"Managing Muscle and Joint Pain After COVID-19: Effective Treatments and Recovery Tips"

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added muscle/joint pain to its list of COVID-19 symptoms in April 2020. However, COVID-19 isn’t the only cause of joint or muscle pain. Varied factors like influenza, chronic illness, and injuries can also lead to muscle or joint pain (arthralgia).

Here’s what you should know about muscle pain associated with COVID-19 and what to do about it.

Status of musculoskeletal conditions

According to the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study, the global burden of painful musculoskeletal conditions ranges from 20-32%. COVID-19 has further increased the burden. COVID-19 has affected the respiratory tract and the musculoskeletal system, causing muscle pain, joint pain, restricted range of motion, joint stiffness, and fatigue. These symptoms persist for months, thereby reducing the quality of life.

People continue to suffer from these musculoskeletal problems even after recovery from COVID-19 infection. Do you know why? Here’s the reason!

How COVID-19 affects the musculoskeletal system

The systemic inflammatory response to COVID-19 infection affects the musculoskeletal system. The inflammatory molecules break the muscle fibre protein, reduce muscle protein synthesis, and weaken bones and muscles. For arthritis patients, it also leads to cartilage damage which might worsen the condition post-COVID-19.

What does muscle pain from COVID-19 feel like?

At times, it will be difficult to distinguish between virus-induced muscle pain and exercise-induced muscle pain. Both these pains differ in type and duration.

COVID-induced muscle pain feels like pain during movements and tenderness while touching the muscle. It is more generalised, whereas; exercise or injury-induced pain remains more localised.

Regarding duration, COVID-induced muscle pain takes weeks to months to resolve completely, even after you get rid of the COVID-19 infection. However, exercise-induced muscle pain resolves within 48-72 hours.

Usually, in COVID-19 infection, people experience more muscle pain than in joints. However, if you have arthritis, COVID-19 might worsen the symptoms.    

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"Comprehensive Guide to Non-Surgical Regenerative Treatments"

 

It’s time to change

Nearly 126 million people worldwide have suffered pain for the past three months. Among them, 40 million people undergo pain every day, and 20 million have severe pain that limits their routine activities.

Most people opt for standard traditional treatments such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids, physical therapy, corticosteroid injections, and surgeries to eliminate the pain. Unfortunately, these treatments provide relief only for a concise duration. And also may develop serious side effects in long-term use.

For example:

• NSAIDs and steroids promote joint cartilage loss
• Opioids prove to be too addictive
• NSAIDs increase the risk of heart attack, kidney failure, stroke, and gastrointestinal bleeding
• Corticosteroid injections increase the risk of infection, promote further degeneration of weakened tissues, and increase sugar levels in your body
• Surgeries also lead to more degeneration, followed by the possibility of joint replacement in five years
• Joint replacement increases the risk of infection, clotting, stroke, and heart attack
• Surgeries for knee ACL torn repair can result in severe arthritis in the future
• Even the lumbar fusion for low back pain proves to be ineffective

Hence, it is time to look for safer, better, and newer treatments. Here comes interventional non-surgical regenerative treatment to get rid of your ailments. This article aims to go through this branch of revolutionary medicine in detail.

What is interventional non-surgical regenerative orthopaedics?

Interventional non-surgical regenerative orthopaedics is a natural, innovative, and the best alternative to traditional treatment methods, including surgery. This field of medicine aims to treat various musculoskeletal injuries and degenerative conditions.

Unlike other treatment methods, non-surgical regenerative medicine uses your body’s healing cells to heal the damaged tissue and revive normal function naturally. The healing cells include platelets, growth factors, and stem cells. In regenerative medicine, these cells are derived from your body, concentrated, and delivered to the injury site for natural healing.

Who is Medica Stem Cells Clinic?

Medica Stem Cells is a non-surgical regenerative medicine centre that aims to relieve your pain permanently and get you back to the things you love as quickly as possible. At Medica Stem Cells Clinic, we specialise in creating personalised treatment plans backed by extensive published research according to your unique needs.

Our team is proud to work with the most advanced diagnostic tools, leaving no stone unturned. Your evaluation process with us may include CT Scans, MRI scans, X-Rays, and a complete medical history – in short, whatever it takes to get to the root of your symptoms. Once we have established the cause of your pain, we can offer a wide range of interventions to tackle it.

Today, Medica Stem Cells Clinic is the largest non-surgical regenerative medicine centre in Ireland, where more than 50,000 procedures have been performed as of 2022. This number anyway continues to increase every day. Our branches are in the UK, Ireland, India, the US and UAE.

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Regenerative Treatments for Shoulder Impingement Relief

 

What is shoulder impingement?

