The Ins and Outs of Stem Cell Therapy for Pain

Naples Regenerative Institute Blog The Ins and Outs of Stem Cell Therapy for Pain

Do you have lingering pain from an old injury? Maybe a degenerative condition like arthritis causes pain and worsens with time. If you have chronic (long-lasting) musculoskeletal pain of any kind, you might be interested in learning more about stem cell therapy. 

Double board-certified pain management specialist Dr. Glenn Flanagan specializes in treating pain with modern regenerative therapies, including stem cell therapy. At Naples Regenerative Institute in Naples, Florida, he can tell you if stem cell therapy is a suitable treatment option for your pain management. 

Here, we cover the ins and outs of stem cell therapy for pain.

How stem cell therapy treats pain

With up to 19% of the adult population experiencing chronic pain, it’s no surprise that people are always searching for new treatments that might offer relief. 

The two treatment options that allow for some stem cells to be used are bone marrow aspirate concentrate and adipose or fat cell transfer. These are autologous treatments, which means they use cells from your own body. The bone marrow and fat tissue contain many cells to aid in orthobiologic treatments, including “stem cells” or “mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)” or “medicinal signaling cells (MSCs).”

Stem cell therapy has the advantage of using cells from your own body to treat pain.  It isn’t a medication and doesn’t involve surgery. The treatment won’t cause side effects or complications like steroids, making stem cell therapy an excellent alternative. 

Stem cells are different from other cells in your body because they’re not differentiated. This means they have the potential to become other cell types, including the types of cells your body needs to repair tissue damage. This may be why some outcomes are improved when MSCs are used, if other options like platelet rich plasma (PRP) have not helped enough.

After gathering and processing active stem cells from fat tissue or bone marrow, Dr. Flanagan delivers those cells to the painful or damaged tissue. Bone marrow stem cells are more commonly used in stem cell therapy treatments for pain. 

Once they’ve reached your painful tissue under precise image-guided placement, the stem cells are involved in cellular orthobiologic responses that organize healing for cartilage, spinal discs, muscles, tendons, or ligaments. 

Types of pain stem cell therapy treats

Stem cell therapy can treat pain in multiple areas, including neck and back pain or pain in and around various joints. Dr. Flanagan might recommend stem cell therapy as a treatment option for:

You might be a candidate for stem cell therapy if more conventional treatments haven’t improved your musculoskeletal pain. 

What to expect from stem cell therapy results

You can expect pain reduction from stem cell therapy to last for several months, but results vary. Some people experience improvements for a year or longer. Dr. Flanagan might recommend continuing other treatments alongside stem cell therapy for the best results. 

Contact us to learn more

Dr. Flanagan is prepared to answer your questions about stem cell therapy for pain, explaining in detail the risks and benefits of all  the available traditional and orthobiologic treatment options. Stem cells are not a quick fix or miracle solution to all painful conditions, but when used appropriately they can help improve pain and function in many different situations, even when other options have failed to do so.  To see if you’re a candidate for stem cell therapy, call Naples Regenerative Institute or request an appointment online today.

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