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Hyperbaric oxygen therapy refers to the medicinal use of oxygen respiration at 100% concentration and elevated pressures. These treatments usually are carried out in devices that allow compression, such as hyperbaric chambers. The effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy are multiple and are mainly explained by three mechanisms: 1. Hydrostatic pressure and removal of inert gases from the tissues. 2. The pharmacological effect of high blood oxygen concentrations. 3. Oxygenation of hypoxic tissues. All this translates into antiischemic, regenerative, and even antimicrobial effects that facilitate its use in multiple diseases.

There are more than 23 million Americans who struggle with an autoimmune condition every day. Many of these diseases are life-threatening and can completely change the way a patient lives their day-to-day lives. There is a lot that stem cell therapy claims to be able to do in regards to your health. More common uses are for helping people deal with chronic pain or joint problems, but stem cells can get more specialized than that. They also have been shown to help people who are suffering from autoimmune disorders. Autoimmune disorders are when a person's body develops antibodies to fight against the body's tissue. Antibodies are supposed to be for fighting things like viruses that get into your body, but sometimes, these signals get crossed, and the body ends up attacking itself. These kinds of diseases can be hazardous for a person, so science must find an answer for how to deal with them. Science uses immunosuppressive agents such as steroids, methotrexate, cyclosporine, and gold to fight autoimmune diseases. These methods are not perfect. They require lifelong treatment frequently, and this lifetime of therapy can have adverse effects on its own. This is where stem cells come into the picture. Stem Cell Therapy for Autoimmune Disorders Stem cell therapy offers a unique opportunity for people who are suffering from autoimmune disorders. The stem cells used for the process are taken from umbilical cords and prepped to help patients fight their autoimmune diseases stem cell therapy. Studies on the topic have proven the method to be fruitful thus far and have shown that the use of stem cells cannot only help fight autoimmune diseases but to help the more significant immune system as a whole. This is because of a unique ability that stem cells have, which allows them to interact with the immune system in such a way as to shut off specific responses to pathogens while continuing to let the immune system to fight off diseases that it should be fighting. This is impressive because it shows the all-around necessity of stem cells in the medical field. They exhibit a high capacity to help people in need, but they do not have the common side effects that other methods have, such as needing continuous treatment. Stem cells also help to repair and replace cells that have been compromised by the autoimmune disorder. They will be able to transform into any cell that your body needs. Your body will improve through stem cell therapy and take the next steps toward your recovery. Is Stem Cell Therapy Safe? There is also minimal risk of your body rejecting the cells. This low risk is because your body can not tell the difference between its stem cells and the umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells that these types of procedures provide. People who are suffering from autoimmune diseases have to deal with the fact that the body is trying to fight itself, but stem cell therapy can put a stop to this. Thanks to the regenerative power of stem cells, autoimmune diseases are receiving an overhaul in treatment methodology. Now, instead of having to get treated with the methods of the past regularly, someone can choose to try to utilize stem cell therapy to rid themselves of the disease for good, possibly. Scientists are still testing stem cells to see what they can do for people, but for right now, the science is precise, helping strengthen your immune system and fighting autoimmune diseases is yet another problem people face that stem cells may be able to fix. Reach out to your bioxcellerator patient advocate to discuss if stem cell therapy could be a viable treatment option for your condition. You may be able to completely transform your life if stem cell therapy works for you. Your quality of life could ultimately improve if you receive stem cell treatment.

