One of the hottest topics in pain management these days is regenerative medicine. Today, the vast majority of pain management treatments work very well to suppress the symptoms and provide pain relief for conditions such as joint arthritis, rotator cuff bursitis, tennis elbow, Achilles tendinitis and more.
However, the better treatment method would be to actually repair or regenerate injured areas. This may include helping regrow some cartilage in an arthritic knee.
The new stem cell injection study at the Arizona Pain Stem Cell Institute is evaluating the effectiveness of regenerative medicine injections into the shoulder, hip, knee and the sacroiliac joint.
The Study Overview
The substance being used for the injections is amniotic derived, stem cell rich material that has been used today over 10,000 times in United States for various applications. The material comes from consenting donors and is processed at an FDA regulated lab. It is then cryogenically stored until it is time for the stem cell injection.
To be included in the study, individuals must be over the age of 18 and be able to either attend follow-up visits in person or by some other means of communication.
The variables looked at will include the SF 36, which is a general health questionnaire, and the WOMAQ questionnaire, which is an arthritis specific questionnaire. Additionally, the study will follow the amount of pain medications being used and other functional scores.
The follow-up time frame will be six months and the study is not randomized. This means that every participant will receive the stem cell injection. Of note, the material itself contains a lot more than just being rich in stem cells. The fluid contains a lot of hyaluronic acid, which is commonly used by itself now into arthritic joints with medicine such as Synvisc. In addition, there are a significant amount of anti-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in the material as well.
Anecdotally, the amniotic derived fluid has worked very well for soft tissue injuries such as
tennis elbow and arthritic conditions. It cannot be expected to work well on joints that have bone on bone severe end-stage arthritis. However, the hope is that for moderate arthritis, it may in fact provide some significant pain relief.
The study is industry subsidized, therefore, patients do have to pay out-of-pocket for the injections but it is about 40% less than typical stem cell procedures elsewhere.
For those traveling from out of state, the Arizona Pain Stem Cell Institute has preferred local rates for lodging and land transportation.
Along with offering stem cell injections, Arizona Pain Specialists offers the most comprehensive pain management in Arizona with medication management, interventional pain management, phoenix chiropractor treatment with 4 locations, accepting over 50 insurance plans!
For those interested in participating in the stem cell injection study for extremity arthritis, call 602-507-6550 today.










