Advancements in regenerative medicine are altering the healthcare landscape, from how practitioners treat their patients to the quality of their patients’ health outcomes. The field of medicine is rapidly evolving, offering innovative medical approaches and technologies that hold enormous potential for improving surgical and injury recovery, as well as the prognosis of patients with bone and joint disorders and chronic diseases.
Regenerative medicine therapies are helpful for foot and ankle healthcare because they can reduce inflammation and pain while facilitating regeneration, including bone, skin, and other tissues (e.g., ligaments and tendons). This field of medicine’s flexibility means that the available therapies can benefit numerous foot and ankle conditions.
Please keep reading to learn more about the different types of regenerative medicine and how they apply to podiatry and orthopedic treatments.
What Is Regenerative Medicine?
Regenerative medicine harnesses our bodies’ natural healing abilities to repair or replace damaged or diseased cells, organs, and other tissues. This cutting-edge field of medicine encompasses various treatment types meant to target and resolve the root causes of disease and injury.
The types of regenerative medicine include:
- Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials
- Medical Devices and Artificial Organs
- Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy
- Cellular Therapies (stem-cell therapies)
Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials
Tissue engineering involves combining scaffolds, cells, and other biologically active molecules to grow tissue that mimics the natural tissue outside and inside our bodies. This method aims to improve, maintain, or restore damaged tissues or organs such as skin, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and more.
Medical Devices and Artificial Materials
In “medical devices and artificial organ development,” technologies include using artificial materials to create entirely artificial or bioartificial (i.e., biohybrid) medical devices and organs for organ recovery or transplantation.
Recovering organ function or organ replacement relates to foot and ankle health because poor organ health affects the whole body. Damaged or underperforming organs can impact your body’s blood circulatory system, which carries vital oxygen to your extremities, aiding in various processes like healthy cell function and optimal healing.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is the process of separating platelet-rich plasma from your blood. The PRP therapy process requires:
- a patient’s blood via a blood draw,
- isolating the platelets in their blood,
- extracting the resulting platelet-rich plasma, and
- injecting that plasma into the injured area.
Platelet-rich plasma contains a high concentration of growth factors and cytokines, which have natural anti-inflammatory and healing effects on the body. PRP therapy has significantly impacted regenerative medicine advancement in fields such as:
- Bone Regeneration
- Skin Regeneration
- Tendinopathies
- Wound Healing
- Skeletal Muscle Injuries (e.g., bruising, stretching, and lacerations)
Cellular Therapies
Stem-cell therapies use embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and adult stem cells (ASCs). ESCs originate from embryos, while ASCs derive from various tissues and other sources throughout our bodies, including:
- Brain
- Blood
- Bone Marrow
- Liver
- Skeletal Muscle
- Skin
ESCs and ASCs are undifferentiated cells, meaning they do not inherently have specialized functions like the specialized cells in the body (e.g., blood and skin cells). While ESCs can differentiate into any cell type, ASCs typically differentiate into multiple cell types in their tissue of origin.
Regenerative Medicine in Podiatry and Orthopedic Surgery
Current regenerative medicine practices address many foot and ankle conditions and needs, such as:
- Arthritis
- Cartilage Damage
- Ligament and Muscle Injuries
- Osteoarthritis
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Tendinopathies
- Tendon Tears
- Wound Healing
Various technologies can be particularly effective for patients recovering from orthopedic surgery, improving their overall health and bodily function via:
- Greater Tissue Healing
- Less Risk of Complications (from surgery and other conditions)
- Reduced Inflammation and Pain
- Shortened Recovery Time
Enjoy Life with Expert Foot and Ankle Care
Foot and ankle health are essential to a functional and healthy daily life. Don’t settle for subpar treatment when managing a chronic condition, healing from an injury, or addressing additional issues. Prioritizing your foot and ankle health means seeing a medical professional who provides the time and level of care you deserve.
At The Foot & Ankle Center, our experienced podiatrists tailor their approaches and treatments for every patient, taking their time to properly diagnose, educate, and help you explore the various treatment options that may work for you.
To schedule a visit, please submit our online form at https://www.facstl.com/request-appointment/. You may also reach us by email at judym@facstl.com and by phone at (314) 487-9300.