Patients with debilitating conditions like osteoarthritis,
tendinitis, and knee or foot problems suffer from mild to severe pain. Unfortunately,
they have very limited treatment options to cure these chronic and irritating
problems. Steroid injections may help alleviate pain but do not really treat
the condition. Joint replacement is recommended when all non-invasive
modalities do not work but this is an invasive procedure and may require
multiple surgeries just to align the joints.
Fortunately, there is a new innovative treatment option that
can successfully treat patients with joint and soft tissue problems such as arthritis,
tendonitis, degenerative osteoarthritis, and many more.
Amniotic stem cell treatment is a non-invasive treatment
that takes advantage of the body’s own healing properties. When amniotic stem
cells are injected to the affected joint or injured site, these stem cells release
growth and healing factors and the cells themselves have the ability to change
to specific cells, regenerating and healing the injured tissue.
There has been lot of
controversies for the use of stem cells as a medical treatment concerning its
moral and ethical issues. While this may be true for embryonic stem cells where
the cells are harvested from a living embryo, amniotic stem cells on the other
hand are harvested from amniotic fluid. This is the fluid where the baby floats
on the mother’s womb and is typically discarded during childbirth. Amniotic
fluid has the richest concentration of stem cells compared to other sources.
Henry Vandyke Carter [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Advantages of using amniotic stem cell treatment:
1.
Natural pain reliever. Amniotic stem cells
contain cytokines which a naturally occurring anti-inflammatory.
2.
No allergic reaction, no patient rejection.
Amniotic stem cells are harvested from an immune privilege site, which means
the cells will not trigger an allergic reaction or cause patient rejection.
3.
Best for the joints. Amniotic stem cells contain
hyaluronic acid, which lubricates and promotes new cartilage growth.
4.
None invasive. The cells are introduced into the
affected site by injection.
5.
Cost effective.
