What is regenerative medicine and what is it used for? We put together a list of examples of regenerative medicine and it’s uses.

The use and study of regenerative medicine are on the rise throughout the world, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down.

In fact, nearly 1,000 clinical trials took place worldwide in 2019, and businesses specializing in regenerative medicine have raised almost $4.1 billion to support their efforts.

Clearly, the regenerative medicine field is booming.

What is regenerative medicine, though? What are its benefits and why would someone want to use it?

Read on to learn the answers these questions and gain more insight into regenerative medicine.

What is Regenerative Medicine?

Regenerative medicine is a somewhat new branch of medicine. It’s emerged over the last few years and has gained a lot of traction, as it shows a promising ability to solve a wide range of problems in the health sphere.

Regenerative medicine involves the creation of living, functional tissue.

Physicians have used regenerative medicine techniques to replace and repair tissue and restore organ function lost as a result of age, damage, disease, or congenital defects.

Some researchers have gone so far as to use regenerative techniques to generate brand new organs.

Many people believe that regenerative medicine can even help to solve the organ shortage crisis and provide more patients in need of transplants with the organs they need to live happy, healthy lives.

Types of Regenerative Medicine

There are several different forms of regenerative medicine that physicians are practicing at the moment.

The following are some of the most well-known techniques physicians use on patients and in laboratory settings:

Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cells are special cells in the body that have the ability to take on the characteristics and act as many different types of cells.

Stem cells are found in the bone marrow, blood, and placental tissue. Some adult cells can also be modified to become stem cells. Stem cell treatments involve the injections of stem cells into a particular area of the body, usually the site of an injury.

PRP Therapy

Platelet-rich Plasma therapy, also referred to as PRP therapy, involves the removal of blood from the patient. That blood then gets spun in a centrifuge and separated into different layers.

The middle layer, known as PRP concentrate, contains a high concentration of platelets and growth factors. When this layer gets injected back into the patient, the body is able to heal sooner.

Tissue Engineering

Tissue engineering involves the growth of synthetic cells in a laboratory.

Once they’re fully grown, physicians can inject these cells to help repair or replace damaged tissue throughout the body in order to restore function.

Prolotherapy

When physicians use prolotherapy, they inject a compound known as an irritant into the injury site. This irritant temporarily worsens inflammation and then kickstarts the healing process.

Sometimes, physicians use PRP as an irritant, but they can use other compounds as well.

Benefits of Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative medicine can treat a wide range of health conditions, from injuries to organ failure. Listed below are some of the greatest benefits that regenerative medicine has to offer:

Enhanced Healing

Many people find that, when they make use of regenerative medicine, their injuries heal much faster. This is true of orthopedic injuries as well as internal issues such as organ failure.

Reduced Pain

At the same time that they heal more quickly, patients who make use of regenerative medicine also tend to experience less pain. This has to do, in part, with the faster healing process and reduction in inflammation that often accompany regenerative techniques.

Improved Function

Regenerative medicine doesn’t just restore organs and tissues to their former glory. In many cases, it can also cause them to come back stronger and more functional than they were before.

Reduced Risk of Future Injuries

Because the tissues are stronger than they were before, they’re also less prone to injuries and failure than they would have been otherwise. This is especially beneficial to athletes who want to avoid dealing with the same injury later on in life.

Organ Repair and Replacement

Last, but certainly not least, regenerative medicine can help to repair and replace failing organs in individuals who require transplants.

In some cases, regenerative medicine can repair the failing organ and eliminate the need for a replacement. It can also help physicians to manufacture a brand new organ.

Finding a Regenerative Medicine Specialist

If you’re interested in trying out regenerative medicine yourself, it’s important to work with a physician who specializes in regenerative care.

The following are some things you should consider when you begin searching for the right physician to handle your case:

• Consider their training and find out what experience they have performing these kinds of treatments
• Learn about their experiencing addressing injuries or ailments like yours using regenerative techniques
• Learn about the success rate using these techniques
• Find out what kind of methods the doctor uses to ensure that stem cells or PRP cells are alive and viable
• Find out if any anesthetics or additives are involved in the procedure
• If any of these things are used, ask how they’ll affect your treatment outcomes

You may want to find out, too, if the doctor uses any kind of tools, such as fluoroscopy or ultrasound, to guide the injections (if injections are part of the treatment).

If they do use these tools, make sure they have the training or certification required to use them in a safe and effective way.

Learn More About Regenerative Medicine

Now that you have a clear answer to the question “what is regenerative medicine?” and understand its benefits, are you interested in giving it a try?

If so, be sure to keep these tips for finding a regenerative medicine specialist in mind.

Maybe you’re not interested in trying regenerative medicine yourself, but perhaps you want to learn more about it.

If you’re interested in learning more about the regenerative medicine market and how it’s going to grow in the coming years, be sure to check out this article today.

It talks all about how the market is going to change by the year 2024.