Are you tired of living with your knee or joint pain? Let’s look at the differences between steroid injections and regenerative tissue injections to highlight which course of treatment may be the right option to help get you out of pain safely and effectively.
Steroid Injections
Steroid injections, such as cortisol shots, can offer fairly quick pain relief (often within 48-72 hours) through quick response as an anti-inflammatory. Steroids can offer short-term relief, but the effects usually wear off after about six months.
Subsequent shots offer less and less relief until there is very little noticeable difference from the shot. There are also limits on how many shots you may receive in a given area. Steroid injections, start to do more damage than provide relief as the tissue being injected actually starts to deteriorate, over time. All in all, while they generally provide short-term pain relief, they don’t offer a long-term solution for those suffering from knee pain or other joint pain.
Regenerative Tissue Injections
Regenerative tissue injections also offer pain relief as an anti-inflammatory, but in an entirely different way. The purpose of regenerative treatments is to heal the source of the pain or injury at a cellular level. This is done by injecting a high concentration of potent healing components such as growth factors, cytokines, peptides, collagen, and more into the affected area, spurring on the body’s natural healing process. These elements work together to encourage the speedy recovery of the damaged muscle, bone, nerves, and soft tissue in the area.
This healing response can mean damaged cells get repaired or replaced with new healthy cell growth. If your knee pain is coming from damaged or missing cartilage tissue, for instance, and that tissue gets repaired or regrown, how will your knee feel after that? These out-patient treatments are all-natural, non-invasive, and have little downtime. The best part about regenerative tissue injections is that the results are long-term. Pain relief often lasts for many years, as the tissue has been repaired at the base level.
Many patients who have received regenerative tissue injections have been able to reduce their painkillers or other medications or get off of them entirely. Many have also been able to postpone joint replacement surgery or even avoid it altogether.
When it comes to the differences between steroid injections and regenerative tissue injections, only one of them focuses on healing and restoring normal activity. For those who are seeking a non-surgical way to get out of pain for good, these injections may be the right course of action. Contact the team at ReMed Pain & Wellness Clinic to find out if you are a candidate for regenerative therapies.