. The first month following the procedure, patients avoid any activities that place strain on their Achilles tendon. In the second and third months post-procedure, patients may slowly start increasing their exercise routines.
Within 3 months, most of our patients treated for Achilles tendon injuries report significant improvement.
3 to 6 months post-procedure, most of our patients have returned to full activity. They can once again enjoy their favorite sports, such as skiing, yoga, hiking and cycling. For more detail, read about our Achilles tendon patient who ran a marathon less than 12-months after his stem cell procedure.
It’s important to note that recovery from a stem cell procedure is far less painful than the recovery from an invasive orthopedic surgery. Post-procedure, patients don’t require bracing or casting, and can begin light cycling and walking as long as the tendon doesn’t become stressed.
*Individual patients results vary.
Take the Next Step in Your Healing Journey
If you believe you or someone you care about could be a candidate for soft tissue, elbow, or Achilles tendon stem cell therapy, please contact us today.