by admin | Nov 16, 2022 | Health Awareness
Breathwork is a form of mindfulness that offers several physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. Often, people develop the unconscious habit of shallow breathing, which can trigger stress in the body and simulate a fight-or-flight response.
Breathwork exercises use deep, diaphragmic breathing to increase oxygen and stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing stress and calming the body and mind. Beginners can include breathwork in their daily lives in seven simple ways.
1. Diaphragm Breathing
Diaphragm breathing is a primary breathwork practice. Start by sitting or lying down. Rest one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Slowly inhale using your nose and feel your belly rise. Next, let the breath out through your mouth and feel the belly soften.
2. Box Breathing
Box breathing follows a pattern of 4-4-4-4. Inhale, hold your breath, exhale, and pause, each on the count of four.
3. Alternate Nostril Controlled Breathing
This exercise focuses on breathing through one nostril at a time. Sitting upright, block your left nostril with your left thumb. Slowly breathe in through the right nostril, then release your hold on your left nostril and use your third finger to block your right nostril.
Pause at the top of your inhalation before exhaling through your left nostril. Pause again, then inhale through your left nostril, and switch your fingers again, this time closing your left nostril with your thumb.
4. Ocean-Sounding Breath
Also known as the Ujjayi breath, the ocean-sounding breath is a popular yoga technique to create an audible breath. Start by inhaling through the nose. As you slowly exhale, contract your throat to make a gentle ocean sound.
5. Four-Seven-Eight Breathing
A form of rhythmic breathing known as four-seven-eight breathing can relax the body, improve sleep, and offer mental and physical health benefits.
Sitting or lying down comfortably, inhale for four seconds. Hold the inhale for seven seconds before exhaling for eight seconds.
6. Pursed Lip Breathing
Pursed lip breathing slows the breath and corrects breathing patterns. Start by sitting comfortably, relaxing your neck and shoulders. Next, breathe in with your nose as you count to two, then purse your lips as you exhale through your mouth as you count to four.
7. Resonance Breathing
Resonance breathing intends to relax your body and mind while reducing anxiety.
Start lying down with your eyes closed. Gently breathe in through your nose with your mouth shut for six seconds. Don’t overfill your lungs. Exhale slowly over six seconds, gently allowing your breath to leave your body.
Whichever method you choose, incorporating breathwork into your daily routine can make a difference in your health.
For more health awareness blogs, please visit www.stemedix.com/blog.
by Stemedix | Nov 14, 2022 | Regenerative Medicine, PRP
Among athletic adults, chronic hip pain is common, affecting 30-40% of adults who play sports. In addition, adults over 60 are 12-15% likely to experience chronic hip pain, regardless of their activities. In the past, patients with chronic or acute hip injury pain typically had limited treatment options. The hips are the largest weight-bearing joints, making them more prone to overuse injuries and causing the hips to be especially difficult to heal. As a result, most hip injuries are treated with rest and physical therapy. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections can potentially offer an alternative. Keep reading to learn more about PRP Injections for hip injuries.
What Causes Hip Pain?
Hip pain and injuries can affect patients of all ages. However, it’s most common among older adults. While some patients may experience damage in their hips due to a childhood illness or a structural abnormality, most injuries occur from overuse or trauma.
Hip injuries that patients often experience include:
- Labral tears (damaging the cartilage)
- Strains or sprains
- Dislocated hip
- Fracture
When a hip becomes injured, patients are more likely to experience other conditions that cause chronic pain in the hips, such as arthritis or bursitis.
What Is Platelet-Rich Plasma?
Four components comprise whole blood: the red and white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. Each serves an essential function as blood moves through the body.
Platelets are part of the body’s healing response, clotting the blood, so your injury stops bleeding and releasing growth factors and anti-inflammatory mediators to help facilitate healing.
PRP starts with a sample of the patient’s blood, which then spins in a centrifuge. The centrifuge separates the platelets and plasma from the white and red blood cells. As a result, PRP contains a highly concentrated number of platelets in the plasma.
Once separated, a physician injects PRP into the patient’s injury site to stimulate and expedite healing.
How Can PRP Treat Hip Injuries?
Several studies examine the benefits of PRP in treating hip injuries and pain, specifically hip bursitis, osteoarthritis, and labral tears.
Hip bursitis is particularly difficult to treat, yet studies show the condition is unlikely to resolve without medical intervention. However, recent reviews of using PRP injections to treat hip bursitis show patients experienced significant improvement after their injections. In addition, long-term data showed that patients still benefited from the injections two years later.
In patients with labral tears in their hip, a study examining the effectiveness of PRP injections to treat hip pain found patients experienced significant symptom relief, pain reduction, and improved function after their injections.PRP injections for hip arthritis also show positive results, with patients undergoing the treatment experiencing remarkable improvements in their function and pain within two weeks. With PRP injections, patients suffering from hip pain may have a new avenue to explore when searching for relief. To learn more about PRP Injections for hip injuries, contact a professional at Stemedix today!
by admin | Nov 11, 2022 | Stem Cell Therapy, Diabetes, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Stem Cell Research
Currently, it’s estimated that nearly 1.5 million Americans are living with type 1 diabetes (T1D), a number that is expected to increase to over 2 million by the year 2040[1]. In the U.S. alone, healthcare costs and lost wages directly related to T1D currently exceed $16 billion per year.
While the most common treatment for T1D continues to be regular injections of insulin and is effective in improving hyperglycemia, the treatment has proven ineffective in removing autoimmunity and regenerating lost islets. Additionally, islet transplantation, a recent and experimental treatment option for T1D, has demonstrated its own set of issues, primarily poor immunosuppression and a limited supply of human islets.
