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Knee injuries and chronic knee pain are a huge problem in the United States and worldwide. The knee joint is one of the most “poorly designed” joints in our body and are very prone to serious injuries and debilitating wear and tear even under the best of circumstances. The knee is the joint where the bones of the upper leg and lower leg meet. The largest joint in the body, the knee moves like a hinge, allowing you to sit, squat, walk or jump. When knee problems arise, they can interfere with almost all of your daily activities, and certainly can compromise your participation in more advanced activities or sports. Sports injuries at a younger age will predispose patients to arthritic changes (and the disability and pain that invariably accompanies this condition), and this will occur earlier in life than it would have otherwise. • Pain during activities and at rest • Limited range of motion with stiffness and swelling • Tenderness along the joint • A feeling the joint may “give out” • Deformity of the joint (knock-knees or bow-legs) The most common causes of knee injuries are from sprains, strains, fractures, dislocations, and over-use leading to arthritis. Also, many people are overweight, which significantly contributes to the unpleasant symptoms associated with knee arthritis. Your weight bearing joints include your ankles, knees and hips and these are not designed to carry any more than 20% over your ideal body weight. This is why 60% of Americans over the age of 60 have arthritis in their knees. In 2007, there were 550,161 total knee replacements performed in the United States with mixed results (including complications), and that number is on the rise–particularly as the Baby Boomer population continues to age. The very high cost of a total knee replacement ($40,000), along with the prolonged hospital stay, pain, and recovery period, can be avoided with our treatments. Our success rate for our knee procedures is very high, and the procedure is associated with very little discomfort and rapid recovery periods. That is why the knees are the number one joint that people seek treatments for at Utah Stem Cells. Let Utah Stem Cells have the opportunity to restore the functionality and pain relief that you are seeking, whether it be to get back to your favorite sporting activity, or simply playing with your children or grandchildren. Traditionally, Rest, Physical Therapy, Non-Steriodal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAID’s), Opiates, Steroid Injections, and Hyalurinic Acid Injections, have been the mainstay of treatment. And some of these can be very helpful–specifically rest and physical therapy can help and is always worth trying. However, often your body is overwhelmed by the degree of degeneration in the joint and/or the accompanying inflammation, and is not able to repair itself on its own. The problem with some of these treatments (namely NSAID’s, Steriods, and Opiates) is that they often allow a quick return to the activities that caused the injury in the first place. This often leads to continued additional micro-trauma to the ligaments and tendons, and a chronic mechanical shearing (lateral sliding) on the joint surface, which will accelerate the loss of cartilage causing worsening arthritis. Stem Cell Knee Surgery is often necessary when the Knee joint has reached a point when painful symptoms can no longer be controlled with non-operative treatments. This is an option that should only be entertained as a last resort. There is no “turning back” once you’ve undergone one of these highly invasive procedures, especially if less than optimal results are achieved. Utah Stem Cells has the cutting edge technology with its Stem Cell Prolotherapy procedures to successfully combat the disability and pain associated with arthritis, tendonitis, meniscal tears, and ligamentous laxity. In 2007, there were 550,161 total knee replacements performed in the United States with mixed results (including complications), and that number is on the rise–particularly as the Baby Boomer population continues to age. The very high cost of a total knee replacement ($40,000), along with the prolonged hospital stay, pain, and recovery period, can be avoided with our treatments. This is why most people try to stave off having a knee replacement surgery performed for as long as possible, or try to avoid them altogether. Most patients that have previously been told that they should have knee replacement surgery, are able to get significant improvement in their pain and functionality with our stem cell treatment, and are able to avoid having a knee replacement. Stem Cell Therapy for Knees Utah Stem Cells offers a much better treatment option than these “traditional” non-surgical and surgical treatment options. Utah Stem Cells specializes in an advanced form of Prolotherapy, called Stem Cell Prolotherapy, which is a relatively unfamiliar and under-utilized non-surgical treatment for musculoskeletal disorders. This form of treatment combats this chronic inflammation by promoting a healing cascade directly targeted to the needed areas. Prolotherapy has been practiced for over 80 years by a small but growing group of physicians with excellent results. Healthy ligaments and tendons are strong and tight, yet flexible enough to allow for proper joint movement and function. After an injury, the ligament or tendon will be compromised worn-out rubber band that has been left in the sun. The previous supple, flexible and strong tissue will become stiff, inflexible, weakened, and unable to perform the function of keeping the joint in a bio-mechanically correct position throughout the range of motion. Arthritic changes in joints were once thought to be irreversible, but now we can regenerate cartilage and other damaged tissue. Ligaments and tendons are different from other tissues such as muscle and bone because they have a very limited supply of blood and oxygen. This means the key nutrients required to repair an injured ligament or tendon are usually not available to fully heal these tissues even after a minor injury. Prolotherapy (proliferative therapy) injections can repair the weakened sites and produce healthy new ligament and tendon tissue. This results in the strengthening and stabilization of the joint and permanent pain relief. Prolotherapy stimulates the body to repair the painful injured area(s) when the body’s natural healing process is not able to do the job on its own. Prolotherapy is an accurate injection of a non-toxic substance into the injured tissue, which causes a temporary and purposeful therapeutic inflammation. The resultant inflammation initiates a beneficial healing cascade causing an increase in blood supply, growth factors, and stem cells. This eventually produces an increase in collagen that essentially grows stronger tissues and cartilage.
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Stem Cell Therapy for Knees, Stem Cell Knee Surgery,
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