Are Stem Cells The Future of Recovery?

Are you an athlete, someone who works out, or an active person, because I am. I have had shoulder, knee, and back pains before, from fracturing my growth plate on my right knee as a kid to almost fully tearing my MLC during my freshman year of high school during football practice. Today, many adults have to live with the lifetime effects of sports-related injuries from when they were kids. Some problems that many adults deal with every day are issues such as knee and back pain. With some pain being caused by inflammation, which would have to be drained by sticking a needle in the kneecap or even by knee surgery. For the back pain, you could go to a chiropractor or most of the time, that pain leads to back surgery. If you had these types of problems, read the rest of this blog because there is definitely some interesting research that has been done. 

What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are cells taken from your own body, from bone marrow or adipose tissue and put back into that area of injury by injection.  Plus stem cells can also turn into different types of specialized cells, helping in the repair of damaged tissue more effectively This process can help ligaments, tendons, cartilage, muscles recover that have been injured by activating regeneration, reduction of inflammation, also speeding up the body's natural healing process. Because the cells come from your own body the risk of rejection or adverse reaction or side effects are very low making the treatment a promising for recovery

How Stem Cells Might Speed Up Teen Recovery:

When teens or kids get injured they are “dismissed as simple growing pains” which is believed due to injuries just healing over time on their own. Also young athletes play a wide range of sports which make them more susceptible to these injuries. During adolescence years, their muscles and bones grow fast which can cause tears and hair line fractures. When it comes to teens like in high school sports, high school athletes play time, practice and training in the weight room time are very important along with grades. Which injuries can affect time in school due to doctor appointments, surgeries and recovery time at home before going back to school. Then when you get back to school you're behind. With stem cell therapy it can prevent those issues because it can “remarkably speed up repairs of damaged tissues” and “down time”. Helping prevent injuries by promoting healthier tissues and reducing the chance of another injury.  While increasing your performance allows you to train harder, faster to return to your peak and help your range of mobility. 

Stem cell Therapy Could change the game:

With sport growing in size the demand of recovery is higher with players not wanting to lose their playing time, their spot on the field or even scholarships. Also with athletes looking for new ways to train, increase their strength and their bodies health the future of stem cells thereby in sports looks increasingly promising.  Treatments can be personal to you to “optimize” your healing process. While increasing your performance by going past recovery to enhance their “physical capabilities, allowing them to push their limits.”

Risks and things to consider about treatment:

With Stem cell therapy being still under research and new. It is important to know that “Many procedures still lack robust scientific backing, and the long-term effects remain largely unknown.” Plus some practices may not obey preexisting guidelines, upping your chances of unproven treatments or procedures. Also depending on the region or even your own religious values may affect treatment as well. Make sure you always research any treatment you are going to take and get medical advice from your primary doctor to avoid those risks and harm to yourself. 

Are Stem Cells Treatments Safe:

– FDA regulations, and long-term research.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several stem cell-based therapies, each designed to treat specific medical conditions.” Some of those treatments include; Hematopoietic Stem Cell transplants(HSCT) which was one of the earliest to be approved. It involves “transplanting blood-forming stem cells” to treat certain blood disorders also including Leukemia, lymphoma and inherited Blood Disorders.  A list of other approved therapies: Yescarta, Kymriah, Breyanzi, Abecma, and Carvykti. With recent discoveries leading to the approval of gene therapies that modify patients’ stem cells to treat genetic disorders. A list of these approved therapies include: Zynteglo, Skysona(For patients less than 18 years old), For patients 12 and over Casevy, Lyfgenia. Researchers have also explored mesenchymal stromal(MSCs) for more types of therapies due to differentiating into multiple cell types and modulating immune responses. These therapies are: Ryoncil for pediatric patients. Final is “Omidubical is a nicotinamide-modified allogenic hematopoietic progenitor cell therapy derived from cord blood(Blood left inside the umbilical cord after child birth) which is an approved indication is blood cancers for 12years and older.

Tyler Estes: State Treasurer (2025-2026)