A New Method of Healing Injuries & Chronic Pain: Prolotherapy

A good doctor is always looking for ways to treat you and your family better, especially when it comes to increasing mobility and improving quality of life. That’s what Firelands Physician Group family and sports medicine physician Matthew Widmer, DO, tries to do for his patients every day.

If you’re seeking options to treat pain and discomfort in your joints or tendons, you may be interested in Dr. Widmer’s new and exciting non-surgical options: platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment and stem cell therapy. Both PRP and stem cell therapy are outpatient procedures that can promote the healing of injured or painful areas of the body.

What is Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy?

Using your body’s own blood to obtain a concentrated platelet-rich plasma (PRP), your physician will inject the injury site to promote healing in the affected area. Since PRP has a greater concentration of platelets and growth factors, it encourages healing much faster.

PRP is ideal to treat the following issues:

• Injured tendons and ligaments
• Joint pain
• Arthritis
• Other various musculoskeletal problems

What is stem cell therapy?

Stem cell therapy is another non-surgical option that utilizes your body’s own stem cells to help heal the area of injury. While there are several types of stem cells, current research suggests those that are best at promoting musculoskeletal healing (tendon, ligament, cartilage and bone) are found in bone marrow. Retrieving your bone marrow is an outpatient procedure that is done in the office.

Next, your bone marrow will be processed to remove the stem cells which will then be injected into the area of injury to help promote healing.

Benefits of stem cell therapy include:

• An increase in joint function, flexibility, and range of motion
• Reduction of pain
• Reduction in need for pain medications
• The return to normal activity much more quickly than surgery

Many factors can lead to decreased mobility or pain and discomfort in your joints. Before deciding which option is best for you, you should always talk to your doctor. It is also important to note that neither PRP nor Stem Cell treatments are covered by insurance. It’s a good idea to get information on regenerative medicine costs before having the procedure so you are aware of the out-of-pocket expense associated with the treatment. Please speak with your doctor regarding the procedure cost.

“The body has amazing ability to heal itself and harnessing that ability by using PRP or stem cell therapy provides an easier recovery for the patient compared to more invasive options,” said Matthew Widmer, DO.