JM is 47 y/o athletic patient who had a 1.5 year history of severe shoulder pain and restriction in movement. He was unable to shave or lift objects from the kitchen cabinet with the affected arm. MRI was significant for advanced osteoarthritis, degeneration of the labrum and tears in the rotator cuff. Total joint replacement was the only option presented. This is a major surgery with extensive rehabilitation and relatively poor outcomes.
Patient elected to undergo a non- surgical stem cell therapy: the Regenexx procedure. The patient’s own stem cells (autologous) were injected into joint, labrum and rotator cuff tears. Mesenchymal stem cells have significant repair and regeneration properties. JS made significant improvement after multiple sessions. 13 months after starting the Regenexx procedure for shoulder pain, an MRI was obtained for comparison. The most striking changes are below. The top picture show multiple tears in the supraspinatus tendon identified by the red arrows. The extensive light-colored areas in the tendon represent swelling and tears. The bottom picture is significant. It shows significant reduction in rotator cuff tendon swelling as evidenced by the much improved dark-colored signal in the tendon which is identified by the yellow arrows. The corresponds with JS’s clinical improvement. JS was able to avoid a major surgery through the use of his own stem cells.
