Friday, January 24, 2020

Stem Cell Orthopedics: 
Unleash the Healing Power Within!
M. Walter M.D.

Welcome to an exciting new field in Orthopedics! We now have the technology to use your very own stem cells to help the body heal and regeneratemany common orthopedic problems such as cartilage tears, bone-on-bone arthritis, rotator cuff, hip arthritis, lumbar disc issues and many other conditions. In skilled hands we have a better than 80% success rate for most of these issues (and many more) ¾without the risks and downtime of surgery.

As a physician I have specialized in the field of Regenerative Orthopedics for the last 20 years. In the early years we injected dextrose solutions (Prolotherapy) to help rebuild and tighten ligaments and tendons. Over a decade ago we began to use Platelet rich plasma (PRP) which was the first biologic regenerative solution. This amped up the regenerative power of our solutions so we could now heal larger tears etc. However, in the last 6 years or so, the ability to isolate and concentrate a person’s own stem cells in an office based lab setting has been a game changer. Stem cells, when combined with PRP growth factors, multiplies by many fold the regenerative power of PRP alone. In the right conditions and if injected optimally, your own stem cells can rebuild almost any tissue in your body, in ways that modern medicine is only beginning to understand and with results that may be far superior to current surgical technology.

Stem cells have an innate intelligence and can be a powerful healing force. They are the power that built you in the first place, they certainly have the power to heal you! The real trick is to use the right kind of stem cells, prepare them properly and inject them with precision at the root cause of the problem so they can do their job. 

Make no mistake, Regenerative Orthopedics has a much different approach than surgical orthopedics. Surgical orthopedics has a verymacroapproach to problems and looks at things in terms of surgically repairing (or replacing) anatomic disruptions that you can seein joints, cartilage, discs, nerves and bigger tears in larger ligaments and tendons (macro tears). Stem Cell Orthopedics also considers these macro structures and stem cell / PRP combinations certainly have the power to rebuild these structures. However, with the stem cell approach, we go further to address microscopic tears (microtears) in the myofascia, the miracle connective tissue fabric that holds the whole body together and gives it strength while allowing flexibility and movement. Instead of repairing and replacing at the macro level we inject and seek to repair and regenerate all the tissue disruptions (macro and micro) at the cellularlevel. Surgical Orthopedics is really good at fixing broken bones and large disruptions of the anatomy where there is significant deformity but for many chronicconditions, Stem Cell Orthopedics may have just as good and, in some cases, a far superior outcome to surgical approaches. With far less risk, I might add. 

Of particular interest to Stem Cell Orthopedics are the attachment points where the myofascia connects bone to bone (ligaments and joint capsules) and muscle to bone (tendons). These highly innervated attachments give joint feedback and the proprioception that allows coordinated movement. If damaged with tears or microtears these attachments can become huge pain generators, so much so that in many cases they are often the primepain generator(s). Here’s a crucial point ¾as useful as MRI and ultrasound are for imaging macrotype problems, they are not sensitive enough to pick up the smaller microtears in the myofascia (which are very common!). Hence the diagnosis of the true root-cause of the pain may often be missed if a doctor relies too heavily on standard imaging techniques and does not have the regenerative orthopedic know-how to complement his evaluation with a thorough palpation exam (interrogation) of the myofascia. 

Stem Cell Orthopedics is a “hands-on” specialty as a palpation methodology is the only reliable way to properly diagnose these stretchedattachments (micro tears) as pain generators and to prioritizetheir relative importance in a given patient. If direct palpation of certain structures produces the “jump sign” and reproduces the pain, it is virtually diagnostic that you have found the root-cause(s) of pain. It is said that half of solving a problem is correctly diagnosing what’s causing it. Once identified and prioritized accordingly, we can inject stem cells with specificity and have a really good chance of solving the root cause(s) of the issue. 

Let’s review the pros and cons ¾80-85% success rate, minimally invasive, no downtime, effectiveness in addressing micro tears in the myofascia, if done correctly the procedure is extremely safe; the only real potential downside to a stem cell procedure is you have to pay for it and it may not work. Given this favorable risk-reward ratio, I would highly recommend that if you have a significant orthopedic problem, you find the best stem cell orthopedic specialist you can and fully explore the stem cell option priorto opting for surgical options. If done properly it may solve your problem in an amazing and elegantfashion. This is the medicine of the future!

About Dr. Walter:Mark Walter MD, CM, CCFP has pioneered the field of Regenerative Orthopedics for the last 20 years and is considered one of the top Stem Cell Orthopedic specialists in Florida. Dr. Walter received his M.D. degree from McGill (1980) and completed his residency in Family Practice and Sports Medicine in 1982. He went on to do five years of post-doc fellowship work in Regenerative Orthopedics with the world-renowned Hackett-Hemwall foundation, in association with the University of Wisconsin. During that period Dr. Walter was mentored by and worked with some of the top regenerative orthopedic teachers in the world. Dr. Walter is a leading expert in myofascial pain generators and ligament and tendon regeneration. 

For more information, to schedule a personal consultation with Dr. Walter (by phone or in-person) or to sign up for a free seminar, please call Stem Cell Orthopedics in Sarasota, FL at (941) 955-4325
or email us at stemcellortho@gmail.com.

Also, please visit us at StemCellOrthopedics.com




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