ALICANTE. Regenerative medicine is a specialty with great potential and one of whose main objectives is the repair of tissues damaged by old age or by some type of trauma.
This is an area of novel medicine and linked to innovative scientific techniques such as advanced cell therapygenetic engineering or tissue engineering.
Currently, the regenerative medicine techniques applied in the Regenerative Medicine Unit and in the Pain Unit of Quirónsalud Alicante They can be used to treat a wide variety of musculoskeletal and soft tissue pathologies, including tendinopathies, osteoarthritis in large joints (knee, hip and shoulder), muscle injuries, nerve entrapment or rheumatic pain.
Regenerative medicine can also be used to treat or reduce lumbar, cervical or thoracic pain syndromes.
One of the great advantages of this specialty is that does not require surgery or hospitalization and has no side effectsas explained by Dr. Juan Fernando García Henares, from Quirónsalud Alicante.
What is regenerative medicine? Definition and techniques
Regenerative therapy or regenerative medicine can be defined as a “set of treatments, biological and non-biological, that are intended to stimulate our body’s natural healing procedures to strengthen ligaments, tendons, joints or other soft tissues that have been weakened by overuse or microtraumas»explains Dr. García Henares, a specialist in regenerative medicine.
The techniques that are currently used in the Pain Unit at Quirónsalud Alicante can be divided into two groups:
Use of stem cells
Stem cells are unspecialized cells with two unique characteristics: they are capable of self-regeneration through division and under certain environmental, physiological or laboratory conditionsand can be induced to become specific tissue or organ cells.
“Currently, we have mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are characterized by being obtained mainly from bone marrow or adipose tissue. These cells have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, proangiogenic, antifibrotic and healing activity with proliferative effects. exposes Dr. García Henares.
Use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP)
Platelet-rich plasma or PRP can be defined as the use of high-concentration platelets, in a small volume of plasma, obtained from the patient himself (antologist).
After an extraction, the blood is centrifuged to separate the platelets from the rest of the blood components and extracting a concentrated volume of platelets.
These platelets contain regarding 30 active growth factors stored in granules inside and called alpha granules.
«Growth factors can be deposited in “pathological” or damaged tissues to promote healing to some extent. These growth factors include vascular endothelial growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, insulin growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, keratinocyte growth factor, connective tissue growth factor, or epithelial growth factor, as well as interleukin 8”, concludes the Quirónsalud Alicante specialist.
Applications of regenerative medicine in the Pain Unit of Quirónsalud Alicante
The Regenerative Medicine Unit and the Pain Unit of Quirónsalud Alicante are pioneers in the province in the use of PRP and in its quantification to certify quality,
“We adapt to obtain both the volumes and the concentrations of platelets necessary for each patient according to their pathology, complying with the recommendations of the latest published studies and of the main international centers of orthobiology and regenerative medicine; For this, we quantify and certify each PRP sample as only centers of recognized international prestige do for now. adds Dr. Juan Fernando García.
In all cases, commitment to individualization of treatments.
Regarding large joints (knee, shoulder or hip), ligamentous or tendon pathology, both in osteoarthritis and in certain sports injuries, the procedure begins with «study each case guiding all our interventions by imaging tests (ultrasound-guided or by scopy). The goal is to get to the right place with the most appropriate regenerative medicine product.”
In spinal injuries, following a clinical examination and careful assessment of the necessary complementary tests (MRI, CT, EMG, ECO), a diagnosis is made followed by an individualized treatment plan.
«From Quirónsalud Alicante we are committed to these techniques for disc pain therapy. In fact, PRP and the application of bone marrow aspirate stem cells (MSC) are called to replace other treatments such as infiltration with corticosteroids and even some radiofrequencies».
As explained by Dr. Juan Fernando García Henares, there is evidence that confirms that the use of regenerative medicine in certain well-selected patients with discogenic pain or hernias, together with a physical, physiotherapy and rehabilitative readaptation treatment, is not only effective and safe, but also “it can also improve your low back pain in the medium/short termeven delaying and avoiding certain degenerative phenomena».
Some of the main applications of regenerative medicine in the Quirónsalud Alicante Pain Unit are:
Tendon/ligament injuries
Medial or lateral epicondylitis/medial or lateral epicondylitis (every tennis player/golfer) (level of evidence 1).
Medial or lateral collateral ligament injury (evidence level 2).
Anterior cruciate ligament injury (evidence level 2).
Patellar or rotulian tendinopathy (evidence level 2).
Rotator cuff tendinopathy (evidence level 2).
Achilles tendinopathy or tendinosis (evidence level 2).
cartilage degeneration
osteoarthritis: hip, shoulder, knee (evidence level 1) or facet joints
Degeneration or damage of the acetabular labrum, glenoid
muscle injuries
Intervertebral disc degeneration (herniated disc)
nerve injuries
Benefits of regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine is a specialty in expansion, which offers increasingly promising results in terms of safety and efficacy.
The treatment of pain with regenerative medicine also has some advantages over the use of corticosteroids.
To begin with, numerous studies suggest that both local anesthetics and corticosteroids have a deleterious effect that can cause damage to the cells that constitute cartilage (chondrocytes) or tendons (tenocytes).
In addition, certain corticosteroid products may alter, at least temporarily, blood pressure or blood sugar levels (glycemia), something especially dangerous in some patient profiles (advanced age, overweight, chronic diseases, etc.).
Secondly, regenerative medicine is very effective once morest osteoarthritis (ligamentous or tendonous), in certain neuropathic pains and in some muscular injuries.
With all the above, «PRP treatment is safe (platelet-rich plasma is obtained from the patient’s own blood, and therefore there is less chance of allergic reactions or infection), effective (of course, following international guidelines and recommendations), little invasive (you do not have to enter the patient or perform surgery), analgesic, anti-inflammatory and regenerative, and without the proven side effects of corticosteroids». concludes Dr. García Henares, from the Quirónsalud Alicante Pain Unit.