On your unique journey, surgery isn’t the only option.

With years of experience and expertise in this field, our providers enjoy a high success rate in healing bone, muscle, joint, soft tissue and nerve injuries with regenerative procedures. Our therapies meet the needs of patients who still have pain after traditional treatments, like physical therapy, rest, NSAIDs, pain management and/or a surgery.

Regenerative medicine offers the following benefits:

• Increased healing potential
• Decreased pain
• Increased function
• Quicker recovery time
• Decreased time away, as most individuals can return to their normal activities after 72 hours (The length of time it takes to return to sports is dependent on the patient and site of injury, but averages two weeks.)

Although not all patients are candidates for regenerative therapy, we offer initial consultations, including a discussion of our success rates, to help determine whether you’ll have the desired outcome.

Note: If you have cancer, an infection, lymphoma or take certain blood-thinning medications, this treatment may not be suitable for you. If you’re on certain blood-thinning medications, we will need a note from your physician allowing you to stop those medications for three days prior to the procedure.

Orthopaedic injuries and arthritis can prevent you from doing normal daily tasks (like working, playing sports or getting around town).

When you receive a form of treatment, it can prevent further injury and restore function, but allowing the body to heal itself can take a long time. That’s why regenerative orthopaedics uses cutting-edge technology to stimulate and accelerate the healing process.

Depending on your age, health and the severity of your condition, we can offer you stem cell therapy, platelet-rich plasma therapy and/or prolotherapy. With these treatments, most individuals can return to their normal activities 72 hours after treatment. However, for sports, you may need two weeks of rest before returning to the game.

Many common conditions can be treated with regenerative orthopaedics, including:

• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries
• Golfer’s elbow
• Joint injuries, such as ankle sprains and knee sprains
• Ligament injuries
• Lower back pain
• Lumbar disc disease
• Osteoarthritis (or degenerative arthritis) of any joint: shoulder, knee, hip, ankle, elbow, wrist, finger and thumb
• Partial tendon or ligament tears
• Peripheral nerve injuries
• Plantar fasciitis
• Rotator cuff tears/injuries
• Shin splints
• Strains and sprains
• Tendonitis
• Tendonitis and tendon injuries
• Tennis elbow

Stem cell therapy has been recognized by the medical industry worldwide as the biggest breakthrough in natural healing, because stem cells have regenerative power. When they’re injected into an area that needs healing, your body’s natural response is to accelerate the process and repair the damage. It’s a nonsurgical procedure that involves the extraction and injection of your own naturally occurring stem cells, concentrated from bone marrow.

Most patients experience minimal discomfort and return to normal activities within a few days. Results of stem cell therapy include accelerated healing, and for many patients, pain relief can last for years.

Our highly qualified physicians have expertise in treating injuries and arthritis in the shoulder, elbow, hand, wrist, hip, knee, foot, ankle and spine – all of which can be treated with stem cells. For example:

• Arthritis
• Back and neck pain
• Cartilage conditions, including shoulder and hip labral injuries
• Meniscus tears
• Partial ligament tears
• Partial or minimally retracted tendon tears
• Plantar fasciitis

​Note: Even if you’ve been told you have “bone-on-bone” arthritis, our stem cell treatments often help prevent you from having to undergo total joint replacement surgery or joint fusion. And while we CANNOT “cure” arthritis, we can improve pain and function tremendously for years. (Success depends upon the site and severity.)

The type of stem cells that are associated with tissue repair are called mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In orthopaedics, two main types of MSCs are used: bone marrow stem cells and adipose (fat) stem cells.​

Bone marrow stem cells, which are commonly used for bone and cartilage repair, are taken with a needle in the hip/pelvic area and concentrated in an FDA-approved device. Fat stem cells are obtained via mini liposuction, but are not concentrated. (Some patients find these procedures painless, while others may feel discomfort. Oral sedation can be provided upon request.) The stem cells are then injected into the area of pain or injury, in conjunction with platelet rich plasma for added benefit.

If you have a tendon or ligament injury, muscle injury, joint damage, nerve pain, or back pain, you may be a candidate. If you’re not getting the results you need from your current treatment plan and you want to avoid surgery, then you owe it to yourself to investigate stem cell therapy.

