What is Ortho Biologics?

Ortho + Biologics is: A treatment aimed at restoring joint function by harnessing the natural healing processes of the body.

Best applied to the patient with a systematic, forward-thinking approach by an orthopedic musculoskeletal specialist, not just as pain management.

Though still in the early stages of development, progress in clinical applications has been and will be remarkable.

Ortho + Biologics is not: A temporary fix or “cure-all” for joint pain and stiffness; restoration of long-term function must be the goal of treatment.

A way to restore worn-out joints in the mature athlete, eventually, target joint regeneration.

Not routinely recognized by health insurance, especially the injections, and therefore not always reimbursed.

"What is Orthobiologics?"

For decades, the limited capability of highly specialized cartilage to heal properly after injury has plagued the recovery of athletes of all ages and abilities. Diminished performance and even arthritis have often been the result.

Ortho + Biologics is the emerging science of applying the Biology of enhanced native healing of joint cartilage & tissue to the field of Orthopedic sports medicine.

Increasingly, advances in biologic therapy are allowing the use of natural substances, as from an athlete’s own plasma and stem cells or donor cartilage grafts, modified and then re-introduced to injured areas, to promote healing in ways never before possible. This can now be accomplished by both surgical and non-surgical means. Technology is progressing rapidly. While currently able to repair, replace or restore damaged cartilage, the ultimate goal of Ortho + Biologics is to regenerate tissue and allow complete return of joint structure and function in the recovery of the injured athlete.

Kelly Cunningham, MD

Author

Dr. Kelly Cunningham Physician