Florida Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Center and Spine, Sports and Physical Medicine in Sarasota, FL uses regenerative medicine to treat a variety of orthopedic injuries and conditions, ranging from back pain to heel pain. The conditions we treat include osteoarthritis, partial tendon and ligament tears and muscle tears. All injections are done with ultrasound guidance to precisely place the injection in the correct location.
The Florida Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Center (FLOFAC) team offers stem cell injections. By combining platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy with stem cells to enrich the injections, they leverage your body’s healing mechanisms to restore function to your foot and ankle. This process is often referred to as PRP with autologous conditioned plasma (ACP).
This innovative treatment harnesses the power of stem cells to restore tissues and function in your foot and ankle. The injections include amniotic stem cells — your blood’s growth factors — and white blood cells, providing everything your body needs to heal and restore injured and damaged muscle, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.
Your orthopedic specialist treats many foot and ankle problems with stem cell therapy. They may recommend PRP with ACP to delay or prevent joint surgery and treat:
The regenerative properties of the stem cells spur your body to regrow damaged tissue, reducing pain and improving function and range of motion.
For PRP with ACP, your doctor draws a vial of blood and places it in a centrifuge, which separates the platelets and growth factors from the rest of the blood components. When ready, they draw some PRP into a special syringe that contains amniotic stem cells to create an “activator.”
Your foot and ankle specialist then injects the activator and remaining PRP into the treatment area. This immediately stimulates and enhances your body’s healing process.
At FLOFAC, the team uses amniotic stem cells collected from amniotic fluid after a pre-scheduled Cesarean delivery. The collection of these stem cells doesn't harm the child or mother and, therefore, raises no ethical or moral dilemma.
The team opts for amniotic cells over embryonic and stem cells collected from the patient’s fat or bone marrow because the high concentration increases the safety and effectiveness of the treatment.