Our bodies can naturally heal on their own, but what if there was a way to capitalizeon this ability? In the past, the clinical focus of medical providers has primarily been on treating and managing a patient’s symptoms. But a growing interest in studying the body’s self-healing mechanisms holds a lot of promise for the future of healthcare.
This is what regenerative medicine is about, and it is becoming a more common approach when addressing tissue and organ damage in the body. There are also different concentrations within this field, and this article will tell you all about them.
What Is Regenerative Medicine?
Regenerative medicine is a relatively new interdisciplinary field involving biology, chemistry, medicine, engineering, computer science, robotics, and more.
Its goal is to restore the structure and function of tissue and organs damaged by disease, age, or trauma by harnessing and boosting the body’s own natural healing response.
Conditions that are being treated with regenerative medicine include:
- Arthritis
- Herniated discs
- Muscle strains
- Joint damage
- Sports injuries
Currently, regenerative medicine has three main concentrations:
- Cellular regenerative therapy
- Tissue engineering
- Medical devices and artificial organs
Cellular Regenerative Therapy
Cellular regenerative medicine is known for its different methods of helping to repair bodily tissue.
The most popular among them is stem cell therapy.Stem cells are the origin cells of all the other cells in your body. Adult stem cells are usually taken from your bone marrow and reinjected into the injured area of your body. These cells then transform into the specific types of cells needed in that area.
Other types of cellular regenerative therapies also include:
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy
PRP therapy extracts a sample of your blood and separates a high concentration of your platelets from the rest of your blood. Your sports medicine provider will inject this substance into the injured site to speed tissue recovery.
Shockwave Therapy
This treatment delivers high-energy sound waves from outside the body to stimulate the repair and regeneration of tissue inside the body. Shockwave therapy is used to treat conditions affecting the bones, joints, tendons, and other soft tissue.
Laser Therapy
Laser therapy is another noninvasive treatment that stimulates enzymes that aid in tissue recovery and regeneration.
Tissue Engineering
Tissue engineering combines biological and engineering practices to grow and develop tissue or other cellular products outside the body.The practice is relatively new, and its use is still limited, mostly in soft tissue regeneration.
The three main strategies used in tissue engineering are:
- The use of reparative cells in the body to amplify the repair of damaged tissue and to restore its function
- The use of artificial or natural scaffolds that mimic actual organs to allow tissue to grow around them
- The use of bioactive molecules to support the growth and repair of tissue within the body
Some of the FDA-approved engineered tissue products include artificial skin and cartilage. But it will take some time before doctors can use them in human patients without limitations.
Medical Devices and Artificial Organs
The availability of organ donors rarely meets the number of patients with organ failure who need the donation. Also, donor availability still does not assure that the patient’s body will accept the organ without resistance.There needs to be a temporary means to support organ function until doctors can perform the transplant of real organs.
With regenerative medicine, medical devices are specifically engineered to temporarily assist organ function. Some examples are artificial lung equipment and devices to help the heart pump blood.
Regenerative Medicine in Dallas, TX
Regenerative medicine constantly seeks new solutions to amplify your body’s natural healing process. It is an innovative discipline to watch out for, especially if you need help with tissue repair and regeneration – and who doesn’t?
Are you looking for regenerative medicine specialists in Dallas, Texas? We have a team of professional and compassionate sports medicine providers at Reagan Integrated Sports Medicine. We offer a variety of regenerative therapies to enhance your body’s healing process from a full range of musculoskeletal injuries.
Call us at (972) 503-7272 or fill out our online booking form to request an appointment now.
We look forward to giving you the best of our service!
