The most advanced healing system you’ll encounter is your own body. Consider how you watched the progress of a cut or scrape where first, a scab appears before it finally falls away, and ultimately, there’s no sign of the original injury, with or without a doctor’s intervention.
Aiding the natural healing process is the fundamental idea behind regenerative medicine. An exciting treatment technique used in this field is that of orthobiologics. Sanjay Khurana, MD, uses orthobiologic techniques to speed your recovery from spinal surgery. These treatments often reduce inflammation and pain as well. Orthobiologics may be a treatment to consider after a fracture.
Spinal fractures most frequently occur due to violent trauma, such as an auto accident, sports injury, falling, or other event that creates a high-velocity impact. These types of incidents cause axial burst and chance fractures. Sometimes, vertebrae can collapse due to conditions like osteoporosis that reduce the spine’s load bearing capabilities. These are known as compression fractures.
Minor fractures of any type may be able to heal with rest and time. More significant fractures may need surgery to correct and stabilize vertebrae to protect the spinal cord and nerve roots branching from the spine. Without intervention, spine fractures can cause permanent damage, including paralysis.
Natural healing is a complex and coordinated process that draws on the resources within your body. The pace of healing depends on the supply of these resources, many of which arrive at the fracture site through the bloodstream.
Orthobiologic treatments seek to augment the natural supply of several crucial raw materials to help the body speed up its repair processes. These materials may come from your body, called autologous tissue, or from other biological sources, called allogeneic tissue. Regardless of the source, adding these tissues supports the healing process and may even assist repairs that might not happen naturally.
Dr. Khurana typically uses three types of orthobiologic tissue. Here’s how each functions to aid natural healing.
Bone tissue has a construction that perhaps compares best to sponge toffee. Rather than a solid, impermeable structure, bone consists of tiny bubbles. These provide a balance of strength and weight. This bubble structure is like a matrix. After a fracture, this matrix provides a workshop for the body to use for repairs. Bone grafts fill voids left by fractures to supply matrix tissue.
Stem cells are the body’s generic tissue. They have no form or function on their own, but they have the ability to turn into differentiated tissue where needed. A stem cell might become bone, muscle, tendon, or other tissue. However, the body needs a place for this conversion to happen. The workshop of the extracellular matrix is the ideal location.
The proteins that guide the healing process act as workshop supervisors, speeding or slowing repair functions like the stem cells conversion. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an excellent source of concentrated growth factors.
After a fracture of the spine, each of these orthobiologic components may help with your recovery. Every fracture is different, so Dr. Khurana assesses your condition and recommends the best course of action.
Leaving a spine fracture to heal on its own is a risky decision. Put the power of orthobiologics to work for you. Call or click online today to schedule a consultation at our offices in Marina Del Rey or Manhattan Beach, California.