The rapid progression and recent advances in stem cell therapy, including mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy, have created interest in using stem cells to help manage the symptoms of T1D. In this review, Hai Wu reviewed the properties of MSCs and highlighted the progress of using MSCs in the potential treatment of T1D.
Diabetes clinics have demonstrated progress using depleting antibodies as a way to treat T1D, but continue to find remission to typically last for only a short period of time. Additionally, treatment with these antibodies has shown not to discriminate between different types of T cells, meaning even T cells involved in maintaining normal immune function are depleted; this phenomenon has been shown to contribute to other serious health complications.
In addition to the immunomodulatory effects demonstrated by MSCs, they have also shown the ability to recruit and increase the immunosuppressive cells of host immunity. Recent results from clinical trials have shown that just a single treatment with MSCs provided a lasting reversal of autoimmunity and improved glycemic control in subjects with T1D.
While these results demonstrate the potential of MSCs for a wide range of autoimmune diseases, Wu points out that the small sample size of these studies necessitates further clinical trials before considering approval for use in clinical applications.
Studies of human islets and human islet transplantation have been limited because of a shortage of pancreas donors. Although unable to be definitively demonstrated, and considering their ability to differentiate into other cell types, there is a hypothesis that MSCs can transdifferentiate to insulin-producing cells. While not yet fully understood, this hypothesis is further supported by the observation of crosstalk between MSCs and the pancreas in diabetic animals.
Other in vivo studies examining this relationship has produced mixed results. For example, Chen et al. (2004) were unsuccessful in attempts to transdifferentiate MSCs into insulin-producing cells in vitro. On the other hand, several studies, including those by Timper et al. (2006) and Chao et al. (2008) demonstrate the formation of islet-like clusters from in vitro cultured MSCs and the possibility of using MSCs as a source of human islets in vitro.
Despite these promising findings, the author highlights that most of these studies failed to generate sufficient amounts of islets required for human transplantation and long-term stability. However, Wu notes recent advances in tissue engineering, including biocompatible scaffolds, might better support in vitro generation of islets from MSCs.
The author concludes that MSCs can be isolated from multiple tissues, are easily expanded and genetically modified in vitro, and are well-tolerated in both animal and human studies – making them a good candidate for future cell therapy. On the other hand, stem cell therapy alone might not be enough to reverse the autoimmunity of T1D, and co-administration of immunosuppressive drugs may be necessary to prevent autoimmunity.
MSCs have shown great promise in the field of regenerative medicine. While stem cells used as a potential treatment for T1D appear generally safe, the author calls for future in-depth mechanistic studies to overcome the identified scientific and manufacturing hurdles and to better learn how cell therapy can be used to treat – and eventually cure – T1D.
Source: “Mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy for type 1 diabetes – PubMed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24641956/.
[1] “Type 1 Diabetes Facts – JDRF.” https://www.jdrf.org/t1d-resources/about/facts/. Accessed 2 Nov. 2022.
by Stemedix | Nov 7, 2022 | Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cell Therapy
Chronic pain can develop anywhere in the body. It can develop from conditions like arthritis, result from a traumatic injury, or serve as an ongoing symptom of diseases such as cancer or neuropathic pain from diabetes. Often, patients suffering from chronic pain feel their only options for relief are ongoing medications to mask their symptoms or surgery, like a knee replacement to treat chronic knee pain. However, regenerative medicine, also known as stem cell therapy, offers a new option for chronic pain patients to explore that may be especially beneficial for those hoping to avoid surgery. Here we will break down why you should choose regenerative medicine over surgery.
Stem Cell Treatments Have Lower Risks than Surgery
You may want to avoid surgery for many reasons, and the risks of anesthesia and the potential for complications with large incisions are essential factors to consider. Stem cell therapy does not require general anesthesia, and since the process only requires injections, not incisions, there are no surgical wounds or scars.
If you’ve had an adverse reaction to anesthesia or possess risk factors for experiencing a negative response, such as age or a coexisting condition, stem cell therapy offers a non-surgical alternative to finding relief.
Stem Cell Treatments Require Minimal Downtime
Suppose that you lead an active, busy lifestyle. In that case, you probably don’t have time for an extended recovery period, especially when that recovery time keeps you from essential activities like driving or walking.
While most surgeries to alleviate chronic pain require extensive downtime, patients who choose stem cell treatments typically return to work or daily activities within a few days. Although stem cells do take time to heal damaged tissues, many patients begin to experience pain relief within two to three weeks.
Surgery Doesn’t Guarantee Pain Relief
When your chronic pain leads you to the point where you’re willing to undergo surgery, you want to know that the preparation, procedure, downtime, and expense will alleviate your pain. Unfortunately, however, that’s not always the case.
A 2018 study showed that 20% of those who undergo a total knee replacement still live with chronic knee pain. In addition, another study revealed that up to 58% of patients who undergo hip replacement surgery continue to endure persistent pain.
Stem Cell Treatments Are Effective and Non-Invasive
It can be hard to believe that stem cell injections can potentially offer similar, if not better, results than surgery. However, research following patients for two years after their stem cell treatments found all participant groups, regardless of age or BMI, experienced significant pain improvement. Patients who feel surgery is their only option to alleviate chronic pain should ask their doctor about the benefits of pursuing stem cell therapy. If surgery is unavoidable, stem cell therapy can also help post-surgery to help improve healing time and reduce pain. If you would like to choose regenerative medicine over surgery contact Stemedix today!
by Shoot To Thrill Media | Nov 4, 2022
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