After the treatment of my right knee, Dr. Centeno demonstrated how tight the ACL is now in my right knee. It's nice and snug with no extra play in it and the tears in the meniscus have healed very well. This is exactly the result we were seeking and what allowed me to continue cycling throughout the summer. This summer my business schedule got in the way quite a bit but I still managed to ride the legendary Triple Bypasss and also my annual stop at Copper Mountain to ride in the Courage Classic.
Unfortunately we noticed how loose the ACL was in my left knee. Performing a simple Lachman test indicated a remarkable amount of slippage, so we decided to get a MRI on the left knee to check it out. After doing so, we were able to see that the ACL was definitely intact, but that there were some spots around the meniscus and the medial collateral ligament that were experiencing some wear and tear. I have never suffered any injury to my left knee, but I do experience stiffness in it. Given the success I had with Regenexx SD on my right knee, I decided to have my left knee treated with Regenexx SCP as well. I just had the final injection eight days ago. Right after the injection I experienced quite a bit of pain and discomfort and the range of motion in my left knee was far from 100%. Here's the breakdown of the treatment:
July 5 - Receive prolotherapy injection and micro-damage to the left ACL, MCL and meniscus. This is basically an injection of dextrose directly into the ACL along with some additional micro-damage using needles. This all causes irritation to the areas that are being targeted for treatment because it causes the red blood cells to flood into the area to heal the irritation and damage. Although it's a weird feeling during the injection right into the ACL, this treatment didn't slow me down one bit with regard to cycling.
August 1 - Receive another prolotherapy injection and micro-damage to the left ACL, MCL and meniscus again. Same thing as one month before.
August 28 - Blood draw to use for the stem cell plasma injection.
August 29 - Receive the stem cell plasma injection to the left ACL, MCL and meniscus. This injection was painful and immediately afterward I had a very difficult time putting any weight on my left leg. In fact, I went home and used crutches for two days until the pain subsided enough to begin walking.
Today, a little over one week after the injection, I have nearly 100% range of motion back and I am starting to walk longer distances. I am still having some trouble at night so I put a pillow between my knees to try to level out my left leg a bit. I've already started doing some light spinning on my road bike with it on my trainer. So far, everything is tracking similarly to my experience with my right knee. Now it's just a matter of following the regimen from the doctor and allowing the treatment take effect.
The Regenexx SCP procedure that I had performed on my left knee last week was less than half the cost of the Regenexx SD procedure. I had no injury in the my left knee, just wear and tear from getting older. But I'm hopeful that I will experience the same outcome as my right knee. I look forward to the day where I can run many miles without knee pain.
has there been any mri's of your right knee indicating that the injury has healed?
ReplyDeleteYes, I had a MRI on the right knee back in May and it indicated that the two tears to the meniscus had healed.
DeleteI'm confused. Further down your blog you said you didn't get an MRI. I'm on the verge of getting similar treatment to both my knees. I'd like to know if MRIs show that tears actually heal. Maybe the major tears never really disappear but the minor tears do?
DeleteI had an MRI before having the procedure to identify the tears, but did not have one after the treatment. Based on my pain and inability to run prior to the treatment versus the lack of pain and my ability to run after the treatment, it worked very well for me. It worked so well, I had the treatment on my other knee (http://bsnyderblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-regenexx-stem-cell-procedure-for-my.html)
DeleteSo 2 months have passed - how is the left knee feeling? And if you could explain, what is the difference between SCP and SD procedure? Is it less expensive? What was your final out of pocket cost to have both knees done? I have been in touch with a clinic here in the SF Bay Area about the procedure & tomorrow will see my primary Dr. to arrange the MRI(s). Thanks for the blog.
ReplyDeleteThe left knee is doing very well. In fact, I've been running for a month now. When performing the Lachman test, there is still some laxity in the left knee, but I'm not too worried because I'm not seeking perfection. My right knee is really where my concern lies and it's doing great.
DeleteThe difference between SCP and SD is defined by the source from which the stem cells are harvested. SCP harvests stem cells from the bone marrow in your hips vs. SD which harvests stem cells from your blood. The SCP procedure is very similar to what other clinics refer to as a Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment. SCP is much less costly as compared to SD (I paid about $2400 for the SCP treatment vs. about $5600 for the SD procedure).
Good luck with your pursuit of treatment.
