This blog article is in honor of Dr. Jimenez’s publication of the 2012 issue of GOT GAME magazine. The article is the published content!!!!
We started the day at Eugene Monroe’s second annual All Pro Football Camp in Brooklyn NY
and then celebrated the premier of this summer issue of GOT GAME MAGAZINE at a Jersey Mansion
Eugene Monroe from the Jacksonville Jaguars!
Ras-I Dowling from the New England Patriots with Dr. Rizkalla and Dr. J
Orthopedic Doctor Reviews NONSURGICAL treatments for Orthopedic and Joint Injuries: PLATELET RICH PLASMA, REGONOKINE, AND STEM CELL INJECTIONS
All athletes have the potential to heal themselves from their sports injuries, knee pain, shoulder pain, foot/ankle pain and even back pain! I guess you can say… it is “in their blood”. Our job as sports medicine specialists or orthopedic doctors is to simply maximize this potential.
This article reviews the most cutting-edge procedures available to athletes and any patients with joint injuries and orthopedic complaints: Achilles tears, Rotator Cuff tears, Meniscal tears, ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tears of the knee, Tennis/Golfer’s Elbow, Labrum Tears of the hip or shoulder, and Muscle tears to any body part such as the hamstring, chest, biceps can be treated NONSURGICALLY with REGENERATIVE INJECTIONS
1) Platelet Rich Plasma Injections (PRP injections)
Platelet Rich Plasma injections (or PRP injections) can help regenerate and repair injured or torn MUSCLES, TENDONS, ligaments, cartilage and bones in knees, shoulders, ankles, hips and even the spine or back. The injection is an alternative to surgery. In fact, many patients or athletes that have failed steroid injection or even surgical procedures turn to Platelet Rich Plasma Injections. Platelets are cells in the body that form blood clots to stop the bleeding. These clots form the familiar “scab” when anyone cuts himself or herself with a sharp object for example.
PLATELETS not only form clots but are rich in growth factors to promote healing and new tissue to form.
The procedure involves taking a few tablespoons of blood and spinning the PLATELETS from the rest of the blood. A special machine called a centrifuge which spins the blood in a plastic tube to filter the platelets from the rest of the blood
The athlete’s own platelets are then injected into the injured body part!
2) REGONOKINE
Regonokine injections involve injecting mostly the “yellow part” (aka plasma) of the mixture (SEE FIGURE ABOVE). The difference is that Regonokine injections do not have any of the platelets. The plasma (or yellow) part of the blood is rich in cytokines (special proteins that help heal the body, fight infections and build the immune system). It is the opinion of the author that PRP is much more powerful because it involves injecting BOTH the plasma AND the platelets. The platelets and cytokines TOGETHER seem to activate another group of cells, known as the stem cells, to grow and replace the damaged tissues!
When PRP or Regonokine injections are not enough, athletes or patients can turn to Stem Cell Injections!
Why are stem cells so important in? Because, in our world of Orthopedic Medicine, stem cells HAVE THE POTENTIAL to turn into any new tendons, ligaments, bone, cartilage, muscle when they get injured. Basically, athletes and patients alike can have a NONSURGICAL option to repair injured shoulders, knees, hips, foot and ankle.
There are several places to get the stem cells: belly fat, hip bone marrow, and leg bone marrow.
Here’s how it works:
First, doctors would either do liposuction to get the stem cells from the belly fat (aka “love handles”) or drilling through the hip or leg bone to get to the bone marrow.
Second, once the stem cells are taken from the body, another special centrifuge has to filter out the stem cells from either the belly fat or bone marrow.
Third, the stem cells would be injected into any injured body part such as shoulder, knee, ankle so that they can replace the damaged tissue with NEW tissues. Medical Studies show that stem cells have the potential to heal fractures and other damaged tissues.
The drawbacks to Stem Cell injections are that they are more expensive and much more painful for the athlete, especially with taking the drill though the hip bone to aspirate (vacuum out) the stem cells. Some athletes are so lean it is not practical to get stem cells from the belly fat because they have so little body fat to begin with!
It is important to remember that these cutting edge procedures are still being actively researched and studied, so most doctors are not able to do them. They do hold much promise to offer athletes ways to heal their injuries. Combining these treatments with physical therapies, chiropractic treatments and performance training may help maximize outcomes.
BIO of author:
Joseph Jimenez, MD, Co-owner and Co-founder of Performance Spine and Sports Medicine and is a sports doctor specializing in Platelet Rich Plasma Injections, Pain Management, Orthopedic Medicine, Sports Injuries, and Medical Acupuncture
