Stem Cells

At Michigan Pain Consultants, one of the advanced treatment options we provide for patients living with chronic pain is stem cells. A Orthobiologics procedure called bone marrow aspirate concentrate is used to harvest stem cells. Bone marrow aspirate concentrate is a procedure that utilizes adult stem cells to naturally treat chronic pain resulting from tissue damage or degeneration. Bone marrow aspirate concentrate stem cell therapy has shown to be effective in the treatment of a variety of pain conditions, including: knee, hip and shoulder osteoarthritis, meniscus tears, tendon injuries such as to the rotator cuff or achilles, ligament injury including the ACL, low back conditions from sacroilitis, facet pain, degenerative disc disease, disc tears and disc herniations. We are able to prevent surgery such as total knee replacements, rotator cuff repair, meniscus surgeries or help heal those still struggling after surgery.

What Type of Stem Cells are Used for Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate?

There are a lot of public misconceptions regarding the type of stems cells used for Orthobiologics procedures such as bone marrow aspirate concentrate. At Michigan Pain Consultants we only use adult mesenchymal stem cells derived from the patient’s own body for bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC). We do not utilize embryonic stem cells for any of our Orthobiologics procedures.

What are Mesenchymal Stem Cells?

Adult mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent cells found throughout the body. In our bone marrow that have the ability to differentiate or replicate themselves into a multitude of cell types, allowing them to be utilized within almost every organ system throughout the body. The highest concentration of adult mesenchymal stem cells is typically found within the bone marrow in the hip. When these stem cells are properly obtained and concentrated, they provide modern medicine the ability to harness the body’s natural ability for self-repair and apply it to the treatment of osteoarthritic and degenerative conditions.

How are the Mesenchymal Stem Cells Obtained?

At Michigan Pain Consultants, we obtain the patient’s own mesenchymal stem cells from their iliac crest through a procedure called bone marrow aspiration. Bone marrow aspiration is performed under guided x-ray onsite at Michigan Pain Consultants typically with IV sedation for patient comfort. Using a specialized needle, the physician extracts the patient’s bone marrow. The bone marrow is then spun down in a centrifuge to separate and concentrate the mesenchymal stem cells, effectively creating bone marrow aspirate concentrate.

How Does Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate Work?

Once the bone marrow has been extracted and spun down in the centrifuge, the highly concentrated solution of mesenchymal stem cells and other growth factors are then injected directly into the site of damage, injury or disease under x-ray and/or ultrasound guidance.

When injury occurs with our body, our body naturally rushes regenerative cells to the area of injury to begin the healing process. Often times, the amount of regenerative cells that flood the damaged are inadequate to facilitate tissue regeneration, sometimes resulting in the continuance of chronic pain. With bone marrow aspirate concentrate, the concentrated mesenchymal stem cells provide a much more powerful jump start, supercharging the body’s natural healing mechanism.