Thanks for all the great information. I am really happy it is working so well for you. I have already had a total knee replacement on my left knee (10 years ago...doing great) and would LOVE to avoid such a big (painful and long recovery) surgery on my right knee. I have had prolotherapy on my right knee several times over the past 3 years with minimal positive results and the fact that insurance doesn't pay for stem cell therapy...makes it even less appealing. Prolotherapy is at least reasonably affordable...$215/treatment.
ReplyDeleteAnyway your blog has given me food for thought. Also the difference between the SCP and SD therapies was a little confusing. Isn't SCP from the blood, Stem Cell Plasma,not the bone marrow? Which would account for the price difference....because it's much easier to harvest.
As explained on the Regenexx website:
DeleteRegenexx-SD (Same Day)-A bone marrow based stem cell procedure. Spinning down bone marrow in a bedside machine produces a set amount of stem cells to be injected. Regenexx-SD can concentrate those cells many times over bedside centrifuges.
Regenexx-SCP-(Super Concentrated Platelets)-How can you supercharge your own stem cells? Our SCP procedure yields a much more pure and higher concentration of platelets then is normally found in bedside machine made platelet rich plasma.
thanks for these posts on regenexx. i had meniscus trimmed in right knee in 2006 at age 58 and it is doing fine. however my left knee has been a problem for several years. mri 2 years ago said degenerative tear medial horn and mild oa in patella compartment. does my age now 65 disqualify me? reading charts it seems some poor candidates(not sure if age is key determinant) so almost as well as average and good. anyway, any opinion. it doesn't hurt to run, but gets painful and full squat is a problem. and, since i live in ga, the closest is alabama or florida. would you trust your knees to anyone but the innovators? thanks in advance
ReplyDeleteAfter having both of my knees treated with Regenexx, I will never opt for surgery again if I don't have to. Search the my blog and you will find write-ups of all of my experiences with Regenexx. My advice to anyone suffering from knee trouble is to be evaluated for Regenexx to see if you're a candidate.
DeleteCongratulation on your recovery, I'm glad to see Regenexx really works.
ReplyDeleteMy brother has a herniated disc condition, so we had a phone appointment, we live in Brazil, but as the back surgery is still new and, somewhat on test we didn't go through with it.
As his condition has got worse, we are thinking about Regenexx again.
Then, I'm looking for more information on the back surgery, I wonder if you know anyone/ blog/ website that I could contact.
And,what are your thoughts about the downside of stem cells? I read about the risk of cancer.
Well thanks in advance.
Unfortunately I do not know anyone who has had the Regenexx treatment for a herniated disc or any other treatment for the spine. My suggestion is to speak to someone at the Centeno-Schultz (http://www.regenexx.com/) about the treatment.
DeleteThe only downsides to stem cell treatments that I am currently aware of are the cost (because it is not typically covered by insurance) and the chance that a single treatment may not be enough (you may require more than one treatment therefore costing more money).
Hi Bruce, hope you're doing well and your knees are no longer giving you any problems. I would like to know if your MRI scan has showed that the ACL to the right knee has healed up as well? In the Regenexx website they actually only mention about the treatment of meniscus tears and not really the ACL. I've got ACL laxity in my right knee after an injury as well, it is not bad enough to have surgery but not good enough for almost all forms of sports now. Also do you do any pivoting sports now? Sorry for so many questions and thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteI never actually had a follow-up MRI after the treatments. We based my outcome success on my level of pain (which was zero), my level of ability to participate in the sports I play (I actually started running again after nearly 20 years of no long distance running) and the tests my doctor performed on my knees (the laxity was completely gone and he was really tugging on my knees to test them).
DeleteAlthough I am running longer distances than I ever have, I decided to stop playing competitive soccer (much to my dismay). Even though I love soccer, I decided it was time to hang it up competitive play because two of my 3 major knee injuries occurred playing competitive soccer. I still run, cycle, swim and hike and I intend to do these sports for a long time to come.
This sounds encouraging! I injured my knee playing aikido but did not tear my meniscus or have any visible damage on two mris. I experience significant pain when I walk though, with every step. Do you think this could help me? What are the chances that things could get worse?
ReplyDeleteIf you have pain with every step you take, clearly there is something wrong. It sounds like you should schedule an appointment with an orthopedic doctor to have your knee examined. You may be a candidate for the Regenexx treatment but you will need to be evaluated to diagnosis the situation.
DeleteYour blog encouraged an active 68 year old woman with patellofemoral pain "runners knee" to do both SD and SCP. Had procedure Oct 30th.. not even a month and I already have a great outcome (90% improvement )which is remarkable since I am living in a cold climate Chicago and have arthritic tissue surrounding right knee cap.
