Stem Cell Therapy for Hips
Effective, quick and safe treatment, without surgery or painkillers
A study published by the National Institute of Health found that almost one-quarter of adults over 60 suffered from some degree of hip pain. Out of these, the severity of pain imposed physical limitations upon 27 percent. Certainly, injuries and diseases can cause severe hip pain in younger people too. Typical therapies have focused on easing pain and inflammation but don't really remedy the underlying condition. In contrast, adult stem cell and PRP therapies may ease symptoms and help damaged tissues regenerate.
What Is Stem Cell Therapy & How Can it Help Hip Repair
Philadelphia PRP and Stem Cell Institute offers two types of regenerative medicine procedures to treat hip pain:
Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP)
Platelets from your own blood are concentrated and re-injected, supplying the damaged area with vital growth factors that promote cellular repair.
Stem Cell Therapy (BMC)
Adult mesenchymal stem cells harvested from your hip are re-injected into the problem area where they heal by encouraging new tissue growth and controlling inflammation.
What Hip Conditions Can Stem Cell Therapy Help?
Stem cell therapy or PRP can help address the following common hip conditions:
Osteoarthritis
Tendonitis and tendon sprains
Ligament tears and sprains
Bursitis
Snapping hip syndrome
How Do the Procedures Work?
Our regenerative medicine therapies vary slightly in the materials they use and from where they’re derived, but from the patient’s perspective they are quite similar:
Stem Cell Therapy:
Extraction
As you lie facedown on a table, the doctor extracts bone marrow aspirate from your hip with a special needle. You may experience mild discomfort but the majority of patients tolerate this easily.
Concentration
To concentrate the adult stem cells and platelets in the marrow fluid into BMC, the aspirate is spun in a centrifuge for up to 15 minutes.
Injection
The doctor re-injects the stem cell-rich, concentrated BMC into the area of pain.
PRP
Extraction
The doctor draws a blood sample from your arm, just like in a routine blood test.
Concentration
The blood we’ve drawn is spun in a centrifuge to separate the growth factor-containing platelets from the other components in the plasma. The PRP is then removed.
Injection
With the PRP material prepared, it is injected into the damaged tissue, disc, joint, or tendon, using x-ray or ultrasound guidance, if necessary.
A platelet-rich plasma treatment will seem much like simply giving blood from your arm, except in this case the now-enhanced blood is re-injected at the end.
Stem Cell Therapy vs Hip Replacement Surgery
Hip replacement surgery is a very invasive procedure that usually includes a substantial recovery period. In addition, doctors have strict age and health requirements when they qualify patients for this kind of surgery. This major procedure includes such risks as the potential for strokes and heart attacks.
In contrast, neither PRP or stem cell therapy require surgery or a long recovery time. Doctors can also qualify more patients for these low-risk procedures. These minimally invasive therapies only take a few hours and leave the patient free to carry out normal activities soon afterwards.
Regenerative Medicine vs Surgery vs Pain Injections - A Comparison
| Stem Cell Therapy (BMC) | PRP | Traditional Surgery | Pain Injections | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital stay | Not required* | Not required* | Inpatient | Not required |
| Anaesthesia | Local | Local | General | Local |
| Procedure | Minimally invasive | Minimally invasive | Invasive | Minimally invasive |
| Risk of infection | Minimal | Minimal | Yes | Minimal |
| Greater threat to at-risk patients (elderly, diabetic, overweight) | No | No | Yes | No |
| Loss of bone or tissue | No | No | Yes | No |
| Scarring | No | No | Yes | No |
| Risk of new biomechanical problems post-treatment | No | No | Yes | No |
| Painkillers required post-treatment | No | No | Sometimes | No |
| Time to return to daily activities | 1-2 days | 1-2 days | 2-3+ months | 1-2 days |
| Full recovery period | 4-12 weeks | 4-12 weeks | A few weeks to several months | 2-10 days |
| Addresses Underlying Biological Dysfunction | Partially | Partially | No | No |
*Most BMC and PRP procedures occur in a physician's office, but some patients may elect to have them done on an outpatient basis in a surgery center if they prefer non-local anesthesia.
Safe & Natural Procedures to Reduce Hip Pain
Both adult stem cell injections and PRP are autologous. This means they both use injections from tissues that were obtained from the same person who will receive them. They carry the same slight risk of infection or bleeding that all injections do. At the same time, using the patient's own blood and stem cells all but eliminates the chance of allergic reactions and rejection.
Both of these minimally invasive therapies:
Adhere to relevant FDA guidelines
Are FDA compliant and only use your own cells
Only use 510(k) cleared medical devices
Are You a Good Candidate?
To learn if you're a good candidate for our natural and minimally invasive procedures to relieve hip pain, contact us today.