Knee Pain: Are Stem Cells The Future?

CLEARWATER, Fla. - June 24, 2013 - PRLog -- Knee Pain: Are Stem Cells The Future?

Press Release Tampa, Florida

Dr. Dennis Lox www.drlox.com

    Medicine's landscape is changing. There is a Regenerative Medicine era underway, and with it the portal to stem cell treatments. Perhaps no joint has received as much attention to stem cell therapy as the knee. Dr. Dennis Lox a Tampa Bay, Florida Sports Medicine and Regenerative Medicine specialist, comments that for some time the knee has benefited from emerging regenerative therapies. Years ago, knee cartilage cells were removed from a patient and grown in a lab, then re-implanted into the knee. Nice science, but in reality it was limited to which patients were good candidates for this therapy.

     Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) has become popular with athletes treating knee pain, as many elite athletes such as Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, and Rafael Nadal have turned to PRP for knee pain. Stem cells trials for knee pain have been underway in the United States for some time. Dr. Lox notes these studies have involved osteoarthritis, but work worldwide has looked into treating meniscal tears, and failed knee surgery with stem cells and even avascular necrosis (AVN).

    Dr. Lox www.drlox.com points out that if tissue can be repaired or healed without surgery, less trauma is imparted on the knee. It is generally trauma or sports that gets lots of patient into knee problems to begin with, minimizing additional knee joint trauma will be beneficial to protecting the knee joint long term. Most young athletes don't worry about knee replacements someday, but if you could look into a crystal ball and see your knee's future more young athletes would pay attention Dr. Lox states. Also if a condition such as  avascular necrosis (AVN), in which bone becomes necrotic (osteonecrosis) can be treated with these therapies a meniscal tear seems less daunting.

    It is extremely important to take care of your joints, and the future could be point of injury repair for athletes to address future knee health. This may be stem cells for the near future or an offshoot of technology learned from stem cells that enhance healing and repair without the downsides of surgery. The future always evolves, and what we once thought was impossible now is normal in some areas. Finding ways to help heal our bodies, and improve athletic performance as we age will always find an audience. www.drlox.com