Regenerative Medicine - Pittsburgh, PA
The human body has many amazing capabilities, including the ability to heal. Your body is designed to repair itself after minor injuries or surgery naturally, without the need for much intervention from outside sources. Sometimes, however, your body does need a little extra help. If this situation arises in your case, you may consider trying orthobiologics to boost your healing process.
At Greater Pittsburgh Orthopaedic Associates, our orthopaedic surgeons are experts in harnessing the power of orthobiologics. Using a variety of different regenerative medicine treatments, our specialists will work to speed up your recovery time and boost the healing process that already comes naturally to your body. Additionally, regenerative medicine is non-invasive, making it a great alternative to multiple orthopaedic surgeries. Once you express interest in orthobiologics, our experienced, highly-trained, compassionate professionals will work directly with you to determine which form of regenerative medicine is right for your individual needs. Then, we’ll develop a treatment plan that works for you and helps you achieve your unique recovery goals.
Orthobiologics and regenerative medicine are one of the many benefits of living in a time where medicine and technology have come together for the better of patients everywhere. If you believe orthobiologic therapies may be right for you, don’t wait to reach out to a regenerative medicine specialist. Schedule your appointment at GPOA today!
Try orthobiologic therapy at GPOA!
Providers
Raymond Drabicki, MD
Juan Giugale, MD
Brian Kelly, MD
Nicholas Kubik, MD
Jeffrey Mulholland, MD
Michael Rytel, MD
PRP Injections - Pittsburgh, PA
Orthobiologics are specific substances that orthopaedic surgeons use to encourage faster healing of injuries. They help improve the healing of broken bones as well as injured soft tissue, like ligaments, muscles and tendons. Orthobiologics are made from substances found naturally within your body. When your surgeon uses an orthobiologic substance in a high concentration, it adds to your innate ability to restore your own cells, speeding up the body’s natural healing process.
Where this technology was once only available to the very wealthy, it is now commonly practiced. At Greater Pittsburgh Orthopaedic Associates, our team includes professionals who specialize in regenerative medicine and orthobiologic care. We use orthobiologics to provide our patients with state-of-the-art medical technology that can improve their recovery process. Orthobiologics can also help shorten your recovery time after surgery, and it may also help you avoid a more invasive surgical procedure. In lieu of costly surgical intervention, regenerative medicine encourages your body to heal itself, providing a non-invasive solution that comes directly from your own natural functions.
Orthobiologics and regenerative medicine are now a more accessible alternative to invasive surgeries than ever before. If you believe orthobiologics can help you recover quickly, don’t hesitate to schedule your appointment with one of the specialists at GPOA today.
Regenerative Medicine - PRP Injections in Pittsburgh, PA
There are two main categories of orthobiologics: growth factors and extracellular matrix. Each one of these types of regenerative medicine treatment plays a unique and very specific role in the healing process. During your treatment, our surgeons may opt to use multiple substances to promote natural tissue repair and support your injured bones.
The decision to use orthobiologics, whether in place of or in addition to surgery, should be made between you and one of our orthopaedic surgical specialists. It will be based on your medical history, the type and location of your injury and several other factors. Some general indications that it may be a good choice include:
- You are looking to try a minimally-invasive treatment before moving on to surgery
- Your injury left voids in bone tissue that need support
- You are not healing properly and need additional stimulation of the process
If any of these scenarios sound familiar to you, don’t hesitate to speak to an orthobiologic specialist at Greater Pittsburgh Orthopaedic Associates. With our patient-first, compassionate approach to care, our experienced healthcare professionals will work with you to develop a treatment plan that addresses all your individual needs and goals, giving you the long-term results you’ve been looking for.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are growth factors?
Growth factors are special proteins that regulate the rate and effectiveness of healing throughout your body. There are orthobiologic procedures that provide large doses of growth factors to injury sites. Some speed it up so you can recover faster. Others slow it down, which may be necessary for certain situations.
Natural growth factors attract stem cells to enter the area; a process known as chemoattraction. Our surgeons can increase the amount of growth factor at your injury site in order to encourage an increase in stem cells and speed up the healing process.
The most common type of growth factor treatment we provide at GPOA is platelet rich plasma (PRP). An increasingly popular option, this is where we draw blood from you, isolate the plasma, and then reinject that into your injured tissue. The increase of platelets, which are rich in growth factors, stimulates tissue growth and natural healing of injuries. Patients usually seek PRP injections for knee ailments or PRP injections for hip surgery recovery. PRP injections for shoulder pain is also popular.
What is Extracellular Matrix therapy?
Extracellular matrices, or ECMs, are a type of orthobiologic that serves as a scaffold for other tissue. These are placed into areas with severe damage to bones as a means to provide structure and stability. They serve as a shell for stem cells to inhabit. Those cells are what spurs healing and regrowth within the injured site.
Bone grafts are a common ECM material. They are often taken from bones in another area of your own body. Cadaver bone is used in certain situations where your own bone cannot be safely harvested.
Non-bone materials can also be used to provide support during ECM therapy. The most common is calcium phosphate. When placed in large voids within bones, it develops a texture and strength similar to natural bone. This can encourage stem cells to enter the structure and develop into mature cells.
Both allografts with cadaver bones and artificial matrix materials reduce pain and recovery time for patients since they do not require an additional surgical procedure to harvest one tissue.
How can orthobiologics help me?
Most injuries that will require extensive healing can benefit from using an orthobiologic treatment. It is also a useful tool if you have an injury that can be healed without surgery.
Partial tears of muscles or tendons can often benefit from platelet-rich plasma injections. These attract stem cells and encourage tissue growth. An example would be using PRP therapy in place of surgery for a partial rotator cuff tear.
On the other hand, full tears can potentially be repaired with an orthobiologic patch. This would serve as a matrix for your body to utilize during the rebuilding process after surgery.