The main cause of shoulder impingement is shoulder pain. When you lift the arm above the shoulder level, the subacromial space becomes narrow. Hence, the soft tissues, tendons, and muscles surrounding the area will become tired due to increased pressure. This extra pressure aggravates the rotator cuff, and this causes shoulder impingement. As shoulder impingement is common among swimmers, it is also called a swimmer’s shoulder. Shoulder impingement is also present among the racket players and the throwers as they frequently move their arms above shoulder level. It can also occur if someone falls by stretching the arms in the outer portion. Suppose there is damage in the rotator cuff, the heaviness inside the tendon increases, which will lead to the compression of the blood capillaries. Hence, there is an inflammation in the tissues, and the pain slowly starts to aggravate. The pain will travel towards the backside, and you’ll have difficulty sleeping at night. This ailment, if not treated, may lead to the shoulder’s rotator cuff tear.

Reasons for Shoulder Impingement

There is no specific reason for getting shoulder impingement. However, the repeated usage of the shoulder may cause shoulder impingement. Excluding the sportspersons, many occupations involve lifting heavy things.  These activities can increase the risk of shoulder impingement. People having shoulder injuries like dislocation and elders can also have shoulder impingement.

Signs of shoulder impingement

The signs that may appear when you have shoulder impingement include sudden pain in the shoulder when you lift your arms over your head and backwards. There are many other symptoms like weakness, restricted movements, and a nagging pain frequented from the front part of the sidearm. This nagging pain will worsen during the night time.

Conventional treatment method of shoulder impingement

There are many forms of conventional therapies like prescribing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, RICE formula (Rest, Ice therapy, Compression, and Elevation), and corticosteroid injections. Many side-effects are involved in the conventional shoulder impingement methods of treatment. Prolonged use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can lead to heart problems, kidney-related problems, and gastrointestinal problems. Administering steroid injections can cause damage to the normal tissues that are around the damaged area.  Hence, usage of these steroidal injections for a prolonged period can lead to weakness. Some women also experience changes in their moods as well as the menstrual cycle. As a last resort, your physician will suggest surgery to get rid of the symptoms. But shoulder surgeries may have many side effects like bleeding, stiffness of joints, infection, and the damage of nerves around the area of the surgery.

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"Effective Regenerative Treatments for Runner’s Knee Relief"

 

Start running again with Regenerative Treatment for Runner’s knee

The Knee joint is one of the most important and strongest joints of the locomotor system of the human body. The pressure experienced by the knee joint is approximately three times the body’s weight when walking and about five times the body’s weight when running. In short, a person who weighs 80 kg puts about 400kg of pressure on the knee when landing each running stride. The immense pressure experienced by the knee, especially in runners, makes the knee more prone to injury. Iliotibial or IT band syndrome, also called runner’s knee, is a common knee injury, especially in runners. It is the second most common knee injury in runners after the jumper’s knee.

What is Iliotibial or IT band syndrome or runner’s knee?

The Iliotibial band, or IT band, is longitudinal fibrous support of the Fascia Lata. It is originating from the upper outer part of the hip and runs along the outside and lastly attaches to the top of the shinbone (tibia). When the knee bends, the IT band glides over the outside of the knee joint, including the bulbous end of the femur called the lateral condyle. If the IT band becomes tight either from strain or overuse, it can rub against the lateral condyle, causing inflammation and pain. Typically, there is sharp pain usually felt on the outer part of the knee joint.

IT band syndrome pain is usually most noticeable when the knee is bent at about 30 degrees. The outer part of the thigh feels tight, and hip and knee may be less flexible. Cyclists typically feel pain when the knee is bent at 30 degrees during the downward pedal stroke and again during the upward pedal stroke.

What is the conventional treatment for runner’s knee?

Non-surgical Regenerative treatments are usually successful in treating IT band syndrome. The Iliotibial band plays a vital role in stabilizing the knee. In the inward rotation, it also helps the hips in abduction. Conventional treatment for IT band syndrome, which is mainly palliative, includes:

Reduction in pain and inflammation

The initial treatment for the Iliotibial band syndrome include reduction of pain and inflammation using either of the following methods:

• rest,
• change of footwear,
• massage,
• proper warm-ups,
• stretching,
• NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,
• Change running biomechanics,
• Ultrasound and electrical muscle stimulation or Iontophoresis.

Massaging or stretching

Frequent massage on a slow roller or self-massaging machine can help to manage symptoms. The procedure is prolonged and time-consuming.

Cortisone injections

If these simple measures do not help, cortisone injections might be offered. Cortisone injections can have significant side effects causing weakness of soft tissues such as tendons and cartilage, particularly in patients receiving multiple injections per year.

