The Top 10 Regenexx Blogs of 2018
It’s always amazing when you reflect on just how fast the last year went. Here we are on New Year’s Eve 2018 and despite the rapidity of the flow of time, it’s time to again go over the top ten Regenexx blogs of 2018! Let’s dig in.
First, an overview of where we have been. On the science side, we published a follow-up to our ACL case series with MRI analysis and our first randomized controlled trial (RCT) on knee arthritis. We also established the world’s first biobank of bone marrow concentrate samples at our Colorado HQ. This massive project took about of year of data collection so that we could translate the stem cell dose between fresh and frozen. Finally, we continued our synovial-fluid analysis project for determining good candidates for our same-day stem cell procedure for knee arthritis. This is now in its third and final phase of analysis and should be ready soon to begin use with all patients.
We continued to push the envelope of what’s possible with interventional orthopedics. This included starting a randomized controlled trial on our novel CCJ instability procedure. We also continued to recruit patients for our RCTs on knee ACL and shoulder rotator cuff injuries and are nearing completion on first-look manuscripts on both studies (to be published this year).
At our Colorado HQ, we expanded our fellowship program in interventional orthopedics from two physicians a year to three. This has been a great success as we have three very solid physicians in the program right now. We have two great physicians locked in for next year and are still trying to pick the best physician for that third slot.
On the patient education side of what we do, we created a new website to reorganize the massive amounts of information that we have created on Regenexx. We also continued to create content to help patients understand the difference between a real stem cell therapy and the chiropractic and other scams sweeping the nation. On this last note, the wild west of stem cell therapy continued to explode with umbilical cord blood vendors claiming live stem cells in dead cell products.
This past year was a big one for us as a company. We merged a minority stakeholder into our company so we could bring on a self-insured insurance game plan. That has been wildly successful in that we’ve added approximately 7 million covered lives as of this writing. In fact, I would suspect that we will be at 20 million by this time next year. This includes a wide swath of companies that are the outfits that make the milk you drink, the media you consume, the food you eat in restaurants, the cell towers that power your phone, and the old-age homes where grandma lives.
So with that overview of us, here are the top ten blogs that you read the most in 2018. If you missed any, just click on the title to be taken to that page.
1. A Patient from Our Rotator Cuff Stem Cell Injection RCT
We’ve been slowly recruiting for a randomized controlled trial for the last few years that compares rotator cuff tears treated with a precise injection of high-dose bone marrow concentrate (HD-BMC) with physical therapy. This morning, I’d like to update everyone on where the rotator cuff stem cell…
2. The Antibiotic Cipro Damages the Batteries in Your Cells
We’ve seen many patients over the last decade or two whose lives have been ruined by quinolone antibiotics, like Cipro. Why? We usually see them for severe chronic tendon problems. Turns out that, in addition, these antibiotics, like so many drugs, work by inhibiting an enzyme that bacteria and…
3. Knee Stem Cell X-ray Results: Watch Me Grow New Cartilage in Seconds!
Understanding How X-ray Works. X-ray works like a beam of light passing through tissue. The hard stuff in the way (bones) creates a shadow on the film (or these days, on the computer sensor).
4. More Evidence that Knee Meniscus Surgery Causes Arthritis
You gotta love medicine. In no other profession would something that has been shown to be ineffective continue to be done. As an example, we’ve known for years now that knee meniscus surgery doesn’t work. Despite that, it’s still the most common knee procedure in the United States. We also have some…
5. PRP Doesn’t Help Cartilage Repair? Always Read the Fine Print!
It’s always bizarre to me what makes the rounds of the science news. This week it was a paper, which websites covered, with the headline “Platelet-rich plasma does not promote stem cell-mediated cartilage repair.” Like many research papers that are hyped, you always need to read the fine print. When…
6. Watch a Meniscus Treatment Using Precise Interventional Orthopedics
In order to understand what a Regenexx interventional orthopedic treatment involves, there’s nothing quite like joining us in a procedure suite to watch it for yourself. Today, I invite you in to observe a meniscus treatment as Dr. Pitts performs advanced precise image-guided injections into both…
7. Regenexx Publishes High-Level Knee Arthritis Stem Cell Study
Publishing research is hard. That’s why in the field of regenerative medicine so few have done it. In fact, as you look around out there at places that might treat your knee osteoarthritis, no matter how credible the outfit looks, none have published serious research. Meaning, you have no idea…
8. Why Are We Still Offering Meniscus Tear Patients Surgery?
If you read this blog, you have seen that we now have gobs of high-level evidence showing that surgery for the vast majority of meniscus tears in middle-aged patients is a fool’s errand.
9. What’s Possible with Stem Cell Cartilage Regrowth?
My Patient from This Week. This patient is a bit older, in his mid-20s, but also had a cartilage lesion. This was due to extreme weight lifting, and in the kneecap area, but when I first met him in Grand Cayman, he was not walking well.
10. Will Stem Cells Regrow Your New Cartilage if You Have None? Nope…
I Went to a Seminar and They Showed Me X-rays of Regrown Cartilage in “Bone on Bone” Knee Arthritis! Regrettably, you got scammed! Like every good magic trick, there is always something you missed.
The upshot? A happy new year from our team here at Regenexx! We’re looking forward to yet another transformative year for what we do in 2019. We also thank everyone who put their trust in us in 2018!
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NOTE: This blog post provides general information to help the reader better understand regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal health, and related subjects. All content provided in this blog, website, or any linked materials, including text, graphics, images, patient profiles, outcomes, and information, are not intended and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please always consult with a professional and certified healthcare provider to discuss if a treatment is right for you.