Stem cells are very quickly, becoming a much more accepted way of treating various ailments. As research in the field progresses, scientists are quickly finding more and more ways to apply it to people’s health. One such way that is rapidly gaining popularity is using stem cells in place of steroids to treat conditions, such as degenerative disc disease. Before we jump into how stem cells can help treat degenerative disc disease, it may be helpful to understand what degenerative disc disease is. Let’s get into the basics so that you can understand what stem cells can do for your condition. What is Degenerative Disc Disease? Degenerative disc disease is a common ailment that can affect people of all ages and happen all across the spine. It is a blanket term that describes the general degradation of spinal discs due to the wear and tear of daily life. The spine consists of 33 bones known as vertebrae, and these are connected via ligaments and inter vertebral discs. The discs add flexibility to the spine and act as shock absorbers as well. Although these discs are capable of withstanding disturbances, repeated trauma to them can start to crack and cause the discs to begin to harden. This condition occurs because the cartilage in the spin wears down from daily activities or trauma. After some time, the cartilage will be gone and will not be able to absorb the shocks of daily activities. This condition is a common source of chronic pain for people, with joint pain in the hands, neck, lower back, knees, or hips being the most common symptoms. Degenerative disc disease can be challenging to diagnose and requires an MRI to be able to see the damaged discs, which appear darker in the MRI imaging. There are various treatments that people can try, but the disease itself currently has no cure. If scientists can continue their research into using stem cells to help with degenerative disc disease, they might be able to change that. One of the most common treatments for degenerative disc disease is steroids. Using Steroids to Help Degenerative Disc Disease Treatments for this condition have a wide range, with some people only needing physical therapy to help ease the pain it causes where others undergo surgery to try to correct the issue. Physical therapy will help strengthen the muscles around the damaged disc, but will not solve the root of the problem. No method is guaranteed to solve the problem, but one way that has been working for patients is the use of steroids. The medical use of steroids is occasionally confused with the athletic use that professional athletes sometimes employ, but this is different. Epidural steroid injections are a method of pain management that can help ease a person who is dealing with chronic pain from this disease. This procedure works because steroids are a potent anti-inflammatory medication that, when injected around a damaged disc, can help assuage the pain by reducing the sensitivity of the nerve ending and reducing inflammation around the disc. This treatment may solve the patient’s pain in the short term; however, there are some serious long-term consequences to extended steroid use. There have been several studies that have shown steroids cause damage to the cartilage in the discs over a long period. Steroids were once the go-to treatment for degenerative disc disease, but recently the thinking has shifted. Orthopedic surgeons are beginning to see the long-term effects of steroid use, and they are not pleased with the results. The pain may subside, but the cartilage will continue to wear down over time. Patients may feel that they are fine and will resume normal activities. This approach is a massive issue because the same activities that caused degenerative disc disease will destroy any cartilage that is in the discs. Patients will be left in a worse position than they started. The cartilage in their discs will be gone entirely, and the discs will be rubbing together, which will cause intense pain. Steroids can help many patients who are suffering from disc-related chronic pain in the short term, which may satisfy many patients. However, if steroids are not able to help reduce pain and inflammation, patients are left with few options. Usually, the next step is to have surgery. This surgery requires trying to remove the damaged parts of a disc or replacing the damaged disc altogether. Spinal surgery usually has long recovery times that dissuade many people from taking that route, but now they may finally have another option. Thankfully, stem cells are beginning to prove themselves as a viable way of treating degenerative disc disease due to their innate regenerative power that can slowly work to undo the damage. Stem Cells to the Rescue! Stem cells have regenerative properties that make them a prime candidate for these kinds of diseases. As stem cell research has expanded, scientists have been finding increasingly more ways to apply stem cells to help people fight diseases. Stem cells are very good at assisting bolster bodily functions such as the immune system, which makes them a prime candidate to help fight diseases. For example, clinical studies have shown that they are exceptionally good at helping fight respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia because of their abilities to not only strengthen the immune system but also reduce the deadly inflammation that can worsen diseases such as these. Their regenerative properties also make them perfect for helping treat injuries that do not heal quickly or naturally and cause people ongoing pain. Stem Cell Therapy for Degenerative Disc Disease Stem cells are growing increasingly common in the use of helping athletes rehabilitate injuries to joints and ligaments, allowing them to forego surgeries that often require them to be out of their sport for months to even years. These