Note: Not everyone is a candidate. If you have active cancer or infection, a history of lymphoma, or are taking certain blood thinners, this therapy may not be suitable for you. Your orthopaedic specialist will evaluate your pain and determine the chance of success with regenerative therapies.

Platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, is a revolutionary and conservative approach to natural healing for a host of orthopedic conditions and athletic injuries. Ultimately, it’s a concentration of your own blood platelets, as we collect a sample of your blood and spin it down to separate the plasma – which contains a high concentration of platelets.

Platelets play a critical role in healing wounds and soft tissue injuries by activating stem cells to regenerate new, healthy tissue. Thus, an injection of platelet-rich plasma gives your body a natural boost to accelerate the healing process. This sort of therapy makes it possible to potentially avoid surgery and return to sports and work sooner, as many patients report pain relief in addition to rapid healing.

PRP therapy is a low-risk, non-invasive treatment. It can help orthopedic conditions like osteoarthritis, tendon injuries, and ligament injuries anywhere in the body. It also benefits people who are not candidates for surgery or want to avoid surgery due to age, health or other concerns.

Additional benefits include:

• Rapid pain relief and healing
• Regeneration of healthy tissues
• Fewer complications than surgery
• Minimal down time
• No incision, no scarring

Platelet rich plasma is a nonsurgical and natural treatment that uses your own blood cells to stimulate the healing process. It is typically effective in orthopedic conditions such as:

• Joint capsular laxity
• Partial rotator cuff tears
• Plantar fasciitis
• Sprains and strains
• Tendonitis
• And much more

First, we draw a small amount of blood and spin it in a specialized FDA-approved device to separate the platelets and growth factors. The concentrated platelets found in PRP contain large reservoirs of bioactive proteins, including growth factors that are essential to initiate and accelerate tissue repair and regeneration.

Next, we numb the areas to be treated with an anesthetic injection. Using ultrasound guidance for targeted placement, we then inject the platelets and their growth factors into the damaged tissue. The high concentration of platelets signals the body that there is injured tissue to be healed and attracts healing cells to the area to jump-start the repair process. For minor soft tissue injuries, the body is usually able to send in enough healing cells to repair the injury.

Often, PRP must be combined with an adult biocellular graft. Whether this additional graft is necessary depends on the site being treated and the severity of the injured/diseased tissue.

Only you and your doctor can decide if PRP is right for you. If you want to avoid surgery and get long-lasting pain relief, we encourage you to learn more about regenerative therapy and talk to an expert. And at Michigan Orthopaedic Surgeons, we pride ourselves on leading the pack when it comes to PRP, stem cell therapy and other natural healing therapies. Call today to schedule some one-on-one time with a PRP specialist at any of our treatment centers.

While PRP treatments and stem cell therapy have been around for years, many insurance companies still consider these treatments experimental, so they may deny coverage. However, new research and technology have expanded the application of these therapies for use in orthopaedic and painful conditions.

Please ask your physician any questions you may have about your diagnosis and treatment plan. Additionally:

• If you are taking any NSAID’s (ie: Motrin, Naprosyn, Advil, Aleve, Celebrex, etc.) please discontinue five to seven days prior to treatment. You also need to stop taking aspirin or blood-thinning medications, unless your doctor tells you differently.
• The night before and the morning of your procedure, scrub your entire body with anti-bacterial soap.
• Please wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing and a sports bra or shorts, depending on the site that will be treated.
• If you have any anxiety regarding your procedure, please call at least two days before your procedure for an oral sedative prescription. (Note: If you take an oral sedative, a driver is required to take you to/from your procedure.)
• If you are currently on Coumadin, Plavix, Lovinox, Prodaxa or another blood thinner, we ask that you to see your doctor and receive their permission to discontinue this medication for three days prior to treatment – resuming the evening after treatment. (You must also understand the risk of stopping these medications may lead to significant illness or even possible death.)
• Alert the staff if you have an allergy to anesthetics, bandages or skin preparation solution.
• Follow your normal daily routine on the day of your procedure, and make sure to drink plenty of water.