What Is Regenerative Medicine?
Regenerative medicine is a leading-edge field that uses the body’s own cells to promote healing, reduce pain and inflammation, and restore function. It offers powerful relief for patients with musculoskeletal or spine pain and injury. Treatments like Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) and Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC) are carefully prepared from a patient’s blood or bone marrow and injected directly into damaged tissue to accelerate repair and support long-term recovery.
Unlike conventional treatments, which offer only temporary pain relief, regenerative medicine therapies stimulate tissue regeneration and improve soft tissue and joint health over time. These non-surgical procedures are particularly effective for conditions like tendon and ligament injuries, arthritis, joint pain, and disc degeneration.
Conditions That May Benefit from Regenerative Therapy
Regenerative therapies can be a highly effective option for treating various musculoskeletal and spine conditions. The following are some of the most common conditions that may benefit from regenerative medicine:
Tendon and Ligament Injuries
Tendons and ligaments are connective tissues that connect muscles to bone and stabilize joints, thereby enabling movement. When inflamed, torn, or degenerated, they can cause sharp, localized pain, swelling, and reduced range of motion. Overuse, sports, or trauma commonly cause these injuries, which may become chronic without proper treatment.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease marked by the breakdown of cartilage, causing pain, swelling, stiffness, and decreased mobility. It most often affects weight-bearing joints like the knees and hips, but can also occur in the shoulder, elbow, hands, feet, and spine. The most common risk factors include age, repetitive stress, and joint injury.
Chronic Joint Pain
Chronic joint pain is ongoing discomfort in joints such as the knees, hips, shoulders, or other joints. It is often felt as aching, stiffness, or sharp pain with movement. It may worsen with activity or after prolonged periods of rest. This pain is typically caused by wear and tear, inflammation, or overuse and can significantly interfere with daily function and mobility.
Sacroiliac (SI) Joint Dysfunction
The sacroiliac joints connect the spine to the pelvis and can become a source of pain when inflamed or misaligned. SI joint dysfunction often presents as lower back pain that may radiate into the buttocks, groin, or upper legs and is frequently aggravated by prolonged sitting, standing, or stair climbing.
Degenerative Disc Disease
Degenerative disc disease occurs when the spinal discs—soft, cushioning structures between vertebrae—break down over time. This can lead to back pain, stiffness, and reduced range of motion. Aging is a common cause, but injury or repetitive stress can accelerate disc degeneration, reducing flexibility and leading to chronic discomfort.
Lumbar Radiculopathy
Lumbar radiculopathy, caused by irritation or compression of a spinal nerve in the lower back—often due to a herniated disc—can trigger sharp, radiating leg pain, numbness, or weakness that disrupts walking, sitting, and daily function. PRP therapy, in particular, can help treat this condition by delivering concentrated growth factors directly to the affected area.
Regenerative Therapies We Offer
Desert Spine and Sports Physicians offers advanced regenerative therapies to accelerate healing and restore function for patients with pain and musculoskeletal or spine injury. Two of the most commonly used options are PRP and BMAC therapy.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)
PRP therapy uses a concentrated sample of your own blood platelets to promote healing in injured or degenerative tissue. After a small blood draw, the sample is processed to isolate platelets containing powerful growth factors that stimulate tissue regeneration. This platelet-rich solution is then injected into the site of pain—such as a joint, tendon, ligament, or disc —under fluoroscopic or ultrasound guidance to ensure accuracy.
Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC)
BMAC therapy involves collecting stem cells and other healing components from a patient’s own bone marrow—usually from the pelvic bone—and injecting them into the area of injury. These stem cells can transform into various tissue types and are especially useful for treating more advanced or structurally complex injuries.
This treatment is typically recommended for patients with moderate to severe osteoarthritis, large tendon or ligament tears, lumbar discs, or multiple injury sites. Often, BMAC is combined with PRP for enhanced healing potential, especially when a broader or deeper tissue repair response is needed.