The Future of Healing
Dr. Wallace says there are two fields that are emerging in sports medicine: Stem cell therapy and orthobiologics. Stem cells are similar concept to PRP. “It’s injecting cells that have the opportunity to become different cells,” he explains. Orthobiologics is the use of our own cells to heal problem areas. “[It’s] growth of new tissues that we can insert into the body—[trying] to mimic portions of the body that might be damaged. It could involve engineering of tissues or using your own cells to grow tissues,” he says.
With every new injury, we athletes can feel like our ability to enjoy sports is slipping away. But these new therapies mean we may enjoy unprecedented ability to stay active longer than ever before.