People often assume arthritis is one disease. However, it’s actually a broad term that refers to joint diseases that cause inflammation, pain, and stiffness where bones meet in the body. There are more than 100 types of conditions that fall under this general term, even though it’s often associated with the aging process.
In reality, arthritis conditions can strike at any age and for numerous reasons, including age-related degeneration, autoimmune disorders, and injury. Fortunately, new therapies are emerging that can help people with arthritis manage their symptoms.
As an interventional pain management physician, Vladimir Fiks, MD, of Advanced Pain Management Center in Portland, Oregon, knows that pain conditions, such as arthritis, can take a toll on your physical, emotional, and mental health. That’s why he stays at the forefront of medical and interventional therapies, so he can offer the most effective treatment options.
This May for Arthritis Awareness Month, Dr. Fiks discusses different types of regenerative orthopedic treatments and how they can ease joint pain and stiffness.
The goal of regenerative orthopedic therapies is fairly straightforward: Use the body to heal or regenerate itself. This concept isn’t new. In fact, it’s been a topic of interest for thousands of years, and records exist on different theories surrounding it dating back to the 8th century B.C.
In more recent decades, the idea of the body’s regenerative abilities has grown into a whole field of medicine. And with it, experts have gained more and more insight into the therapeutic potential it has to offer. It all comes down to healing the body on a cellular level by activating the substances involved in the natural healing process.
At Advanced Pain Management Center, Dr. Fiks uses three different approaches to accomplish this: Multiwave Locked System (MLS) laser therapy, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, and bone marrow concentrate.
MLS laser therapy may sound like science fiction, but this cutting-edge treatment harnesses the power of light to heal acute and chronic conditions, including degenerative joint diseases like arthritis.
During MLS laser treatment, Dr. Fiks exposes your painful joint to specific wavelengths of light. This therapeutic energy can penetrate the skin without causing pain or damage. That allows it to come in contact with various molecules deep below the surface, which triggers biological responses, including photochemical, photothermal, and photomechanical effects.
More simply put, it reduces pain and inflammation while activating and accelerating the healing processes in the body.
Platelet-rich plasma therapy also activates the healing process in the body. However, it uses a very different approach — your own blood.
When you undergo PRP therapy, Dr. Fiks takes a sample of your blood. Then he places it in a centrifuge, which separates the platelets from the rest of the substances in your blood. Platelets are very powerful substances, because they help activate healing and growth functions in your body.
Dr. Fiks then injects the resulting platelet serum into the area with damage or disease. The platelets then go straight to work helping to stimulate healing and tissue regeneration. Then, as healthy new cells form in the treatment area, you can experience improved function along with less pain and inflammation.
Like PRP therapy, this regenerative orthopedic treatment also uses healing elements found in your body. However, this time the material is found in the center of your bones: bone marrow.
Bone marrow contains very special cells — stem cells — which can replicate and become other types of cells. This offers extraordinary therapeutic potential, because they can regenerate numerous types of tissue, from joint cartilage and bone to muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
To perform your bone marrow treatment, Dr. Fiks takes a small sample of your bone marrow, which is usually from the pelvic bone. Then, he concentrates the stem cells and injects them into the treatment site. Once in place, they start rebuilding damaged tissue on a cellular level, helping to ease pain, stiffness, and inflammation at the same time.
Do you have arthritis pain? Learn more about your treatment options by calling 971-233-4199 or booking an appointment online with Advanced Pain Management Center today.