Surgery

Surgery should only be the last resort. The small part of the IT band is cut, which rubs against the thigh bone (tibia). This procedure usually involves general anaesthetic and recovery is up to 6 weeks or more.

How regenerative treatment helps in Iliotibial band syndrome?

We, at Medica Stem Cells, offer Regenerative treatment which speeds up recovery time and is minimally invasive. The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia and has a speedier recovery and a lowered risk of infection or complication compared to invasive surgery.

Several studies have revealed the efficacy of Enhanced Enhanced Platelet Rich Plasma or Enhanced PRP in treating damaged ligaments and tendons. Enhanced Enhanced Platelet Rich Plasma not only manages the symptoms of IT band syndrome but also helps to promote healing of the damaged connective tissues.

Typically, people who undergo surgery continue to experience symptoms like numbness, tenderness, or reduced range of movement or reduced function. Also, the surgery has very painful post-operative recovery, which needs to be followed by rehabilitation to restore the mobility of the joint. Unlike conventional treatment, Regenerative treatment is a same-day procedure with minimal risk and rehabilitation for proper joint mobility is not required.

Regenerative treatment is an alternative treatment option which is proven to be very successful. It is used in treating various conditions, including pain in knees. Usually, patients with knee pain mainly rely on pain-killers to manage pain. However, the pain-killers do not treat the cause of pain.

Regenerative treatment, on the other hand, helps to treat the cause of pain by using the biological material that is harvested from the patient’s body to help treat injuries and other conditions. The Regenerative treatment helps in healing, regenerating tissues and in combatting pain.

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"How to Determine the Cause of Your Hip Pain: Key Signs and Diagnosis"

 

When people have pain in their hip region, most don’t investigate it right away. A lot of them tolerate the pain, especially if it sustains only for an hour or so. Only when the hip pain crosses the limit, they decide to consult a doctor. By that time, the condition might deteriorate where treatments don’t work due to delay. Physicians ultimately will recommend the patient for surgery due to failure in other conventional treatment methods.

‘Earlier the diagnosis, earlier the treatment’ – this should be everyone’s motto.

Hence, this blog article aims to present the symptoms of varied types of common hip-related problems and raise awareness of potential hip pain conditions. So you can get the treatment well in advance.

Anatomy of the hip region

The hip is a weight-bearing region made up of a ball-and-socket joint. The upper part of the thighbone is the ball region. Similarly, the portion of the pelvic bone is the socket region.

Articular cartilage is found beneath this ball-and-socket joint. It is the covering part of the bones which prevents them from rubbing against each other.

The hip joint stabilises the shape of the hip portion and helps to move the hip easily without creating any problem.

What if there occurs an injury or degeneration in the hip?

Due to overuse of the hip region, it is prone to injury and degeneration. Hence, your hip may undergo the following 8 common hip issues as listed below:

• Hip osteoarthritis
• Hip osteonecrosis
• Bursitis
• Hip tendinitis
• Hip labrum tear
• Snapping hip syndrome
• Hip flexor strain
• Hip flexor injury

You will experience symptoms such as hip pain, stiffness, tenderness, swelling, and limited range of motion leading to difficulty while walking.

Although all these problems cause severe pain in your hip, there are few differences in pain. So, let us go through them.

Hip osteoarthritis

As you grow older, the cartilage portion of the hip joint wears away. Hence, the joint parts will rub against each other causing hip pain. It is called degenerative arthritis or wear and tear arthritis.

In this condition, you get pain in front of the groin that may travel into the thigh portion. At times, you get pain at the side of the hip, back of the thigh or buttocks.

This pain will aggravate while getting up from a seated position, getting in or out of the car, bending to put on shoes, or doing vigorous activities. Hip pain will shoot up while standing, jogging, and walking.

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"Advanced PRP Treatment for Thumb Osteoarthritis Relief"

 Thumb osteoarthritis is a deteriorating condition, so many people are forced to opt for thumb joint replacement. However, many people are unaware of non-invasive alternate methods for delaying or avoiding thumb joint replacement surgeries. In Medica Stem Cells Clinic, we offer treatment methods that may help you avoid the invasive method of thumb joint replacement with non-invasive therapies for thumb osteoarthritis. Let us know first what thumb osteoarthritis is before we proceed with the non-invasive methods.

How thumb osteoarthritis occurs?

