Dealing with osteonecrosis is an everyday struggle as you fight your way through pain and discomfort. If you’re unfamiliar with the condition, osteonecrosis refers to a degenerative disease of bone cells commonly affecting the hips, knees, and areas surrounding your joints. About 20,000 Americans between the ages of 20 and 50 are diagnosed with osteonecrosis each year.
Treatment has successfully relieved hip pain with the use of non-invasive regenerative medicine therapy. If you suffer from hip pain due to osteonecrosis, find out if regenerative medicine therapy is right for you.
Osteonecrosis is caused by a lack of blood flow to an affected area, and bone tissue requires the necessary nutrients and oxygen delivered through your bloodstream. An obstruction of blood flow to the hip can cause bone tissue to deteriorate and it may lead to your hip eventually collapsing.
There are multiple causes that trigger osteonecrosis, including traumatic factures, dislocations, or injuries that block blood flow to the hip. Although many have turned to surgical procedures like total hip replacement, studies have shown that regenerative medicine therapy is an effective alternative to surgery that can significantly reduce osteonecrosis hip pain.
The Journal of Medical Case Reports published a 2011 study where researchers administered platelet-rich plasma injection therapy (PRP), a type of regenerative technique that promotes your body’s own healing abilities, to improve two severe cases of osteonecrosis hip deterioration. The patients, a 29-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man, were given four injections of PRP once a week over the period of one month.
After the fourth week, the first patient reported her pain to have been reduced by 50% and after 12 weeks, her pain had reduced by 70% (jmedicalcasereports.biomedcentral.com, 2018). A MRI scan taken 12 weeks post-therapy proved that PRP injection therapy had promoted regrowth of hip bone tissue, and the patient experienced an improvement in range of motion.
The second patient encountered similar results. 12 weeks following PRP injection therapy, a MRI scan showed “significant filling of bone defects” as hip bone tissue regrew, and after three months of therapy, all patients reported they were able to “straighten their hips” (jmedicalcasereports.biomedcentral.com, 2018).
Another study conducted in 2012 proves the effectiveness of regenerative medicine therapy as an alternative to hip surgery. 40 patients with osteonecrosis of the hip were given three injections of PRP with one- or two-week intervals between each injection.
After therapy, patients experienced “clinically significant reductions in pain” and improved mobility (academic.oup.com, 2018). Research from this study suggests that PRP injection therapy promotes the formation of new blood cells while reducing inflammation.
Call us now if you would like to learn more about platelet-rich plasma therapy or other regenerative medicine techniques available at our facility.
Regenerative medicine is one way of restoring your youthfulness by improving pain from osteonecrosis and other conditions. Experienced physicians use only the latest, cutting-edge regenerative medicine techniques to target the cause of your symptoms and get you back to enjoying life pain free.
