Autologous Stem Cell Injection Therapy (ASCI)

What is Autologous Stem Cell Injection Therapy?

Autologous Stem Cell Injection therapy utilizes a patient’s own bone marrow or fat, both of which are rich sources of stem cells. Growth factors and The bone marrow or fat is collected, filtered, centrifuged, and injected into injured areas using image guidance. Preliminary work shows level 2 and 3 evidence that it is as safe as other injection-based treatments, poses no risk of tumor genesis, and in numerous retrospective and prospective case series shows excellent clinical outcomes and objective healing of multiple musculoskeletal tissues.

Autologous Stem Cell Injection therapy is a regenerative interventional orthopedic injection procedure that is an excellent choice for athletes or anyone with an active lifestyle that would like to get pain relief and restore their mobility and function. This procedure is commonly used to treat the following conditions:

• Advanced arthritis
• Tendons / Tears
• Ligaments / Tears
• Cartilage / Damage
• Spinal discs / Tears
• Chronic fractures
• Muscle and Fascia Tears

How Autologous Stem Cell Injection Therapy Treats Pain

During Autologous Stem Cell Injection therapy, a small volume of the patient’s bone marrow is extracted from their iliac crest near the base of the spine then placed in a centrifuge and spun at a high rate of speed to separate the mesenchymal stem cells from other blood cells. The concentrated bone marrow is then injected into the targeted joint or tendon followed by some of the patient’s PRP to activate the stem cells to treat the injured tissue needed for repair. 

Some clinics are using concentrated fat as a scaffold or architectural construct for the stem cells to hang onto until the tissue can be incorporated into the tissue that is missing from the injured area. In this case, a few milliliters of the patient’s fat is obtained by liposuction from the abdomen or buttock. After the fat has been prepared for injection it is injected into the target joint or tissue at the same time as the stem cells and PRP. The additional risks and complications of obtaining fat and bone marrow from a patient are the additional procedures needed to obtain these tissues can cause additional pain, bleeding, and infection. However, in the hands of an expert with the use of image guidance like high-resolution ultrasound, this risk is minimal/rare and will be fully explained during the consultation.