Orthobiologic medicine harnesses your body’s natural healing ability, using treatments like shockwave therapy, laser therapy, prolotherapy, and platelet-rich plasma injections to relieve your pain and accelerate tissue repair. At HealthCare Partners Family Medicine in The Villages, Florida, Nelson Kraucak, MD, FAAP, specialize in orthobiologic medicine therapies that may help you heal more quickly and avoid invasive treatments like surgery. To learn if you’re a good candidate for orthobiologic medicine, call the office or schedule an appointment online.
Orthobiologic Medicine Q & A
How does shockwave therapy work?
Shockwave therapy uses pulses of high-energy sound waves to safely stimulate healing in bones and soft tissues, such as your ligaments, tendons, and muscles.
As the sound waves interact with tissues at the molecular level, the waves trigger your body’s natural regenerative ability, which may help to:
- Relieve pain
- Reduce chronic inflammation
- Accelerate tissue growth
- Regenerate new tissues
- Stimulate collagen production
- Improve blood circulation
- Trigger new blood vessel growth
Your provider places a handheld applicator against your skin, focusing it on the site of your pain or injury. Then the system is turned on and sound waves are sent safely through your skin and into the targeted tissues.
How does laser therapy work?
The therapeutic effect produced by a laser depends on variables like wavelength and pulse. The wavelength determines if it’s a hot laser used during surgery or a cold laser that heals damaged tissues.
Cold lasers aren’t really cold, but they’re low-level lasers that have the ability to safely pass through your skin on their way to tissues below the surface.
Laser therapy uses wavelengths that target cells deep below the surface. As the laser interacts with cells, it stimulates energy production, regulates inflammation, and boosts the activity of growth factors.
Like other orthobiologic medicine treatments, laser therapy may help speed up healing and reduce pain and inflammation in many different injuries and musculoskeletal conditions.
How do cell medicine and platelet-rich plasma work?
Adults stem cells have the ability to self-replicate, creating a new cell that can develop into many different cells. Stem cells are responsible for keeping you healthy by continuously regenerating new, healthy tissues to replace old and damaged tissues.
Platelets, a natural component of your blood, contain proteins called growth factors. Growth factors are essential for accelerating healing and activating new cell growth. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains plasma together with a high amount of platelets.
Adult stem cells are harvested from a sample of bone marrow taken from your hip, while PRP is produced from a sample of your own blood. Both types are procured on-site, then immediately injected back into your body.
When Dr. Kraucak injects stem cells, PRP, or both directly at the site of damaged tissues, they do their natural jobs: They initiate and accelerate tissue repair and healing, regulate inflammation, and relieve pain.
Cell Medicine and PRP may help a wide range of conditions, such as:
- Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
- Back and neck injuries
- Golfer’s and tennis elbow
- Rotator cuff injuries
- ACL and meniscus injuries
- Bursitis and tendonitis
- Degenerative disc disease
How does prolotherapy work?
Prolotherapy refers to injecting a substance that activates your body’s natural healing response. By this definition, stem cells and PRP are a type of prolotherapy.
However, this treatment typically uses a simple sugar solution mixed with a local anesthetic. Sugar is safe to inject, yet it irritates the tissues, which is what initiates healing.
Prolotherapy may help treat a variety of problems, including joint damage and inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, tendonitis, and bursitis.
To learn if you’re a good candidate for regenerative medicine, call HealthCare Partners Family Medicine or schedule an appointment online.