Stem cells are, perhaps, the most widely known component of regenerative therapy, but they are not the only one, and each has its own application:

• Stem cells can be used to grow new tissue of any type in the body if injected at the site of injured or damaged tissues and activated.
• Growth factors is a term for biological materials that stimulate healing as a kind of catalyst. These can be used in conjunction with stem cell injections, or used to stimulate growth and repair.
• Other biological material may be used in the therapy. Doctors can construct a type of “bio-scaffold” at the site of an injury, around which new tissue will grow.

Generally, these procedures involve harvesting biological materials from the patient. So in a sense the body is helping heal itself.

“We’ve been doing regenerative medicine in the Sports Medicine Center at Mayo Clinic for nearly 15 years,” said Dr. Jonathan Finnoff, medical director of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine at Mayo Clinic Square in downtown Minneapolis. As the technology has advanced, the field has risen in importance to Mayo, which established its Center for Regenerative Medicine in Rochester in 2011. “This is a big deal for Mayo Clinic,” Dr. Finnoff said.

Click here to read the Greater MSP’s profile on regenerative sports medicine at Mayo Clinic.

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