Compared to the other fingers, the thumb is distinctive because it can rotate more on its own at the carpometacarpal joint (CMC joint). CMC joint is situated at the bottom of the thumb, and it is commonly known as a basal joint. The thumb joint is held together inside a joint capsule that is filled with synovial fluid. This synovial fluid acts as a lubricant for the smooth movement of the thumb. Thumb osteoarthritis usually occurs in the CMC joint. In the case of thumb osteoarthritis, the cartilage of the CMC joint deteriorates, and the easy movement of one bone over the other gets hampered. Hence, in this degenerative arthritis condition, the bones rub with one another, and a lot of friction is caused. Lastly, this friction leads to the damage of joints and bones. And the synovial membrane that produces synovial fluid and gets inflamed. In a severe condition, there will be a loss of the cushioning effect. Hence, it’ll lead to the grinding between the bones. Eventually, due to the prolonged grinding, there will be a change in the joint shape. Women and elders above the age of 65 are at high risk of developing thumb osteoarthritis.

Signs of thumb osteoarthritis

The most common sign of thumb arthritis is basal joint pain. The thumb gets worsened due to continuous movement, swelling, and stiffness around the region of the basal joint. Hence, there will be difficulty in gripping objects using the thumb. Heal thumb osteoarthritis by conventional treatment There are multiple forms of conventional therapies, like corticosteroid injections, RICE (Rest, Ice therapy, Compression, and Elevation) therapy, and prescribing NSAIDs (administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), e.g. ibuprofen. However, these can only provide momentary relief from inflammation and pain. Also, consuming NSAIDs for an extended period can create many problems like damage to the kidney, gastrointestinal problems, and cardiovascular problems. Accordingly, prolonged usage of steroid injections can lead to a heart attack or stroke. As a final solution to thumb osteoarthritis, the damaged thumb joint can be removed with the help of surgery. As a follow-up of surgery, a pad of tissue can be replaced. Therefore, it will aid in keeping the bones separated, and there won’t be any friction and damage. Hence, the bones will not rub with each other. Undergoing surgery will create many complications. The thumb will look very prominently shorter after the surgery.

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"Is Stem Cell Treatment Effective for Osteoarthritis? Key Insights You Should Know"

 

Currently, researchers consider stem cells as the possible answer to many medical conditions, especially osteoarthritis. Their hope is that stem cell treatment can stop the progression caused by an ailment by repairing it. However, more research studies are ongoing to determine how stem cell therapy can be more effective and advanced to current protocols. Are you wondering what makes stem cell therapy so unique? Let’s read on.

How does stem cell therapy work?

Stem cell treatment uses the patient’s own cells to help restore the damaged tissues of your hip or knee joint. Unlike other treatments, stem cell therapy treats the underlying cause of knee pain and other joint pain. Hence, this therapy can reduce joint pain, increase movement, increase flexibility, speed up regeneration, improve blood flow, and treat ligament or tendon tears for a prolonged duration. Adult stem cell therapy is non-invasive and safe. Studies recommend that its side effects are very minimal with no adverse effects.

What are the stem cells used for knee osteoarthritis treatment?

Mesenchymal stem cells are used as they have the potential to differentiate into various types of cells. These mesenchymal stem cells can be administered as BMAC (bone marrow aspirate concentrate) and SVF (stromal vascular fraction).

How are BMAC and SVF collected?

BMAC

BMAC is collected as an aspirate from the bone marrow. This procedure is performed on the iliac crest under local anaesthesia. At the same time, this aspirate is concentrated with the help of a centrifuge to get the concentrate rich in beneficiary proteins. That’s bone marrow aspirate concentrate.

SVF

SVF collection involves the following steps:

• Collection of adipose (fat) tissue using liposuction procedure. The resultant is called lipoaspirate.
• Then centrifuged to separate and isolate the adipose-derived stem cells from blood and oil.
• Followed by a breakdown of fat by micronising the sample.

And the resultant SVF product can be readily injected into the affected joint area.

What happens during the BMAC or SVF procedure?

At first, a local anaesthetic is applied to the knee joint to numb any pain from the injection. Next, BMAC or SVF is injected intraarticular under ultrasound guidance for precision. Sterile dressings are applied to the affected area for up to three days to keep the injection area clean and prevent infection. Oral NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) should be avoided for four to six weeks before and after stem cell therapy as these negatively impact the healing process. However, always discuss with your doctor before stopping any medication!

How long does stem cell treatment last? What should you expect?

The effect of stem cell treatment for every joint region such as shoulder, knee, hip or ankle and foot fluctuates according to the severity and extent. However, several co-morbidities like kidney and heart issues, diabetes, body inflammation can also affect its success rate. Several research studies revealed that stem cell therapy had reported a long-lasting result anywhere between six months to a few years. The treatment can last up to 7 years or more depending on physiotherapy rehabilitation, active lifestyle, balanced diet and less stress post-treatment. Although no promises can be made about the exact duration of its long-lasting effect, stem cell therapy showed positive effects for a prolonged duration.

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