Regenerative Medicine Specialist

What is regenerative medicine?

Regenerative medicine is a broad field that encompasses several specialties, all aimed at restoring tissues in your body through a process of self-healing. These methods focus on repairing or replacing damaged or diseased tissues that no longer function the way they’re supposed to.

Although there are various types of regenerative medicine, they all center around accelerating your body’s own natural healing process. Your immune system typically reduces inflammation and heals tissue at the cellular level.

Age, disease, or trauma sometimes create greater obstacles than your body can overcome on its own. This is where regenerative medicine comes in. These techniques boost your body’s capacity to heal itself by stimulating the creation of healthy new cells to restore damaged tissue.

How can regenerative medicine treat pain and sports injuries?

Dr. Navarkal is skilled in a variety of different regenerative medicine techniques. Depending on your condition, he may recommend one or more of the following therapies to treat your pain or sports injury:

Cellular Therapies

These methods stimulate self-healing at the cellular level. Dr. Navarkal injects live cells (often taken from your own body) into the problem area. He may also inject hormones, growth factors and cytokines (substances that orchestrate the cell building process). Examples of cellular therapies include platelet-rich plasma injections (PRP), amniotic fluid growth factor injections and stem cell injection therapy.

Tissue Engineering

This technique replaces or repairs dysfunctional tissue with natural tissue, man-made tissue, or a combination of both. Examples include artificial skin and cartilage.

Other Therapies

Some treatments aim to accelerate your body’s natural healing process without introducing new cells or tissue. One example is prolotherapy, in which Dr. Navarkal injects a solution into your injured tendon or ligament that triggers your body to start making new tissue on its own.

What conditions does regenerative medicine treat?

Dr. Navarkal uses regenerative medicine to treat a variety of debilitating diseases and injuries, such as:

• Neck Pain/Back Pain and Degeneration
• Shoulder Pain and Degeneration
• Rotator Cuff Tears
• Elbow Pain, such as Tennis Elbow
• Wrist and Hand Joint Pain and Degeneration
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Hip Pain and Degeneration
• Pelvic and Groin Pain
• Knee Pain and Degeneration
• Ankle Pain and Degeneration
• Foot Pain and Degeneration
• Plantar Fasciitis 
• Piriformis Syndrome
• Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ)
• Osteoarthritis

If you’re living with chronic pain and want to learn more about how advanced methods in regenerative medicine can benefit you, call Rocky Mountain Spine & Sports Medicine or book an appointment online today.