Can Stem Cell Therapy Work for Sports Injuries?

Becoming sidelined due to a sports injury is frustrating at best for athletes. At worst, acute injuries can become debilitating or career-threatening if left untreated. Some may require invasive procedures, which require significant downtime to make a complete recovery. Recently, however, athletes across the world have started considering regenerative medicine, also known as stem cell therapy, as a potential, non-invasive treatment option.

Athletes Turning to Stem Cell Therapy

Sports medicine encompasses the treatment of the joints and muscles, which is now starting to leverage regenerative therapies. For instance, stem cell therapy for sports and athletic injury has the potential to repair and regenerate ligaments, cartilage, and tendons, which can wear out and have poor ability to regenerate on their own. When delivered directly into the affected tissue, stem cells target the injury, releasing anti-inflammatory and differentiating into the types of cells needed to support joint repair.

Athletes across different sports have begun embracing this innovative treatment in recent years. News reports state that former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning received the therapy before securing his last championship win. Just as pro athletes turn to the treatment as a way to get back in the game quickly, non-professional athletes and other individuals who have sustained musculoskeletal injuries could see meaningful results from stem cell therapy.

While results can vary from patient to patient, overall, stem cell treatment for sports injuries kickstarts the body’s natural healing process. Common outcomes include decreased pain, quicker recovery, the return of joint function and mobility, reduced swelling, and a delayed need for joint replacement. In addition, some enhance their potential outcomes with peptides which are designed to help increase the rate of healing.

This post was written by Becky Palmer, a medical professional at Stemedix Inc. At Stemedix we provide access to Regenerative Medicine. Regenerative medicine has the natural potential to help improve symptoms sometimes lost from the progression of many conditions. Click here to learn more.