reasons combined make for stem cells are so effective at fighting conditions like degenerative disc disease. By using mesenchymal stem cells, doctors have been able to help people repair their discs and rid themselves of pain in as few as six months. The research is not quite there yet, but it undoubtedly promises research that shows the true extent of what stem cells can do. This is because mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are undifferentiated stem cells that are prepared for this exact kind of job within the body. They are present in almost all human tissue, and the primary function of these stem cells is to support standard repair and rejuvenation of diseased and aging tissues. This is because, as cells age, they accrue damage, but MSCs can go to where the body needs and replace the damaged cells. Stem cells that are present in the body are not as active as the stem cells when you were younger. Children bounce back from injuries, meanwhile the elderly struggle to get back to their usual selves. MSCs can differentiate themselves into connective tissue that can help your back slowly rebuild as necessary to resume its normal functions. A Bright, Pain-Free Future Although this is still being researched and studied, the use of stem cells could prove to be a very effective way to help fight degenerative disc disease and many other ailments similar to it. Thanks to incredible regenerative properties of MSCs, people have been able to see drastic improvements in a condition that is liable to be a significant hindrance to someone’s life and cause them a great deal of ongoing pain. Using stem cells as a replacement for steroid injections is far from being a cure. Still, it presents a bright future for the field of regenerative medicine as stem cells have once again shown that they can contend with seemingly any disease or ailment and help people have an increased quality of life due to their presence. As research continues to evolve in this ever-growing field, it only becomes more likely that stem cells will become a mainstream way of treating degenerative disc disease and possibly, many other conditions as well. Reach out to bioxcellerator if stem cell therapy could be a potential treatment for your degenerative disc disease. You could go from living with intense pain to living a pain-free life in a matter of months. Your quality of life will dramatically improve if you are a proper stem cell candidate.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a relatively new disease that was discovered back in 2002. It is a rare, but terrifying condition that affects a number of people throughout the world. The exact number is currently unknown. Patients who were functionally just fine become shells of their former selves.

A pitcher's worst nightmare is hearing that they need to have Tommy John surgery. The surgery has an extremely long recovery period, and pitchers may not always return to their original pitching performance. Thankfully, stem cell treatments are beginning to make a difference in helping to heal injuries that, in the past, would require Tommy John surgery. Some MLB players have even used stem cell therapy in hopes they could avoid Tommy John surgery. Before we get into how stem cells can help prevent Tommy John's operation, it may be helpful to understand the history behind Tommy John's surgery and what causes it. Ulnar Collateral Ligament The ulnar collateral ligament is a triangular band that runs on the inside of the elbow. The ligament stabilizes the elbow through various motions, such as throwing. Typical injuries range from minor inflammation to a full-blown tear, which requires Tommy John surgery. During the throwing motion, the ulnar collateral ligament goes through an extreme amount of tension. When pitchers throw as hard as they can, the maximum tensile stress of the ligament is reached. Doing this every day for years can cause serious problems. What Causes the Injury? In baseball, the injury is caused by excessive throwing. Pitchers have been performing the same motion their entire life; it is no surprise that the ulnar collateral ligament begins to wear after thousands of baseball games. Early childhood sports specialization is another significant cause of this injury. Children who play a variety of sports will develop muscles and will not overuse tendons and ligaments. There is a strong correlation between the number of pitches over time and an ulnar collateral ligament tear. There is only so much that the ligament can take before it tears. History of Tommy John Surgery Tommy John surgery was first performed back in 1974, on none other than Tommy John. The first time it was completed, it was extremely experimental, and there was no guarantee that he would ever be able to pitch again. Tommy John went on to have a very successful career after he underwent surgery. He played until he was 46 years old and won 164 more games. The surgery is straightforward. A surgeon will go into a patient's elbow and create space for the new tendon. The tendon is usually taken from the forearm but can be taken from several places in the patient's body, such as an accessory hamstring. The cord is anchored onto the bones and then patients go through a rigorous rehab process. The number of surgeries in teenagers is on the rise as sports become more and more competitive and because early specialization into one game, baseball. Nearly two-thirds of Tommy John surgeries are performed on teenagers. This epidemic does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Granted, the success rate is high, at about 85% for the procedure. There are several issues that Tommy John surgery creates, even though it does help get pitchers back on the mound. Problems that Tommy John Surgery Presents:

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