Common Questions
At this point, we do not provide stem cell injections for the above conditions. However, if you’d like to be placed on our list to be the first to know when there are treatments available for these issues, please call our office and we will add your info to our database and answer any other questions you may have. We actively monitor all new research and clinical trials related to these and many other conditions and we hope to be able to offer treatments in the near future.
We accept checks, credit or debit cards, cash & our financing option with united medical credit. We also accept payments from HSAs or FSAs. If you have any more questions about alternative payment methods, please call for more information.
There is very little downtime after a stem cell injection. We want you to limit impact activities for the first few weeks, so no running, hiking, dancing, skiing, etc. However, you will be able to drive yourself to and from the procedure and resume all normal daily activities within a few days.
We harvest bone marrow from the tibia. This is a quick and nearly painless procedure that takes just minutes to complete!
We have been measuring our success rate from the first patient treated at Native Stem Cell. We measure success primarily by tracking decreases in pain levels and increases in function and activity levels. Over 85% of our patients report 60- 90% improvements in pain and function after their treatment.
Additionally, in a few instances, patients have suffered an injury after their stem cell injection which required arthroscopic surgery. In these few instances, Dr. Crawford was able to view and take pictures of the improvements to the articular cartilage in the joint during the surgery.
Unfortunately, a small percentage of our patients may only experience mild improvement or no improvement at all. We work closely with these patients using traditional orthopedic approaches as well as other natural or orthobiologic approaches to try to maximize the benefits of the stem cell injection. Sometimes, patients will opt for a second stem cell injection or a series of PRP injections as a booster to their initial treatment and they overwhelmingly have a positive response to these booster treatments.
We take your results and the accuracy of our data very seriously. We have refined and standardized our data collection process in order to be able to accurately follow all results and help build the body of evidence that will help stem cell and PRP injections become a more widely accepted form of orthopedic treatment.
Age is less of a factor than you think! Native Stem Cell has patients ranging from bone-on-bone, to those who are at a more moderate stage of arthritis, both achieving great results from our stem cell treatment!
Unfortunately, a small percentage of our patients may only experience mild improvement or no improvement at all. We work closely with these patients using traditional orthopedic approaches as well as other natural or orthobiologic approaches to try to maximize the benefits of the stem cell injection. Sometimes, patients will opt for a second stem cell injection or a series of PRP injections as a booster to their initial treatment and they overwhelmingly have a positive response to these additional treatments.
While the science behind the use of stem cells as a treatment for arthritis is not fully known, recent research has begun to shed some light on what is actually happening when stem cells are injected into a joint. The concentrated stem cell mixture that is injected contains many different growth factors and proteins which have different regenerative functions. Your joint sends signals which identify areas of damage and recruits the various growth factors, proteins and stem cells to these areas. The stem cells assess these signals to determine the extent of the damage and then send out signals to recruit more stem cells and healing agents from surrounding tissue. There is a complex, microscopic symphony that occurs within any area of injury and stem cells play an important role in conducting the symphony and making sure that the right type of repairs happen in the right places.