HEALTH & WELLNESS
Regenerative medicine
A non-surgical approach to pain relief and healing
Pain does not discriminate. For 120 million suf-
fering Americans, pain is part of their daily lives.
And for thousands of years, doctors have been
helping to relieve their patients’ pain with a variety
of medications and treatments. Many doctors to-
day try the anti-inflammatory or pain-medication
route with little or no long-term relief. But with
recent technological advancements and added re-
DR. MARC search, a new field of medicine has emerged, uti-
PICCHIERRI lizing one’s own healing capabilities to repair the
body naturally without medications or surgery.
Regenerative medicine, one of the newest specialties in
healthcare, is now a reality. This burgeoning field focuses on
minimally invasive techniques derived from pain management,
orthopedic surgery, physiatry and sports medicine. There are
several self-healing treatments, including Platelet-Rich Plasma
(PRP) and Bone Marrow Concentrate (BMC) Stem Cell Therapy,
where the body uses its own systems to signal cells to help re-
build and restructure tissue.
Richard Kang, MD, Medical Director of Paramus Medical and
Sports Rehabilitation Center, is an Interventional Orthopedic
and Spine Specialist who is Board Certified in Anesthesiology
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and Pain Medicine. He states that Regenerative Medicine allows
him to provide patients with a minimally invasive alternative to
surgery. “Conservative care—such as acupuncture, chiroprac-
tic, physical therapy, nutritional wellness, and other holistic ap-
proaches—is the mainstay and foundational therapy for pain,”
said Dr. Kang. “Although traditional injections for chronic,
acute and sports-related injuries can give you temporary relief
of pain and inflammation, these treatments do not address the
underlying cause. Now with Regenerative Medicine therapies,
we are not only able to improve one’s quality of life and ability
to function socially and athletically, but also may be able to find
a non-surgical cure to heal a patient’s injury.”
Platelet-Rich Plasma is gaining momentum due to media
exposure from such famous pro athletes as Tiger Woods, Kobe
Bryant, Steph Curry, Drew Brees and countless others. Pros
have been turning to PRP as a solution because of the minimal-
ly invasive and non-surgical aspect of this therapy.
“It’s a better option for problems that don’t have a great solu-
tion—it’s non-surgical and uses the body’s own cells to help it
heal,” said Dr. Allan Mishra, an Assistant Professor of Orthope-
dics at Stanford University Medical Center and one of the pri-
mary researchers in the field.