A rotator cuff injury is a common accounting for nearly 4 million visits to the doctor in the United States. The shoulder joint is one of the most powerful joints in your body but is necessary for even the smallest everyday activity such as combing your hair. Injury to a should significantly impact a person’s quality of life, making it difficult to perform even simple tasks and causing pain and discomfort.
The rotator cuff keeps your arm in your shoulder socket and helps lift and rotate your arm. A torn rotator cuff will weaken your shoulder making it painful to perform simple daily tasks such as washing your hair or getting dressed. Stem cell therapy at the Stem Cells Transplant Institute may help repair the damage to a torn rotator cuff.
What is the rotator cuff and how is it injured?
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that meet at the humerus or the upper arm bone, attaching the humerus to the shoulder blade. The rotator cuff keeps the head of your upper arm bone firmly in place in the shoulder socket. When one or more of the tendons are torn, the group of tendons are not firmly attached to the humerus.
Rotator cuff injuries commonly occur in people that repeatedly perform overhead motions such as throwing a baseball, or serving a tennis ball. The risk of a rotator cuff tear increases with age as tendons become more worn, weaker and less flexible. Without proper treatment, shoulder injuries may lead to a permanent loss of motion and progressive degeneration.
Stem cell therapy at the Stem Cells Transplant Institute is a minimally invasive treatment that allows patients to recover quickly so they can return to their normal daily activities with very little downtime.
Risk factors for a rotator cuff tear
Age. Rotator cuff tears occur most frequently in people of 40 years of age.
Sport. Athletes that play sport requiring repetitive arm motions, such as baseball and tennis, have the greatest risk of injury
Certain jobs. Jobs such as construction that require repetitive overhead arm movements can cause rotator cuff injuries.
Traumatic injury. Most shoulder injuries in younger adults are caused by a traumatic injury such as a fall.
Symptoms of a rotator cuff injury can include:
- Disrupted sleep and pain at rest and at night, especially while lying on the side with the affected shoulder
- Pain when lifting or lowering your arm
- A dull ache deep in the shoulder
- Difficulty to perform simple daily tasks such as combing your hair or reaching behind your back
- Weakness in the arm especially when lifting or rotating your arm
- A grating sound or crackling feeling when moving your arm
- Tears due to traumatic injury may cause immediate intense pain and weakness or a snapping sensation
Stem cell therapy
Shoulder injuries including rotator cuff tears can be challenging and tend to heal slowly. If you have a rotator cuff tear and continue using your arm, you may cause further damage. Depending on the severity of the tear, stem cell therapy can be a good treatment option. The goal of stem cell therapy is to reduce pain and restore function.
Patients with a partial rotator cuff tear are excellent candidates for stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy can improve range of motion, reduce inflammation, reduce stiffness, and potentially delay or eliminate the need for surgery; allowing patients to fully engage in the activities they enjoy.
Mesenchymal stem cells:
- Promote self-healing
- Repair or replace bone or cartilage tissue
- Have potent anti-inflammatory capabilities
- Modulate abnormal immune system responses
- Prevent additional premature cell and tissue damage
- Reduce scarring
- Stimulate new blood vessel growth improving blood flow
Stem cell therapy is an excellent treatment alternative for patients trying to avoid surgery or for patients not responding to current nonsurgical treatment. Complete rotator cuff tears typically require surgical repair but following surgery, stem cell therapy can help speed up the healing process, reduce pain, and decrease the need for physical therapy.
Contact the Stem Cells Transplant Institute today.
Why the Stem Cells Transplant Institute
- Our physicians are accredited by the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine
- Our clinic and hospital are JCI accredited
- Stem cell treatment at the Stem Cells Transplant Institute may be significantly less expensive than similar treatments available in the United States, Europe, Mexico and Asia
- We collaborate with the leading researchers, laboratories and clinics worldwide
- Our physicians are members of the International Society for Stem Cell Application, and our CEO and founder, is the ISSCA Chapter Director for Central America and the Caribbean.
- We utilize cutting edge procedures that mix adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells with platelet rich growth factors to enhance efficacy and improve outcomes
- We use mesenchymal stem cells from your body’s own adipose tissue. Unlike bone marrow extraction, extracting stem cells from your own adipose tissue will not weaken your immune system.
- Our physicians are fully licensed to practice medicine and perform stem cell treatments in Costa Rica.
- We promise to treat every patient with care and respect.
- We promise to do everything within our power to assist our patients and answer your questions thoroughly and honestly.