ReplyDeleteSo glad I did not do a complete knee replacement as medical community recommended. Glad to be able to run up and down stairs and will soon pick up my golf clubs for daily rounds and get back to yoga and tai chi when I spend 1st quarter 2014 in So Cal.
Giving a big thank you to Dr Mitchell Sheinkop out of Weil Clinic Des Plaines IL ( who studied under Dr Centano for
being able to triple the amount of stem cells injected -something that 2 months ago had to be done off shore. Would do it to my left knee after reading your new post when it gets to that point.
True test will come in the first 6 months of 2014.. but so far nothing negative to report.
Marilyn OConnor
boomtozoom@aol.com
Hi Marilyn, I hope you are doing great after the procedures on your knee. I would like to know if there is anything negative so far to report or if everything is still great?
DeleteHi! I was wondering what time of meniscal tears you had....vertical, radial, flap, etc. and we're they in the red or white zone. I'm 28 year old competitive runner with meniscus tear in which I have one Dr tell me it's in the white zone while the other says its in the red zone ( and repairable). Hoping to avoid a menisectomy! I am very interested in stem cell, but am curious of the type of meniscus tears you had. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDelete48 YO female dancer.2 knee surgeries in the past 2 years for a simple men. procedure.
Still trying to recover 5 month later. Have chodromalacia in my knee which has progressed to level 4. Not able to run or fast walk at all.
Was offered a trial in Chicago for stemcell procedure but not sure if I should actually go to Denver. Please let me know where you had it done and which doctor did you use. Thank you so much
Yes, I have had stem cell injections in both my knees, you commented on this post where I discuss it and the doctor that I used. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
DeleteHi Bruce, thank you so much for sharing your story about Regenexx. I'm scheduled to receive the therapy in a couple of weeks for a ruptured ACL. Since a few years have passed since your procedure, I wanted to check in: have you experienced any kind of complication since the procedure? How is your knee doing today? Thanks again. :)
ReplyDeleteNo complications whatsoever since the Regenexx procedures on both knees. I'm very happy I chose this route instead of surgery.
DeleteThat's really great to hear; thanks for the response. :) By the way--for any readers who are interested, Regenexx is currently running a stem cell clinical trial for ACL repair. Treatment is free for those who qualify.
DeleteThanks for sharing your experience. I had a meniscus tear while skiing and was recommended meniscectomy but doesn't think it is a good option. I have almost full range of motion and no pain in the knee which got injured. I get pain when i tried running but in normal day to day activities including climbing stairs etc.. it is fine. I have taken an appointment with a Regineex doctor which is in a different state but debating if i just get a PRP or MSC from my local bone and joint center. Also, in all the forums i have read, people have reported better range of motion and no pain but not MRI results. Did you have an MRI before and after the procedure on your right knee and it showed that the tear had healed. I really would like to ski again :)
ReplyDeleteBased on a combination of the MRI and testing of your knee, the doctor will recommend the type of procedure that is necessary for your injuries. I never had a follow-up MRI on either knee. Instead, I used my ability to get back to running without any pain as the measure. After having not run for many years due to knee pain, I was able to run at least 10 miles at a time within a year of treatment and even further over more time.
Deleteokay. Thx a lot for your reply. I have an appointment with the Regenexx doctor in a week. Let's see what he recommends.
DeleteHi Bruce, thank you for the great blogs. I had both my ACL and meniscus torn playing soccer in 2014 and had ACL and meniscus repaired. I got back to active life but my knee is defiantly not the same and quit soccer recently since it gets badly swollen and takes 2-3 weeks to recover after a single game. Do you think stem cell therapy can be helpful with someone that has part of the meniscus removed and ACL repaired using hamstring graft? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou should really schedule an appointment for an evaluation by the doctors at a Centeno-Schultz certified clinic. They can evaluate your situation and provide a recommendation based on your specific injuries.
DeleteBased on my own experiences with Regenexx, I would say "Don't expect miracles." Since my treatment 18 months ago, it's hard to say whether I'm any "better." I deliberately put less stress on my right knee now, so maybe that accounts for something.
ReplyDeleteEveryone's body is unique and everyone's body heals at different rates. So, of course, your results may vary. But you certainly cannot deny the huge numbers of successfully avoiding surgery via the use of stem cells.
Delete