This is the second time I am undergoing mesenchymal stem cell injections for my knee. I so believe in the positive effects of this procedure that I am doing it again. I first had mesenchymal (bone marrow) and lipid (fat) based stem cell injections in my knee about 5 years ago. I was addressing a meniscus tear and a weakened ACL. I can tell you once I fully healed from this procedure it felt like I had a brand new knee. It brought me to tears to walk without pain after so many years of issues. I could walk and stand for hours with no issues. I could hike again. I could go up and down stairs without pain.
So why is there a Part 2? Why didn’t Part 1 do the trick? I learned a lot along this journey. The first hard lesson I learned is if you don’t address and correct the biomechanics of your gait (i.e. how you walk) you may wear out what the stem cell therapy repaired. Once you have an injury, your body adjusts to protect the injury and changes your gait to reduce your pain. So once you fixed what caused the pain, you will most likely have muscle weaknesses and imbalances. I know I did. I went for conventional Physical Therapy (PT) but this did not address the issue. A lot of PT is cookie cutter. No one really spent time to understand what was wrong with my gait. No one spent time to evaluate where I had muscle weakness or imbalance. One of the PT aids even told me to “Just walk normal”. What? How do I do that? Am I not walking normal? I learned you have to work with the right people after a procedure like this to fix biomechanics and strengthen any muscle weakness. I also learned if you carry extra weight this puts extra pressure on your joints and will sooner wear out the positive benefits of stem cells.
So how did I find stem cells in the first place ? I was 45 years young when I visited an orthopedic surgeon for issues with my knee. He looked at my diagnostic images and concluded “You need a knee replacement, but you are too young. See how long you can wait until you do that”. I thought – what? There is nothing that can be done? Just wait ? Tough it out little buckaroo? I think not. One thing I did hear from more then one orthopedic surgeon is “Wait as long as you possibly can to have surgery on your knee. It will never be the same after surgery. Try as many things as you can to extend what you have”. I started researching what others do with the same knee issues. I thought “What do professional athletes do?”. Athletes seem to have access to advanced therapies to continue their careers. This last question lead me to find stem cell therapy. At the time there were not many doctors in the United States that offered this type of treatment. It took me a few years to find the courage to try this new therapy, but I am glad that I finally did it. I was lucky to stumble upon The Centeno-Schultz clinic in Broomfield CO. I learned they had been studying regenerative medicine using stem cells since 2005. During my first round of stem cell therapy I chose to work with Dr John Schultz.
I didnt take the time when I first had stem cells to record the process. I learned a lot of people are interested in stem cell therapy. Many of my family and friends would send people my way to ask questions and learn about stem cell therapy. I hope this blog helps people learn more about this option. I am starting a three day stem cell injection protocol this week. Anyone who is interested in learning more can follow along.