“Get this—K just tried a 100 mile race, at altitude (no acclimation) in Aspen w/13,500 vertical. Missed a turn (and missed steepest dirt road in America, approx 2,000 vertical) and “only” did almost 90 miles and over 11,500 vertical. Hard day, eh?”
This was an email I received yesterday from K’s father-in-law. What makes the setting so fabulous is that K (I won’t use his full name) was in his mid 30’s two years ago and was so impaired by arthritis of his hips that he was investigating total hip replacements, unable to walk a full city block let alone pursue his riding passion. Incidentally,that picture at the top was taken of me by my eldest son after a long bike ride up and down the hills of Southwest Wisconsin yesterday.
“Orthopedic Surgery is going through a serious paradigm shift: instead of simply removing and replacing damaged tissues with artificial devices and materials, autologous patelet-rich plasma in orthopedics are aimed at triggering and enhancing the natural in vivo tissue morphogenesis and regenerative capacity of damaged tissue” from The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, August 2014
We have taken it much further over the past two years morphing into Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate providing the Adult Mesenchymal Stem cells potential that not only has the anti-inflammatory possibilities of Platelet Rich Plasma; but introduces the possibility of replacing damaged cartilage and altering the natural history of degenerative arthritis. I am aware that we must continue optimizing the procedure at the same time that I continue to offer my patients the healing power of Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate. To this end, I am off to the yearly Regenexx Network meeting in Colorado later this week where I will present our outcomes data. What’s amazing is how favorably, the measurement of Activity level after a Stem Cell intervention compares with a joint replacement. As you can see from the results of the cyclist identified above as K, there is reason to pause and consider the question when dealing with an arthritic joint; Total Joint Replacement or try Stem Cells first?
Tags: activity level, arthritis, athletes, Bone Marrow Concentrate, Clinical Trial. Mitchell B. Sheinkop, Mature Athlete, Osteoarthritis, Regenerative