Good news for those suffering from ankle pain: stem cell therapy has proven to be a successful solution for relief. A cutting-edge treatment for a condition that was previously treated mainly through joint replacement, stem cell therapy could be the future of ankle pain relief.
How Does Stem Cell Therapy Help Relieve Your Sore Ankle?
There is a type of cartilage in the ankle joint called hyaline articular cartilage (AC) which is unique in many ways. This AC reduces friction between the bones when you move, and is important to a healthy and functioning ankle. It has a different biological makeup than most other soft tissue in the body. It has no blood vessels, no nerve cells, no lymph cells, and the cartilage cells called chondrocytes within it actually take nutrients out of the synovial fluid within the joint and diffuses these nutrients throughout itself as its only source of nutrition. Because of this, the articular cartilage has very limited ability to repair itself as compared to other types of soft tissue in the body.
When this AC deteriorates, your range of motion can be limited and use of the ankle is restricted, not to mention the pain and swelling that can accompany it. Whether it’s been damaged by injury, or by a disease that causes it to deteriorate, like osteoarthritis, the treatment options are bleak due to how difficult it is for this cartilage to heal itself. That’s where stem cell therapy offers new hope.
Mesenchymal cells are a young form of stem cells that are able to differentiate into specific types of cells that the body needs to heal itself - including cartilage. Introducing these mesenchymal cells into the ankle can flood the area with the material it needs to help in the repairing process. These mesenchymal cells aid the body’s natural healing process, spurring on the recovery, and assisting in repairing the damaged cells.
The studies that have been done on mesenchymal cells for ankle pain thus far have been very promising, and these were done with cells from the patients’ own bodies (1).
At Infinity Medicina Regenerativa, we recommend using mesenchymal cells (MSCs) derived from Wharton’s Jelly, which is found inside of the umbilical cord tissue. We find these to be the best option for our patients as they are fresh, young, incredibly potent cells that are immuno-privileged (meaning there is almost no risk that there could be an adverse reaction within the patient’s body) and have just helped to grow an entire human body in only nine months. Imagine what they could do for one joint?
Cells that come from the patient’s own body are as old as the patient, and have also suffered any illness, disease, and medical conditions that the patient has experienced throughout their life, and we find them to be less potent, accordingly.
At Infinity Medicina Regenerativa, we use cutting edge forms of stem cell therapy that can only be delivered abroad. We perform these advanced techniques to treat many different conditions, including:
- Arthritis
- Cardiovascular disease
- Pulmonary disease
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Autism
- Cerebral palsy
- Liver failure
- And many other conditions
Contact us today to find out more about our treatment options and medical tourism packages, and find out if you are a candidate for stem cell therapy for ankle pain.
1. Kim Y. S., Park E. H., Kim Y. C., Koh Y. G., Am. J. Sports Med. 2013, 41, 1090. Kim Y. S., Lee H. J., Choi Y. J., Kim Y. I., Koh Y. G., Am. J. Sports Med. 2014, 42, 2424. Kim Y. S., Lee M., Koh Y. G., J. Exp. Orthop. 2016, 3, 12.
