Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative medicine promotes your body’s ability to repair damaged tissues and create healthy new cells. At St Michael's Neurology and Pain Medicine in Houston, Texas, Miguel Pappolla, MD, specializes in nonsurgical regenerative medicine techniques like stem cell and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. To learn how regenerative medicine can help you heal faster, call the office or request an appointment online today.

Regenerative Medicine Q & A

• What is regenerative medicine?

Your body has everything it needs to heal itself. You see this all the time with minor injuries like cuts and bruises.

When an injury or disease causes too much tissue damage for your body to handle on its own, regenerative medicine can help stimulate healing and enhance tissue regeneration.

At St Michael's Neurology and Pain Medicine, Dr. Pappolla uses advanced regenerative medicine procedures, such as:

Platelet-rich plasma injections

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) uses components of your own blood to speed up the healing process. Platelets are a rich source of growth factors. They rush to areas of your body that need repair, helping to form blood clots and regenerate healthy cells.

Stem cell injections

Stem cells have the unique ability to develop into a wide variety of cells, including cartilage, bone, and muscle. Stem cells can come from your own bodily tissues like bone marrow, or they may come from donor tissue like the umbilical cord of a healthy, live-born infant.

• How does regenerative medicine treat pain?

Regenerative medicine targets the underlying cause of your pain rather than treating the symptoms.

Chronic pain often results from ongoing inflammation due to an injury or disease like arthritis. Inflammation is part of your body’s natural healing process, which means it’s likely to continue as long as the injury remains.

Regenerative medicine rebuilds healthy tissues to replace the damaged ones, which reduces inflammation and treats the root cause of your pain.

• What chronic pain conditions can regenerative medicine treat?

At St Michael's Neurology and Pain Medicine, Dr. Pappolla uses regenerative medicine to treat a wide range of disorders, including:

• Arthritis
• Sports injuries
• Back pain
• Neck pain
• Knee pain
• Hip pain
• Elbow pain

In many cases, regenerative medicine can reduce or eliminate the need for surgery and decrease your use of pain medication.

• What should I expect from a regenerative medicine treatment?

Regenerative medicine at St Michael's Neurology and Pain Medicine involves nonsurgical, in-office injections that optimize your body’s ability to heal.

Dr. Pappolla uses imaging technologies like ultrasound and fluoroscopy to guide the injection to the precise location of tissue damage.

Depending on your needs, you may get an injection of stem cells, PRP, or both. Because there are no drugs or foreign substances in the injection, regenerative medicine carries little to no risk of adverse reactions.

To learn more about regenerative medicine, call St Michael's Neurology and Pain Medicine or book an appointment online today.