Introduction
Stem cell therapy (also known as regenerative medicine) uses unique cells to aid in repairing injured, dysfunctional, or wounded tissue. Stem cells can be produced in a laboratory and utilized for various purposes as an alternative to organ donations, which are rare. For example, specialized cells may be transferred to a heart disease patient, and the healthy heart muscle stem cells would aid in heart healing.
What Is Stem Cell Therapy?
Recent advances in stem cell research have opened a new door for people suffering from untreated diseases and disorders. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have recently become known as essential players in regenerative medicine. Stem cell therapy is an innovative treatment method that uses stem cells' unique properties, such as regeneration and differentiation, to repair tissue and cell damage in the human body or to substitute these cells with new, healthy, and completely functional cells by providing externally generated cells into a patient. Stem cells for cell-based therapy can be autologous, commonly referred to as self-to-self therapy, involving the patient's cells, or allogeneic, which uses cells from a healthy donor.
What Are the Different Types of Stem Cell Therapy?
-
Embryonic Stem Cells - These types of cells can transform into any cell type. Embryonic stem cells are obtained by medical researchers from donated cord blood or embryos created via in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
-
Tissue-Specific Stem Cells - These cells can generate new stem cells, but solely for the organs in which they reside. Blood-forming stem cells in the bone marrow, for example, can produce new blood cells and platelets. They cannot, however, generate new lung or liver stem cells. Stem cells are extracted from donated tissue by researchers.
-
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells - These are laboratory-created stem cells that look and behave like embryonic stem cells. These cells are used by medical researchers to understand how tissues originate and how disease affects tissue, as well as to test new medications and treatments.
What Is Stem Cell Therapy for Foot and Ankle Injury?
Patients with persistent ankle or foot injuries or disorders were traditionally frequently encouraged to undergo surgery as the ultimate solution for their disease. This would then require cutting out the patient in theater, hospitalization, a recovery period, and the danger of surgery-related adverse effects. Even in the ideal situation, the procedure will include replacing or scratching joints, which can reduce the immediate source of pain, e.g. joint inflammation, but can serve to further damage the area and not fix the underlying cause of the condition or inflammation or initiate a regenerative process. In stem cell therapy for foot and ankle injury, the patient's stem cells, platelets, or other natural agents are used to spontaneously repair damaged parts of the ankle or foot.
How Stem Cell Therapy Is Used for Foot and Ankle Injury Treatment?
Foot and ankle injuries are one of the most prevalent sports injuries that have a substantial impact on an individual's sports career. Athletes who participate in sports that include repeated leg movements that place stress on the ankle are more likely to suffer ankle tendon tears. Ankle injuries can occur at any age, even while simply walking. Ankle tendon rips can produce purposeful pain while participating in an activity. Stem cell therapy for foot and ankle injuries helps to prevent surgery, which frequently increases the risk of infection.
The majority of orthopedic disorders, such as generalized aches and pains, are treated with pain and anti-inflammatory drugs. Non-surgical treatments, such as braces and physiotherapy, may also aid in the treatment of certain orthopedic issues. Chronic problems, such as ankle tendon tears, may necessitate surgery to repair the damaged tendon. Surgical surgery for ankle tendon injuries might cause negative effects and increase the chance of post-surgical problems.
Ankle tendon tears are treated surgically by removing the injured tendons in the ankle. In other cases, the doctor might do a tendon graft utilizing a segment of the tendon from the leg to restore normal ankle joint function. One of the most advanced non-invasive treatment options for ankle and foot tendon tears is regenerative therapy. The finest minimally invasive orthopedic procedures for healing ankle tendon tears include super concentrated platelets (SCP) and stem cell therapy, which is an excellent treatment option for repairing damaged tissues in the body.
Depending on the degree and extent of the ankle tendon damage, the doctor may combine stem cell therapy with super-concentrated platelet therapy for the best recovery of the injury. Super-concentrated platelet techniques use the patient's blood to repair the injured ankle tendon. Super-concentrated platelet injections help stimulate tissue renewal, thereby improving medical conditions. After stem cell therapy, super concentrated platelets (SCP) injections boost the effect of the stem cells on the target location.
What Are the Different Orthopedic Conditions in Which Stem Cell Therapy Can Be Used?
-
Achilles tendinosis.
-
Ligament sprain of the ankle.
-
Ankle tendon tear.
-
Bunions.
-
Sports injuries.
-
Chronic or acute partial tendon tear.
-
Chronic ligament strains.
Conclusion
Stem cell therapy for foot and ankle injury is a non-surgical method of healing the disease. Stem cells boost the body's natural healing potential and naturally restore the damaged tendon without the need for surgery. Stem cells are highly specialized cells in the human body that develop into many cell types. The stem cells utilized in the treatment are taken from the patient's bone marrow, so there is no risk of rejection. There are no adverse effects or complications associated with stem cell therapy for foot and ankle injury.
