What are Orthobiologics?

If you have an orthopedic problem such as a sports injury or fracture, or even a chronic disease like arthritis, you want the best treatment that will give you the best results.

That’s why you should be glad that Dr. Austin Yeargan III at Carolina Joint and Arthritis in Wilmington, North Carolina, is developing and testing new techniques in the field of orthobiologics, which uses your body’s natural healing abilities in a supercharged way.

Here’s more information about what orthobiologics are and how they can help you.

What are orthobiologics?

Orthobiologics are part of the field of regenerative medicine, which uses natural substances and healing cells from your own body (known as biologics) to treat injuries or conditions from which you are suffering.

Regenerative medicine is a broad field that can range from regrowing organ tissues to fighting cancer, while orthobiologics focuses more narrowly on using therapeutic cells (such as bone marrow) and platelet rich plasma (PRP) to treat musculoskeletal and orthopedic injuries.

How does it benefit patients?

Dr. Yeargan has developed his own orthobiologic procedure called Nanoplasty® and Mechanical Axis Deviation Procedure (NAMAD). It’s designed to stimulate cartilage growth and can treat both cartilage injuries and advanced arthritis. The goal is to activate healing activities in the cells surrounding the injury site so they will help regenerate new tissue.

Here’s how it works.

First, Dr. Yeargan uses a painless procedure to harvest a bone marrow sample from your hip. He separates out the healthiest healing cells from the marrow (signaling cells), which will activate the healing activities in other cells. He then gathers clotting proteins (platelets) from your blood and captures TSG-6 proteins, which help fight inflammation, protect healthy cells, and support healing activities.

Once he has all three substances (bone marrow concentrate, clotting proteins, TSG-6 proteins), he combines them and injects the new substance into the bone below the cartilage, as well as into the joint where the problem is occurring. 

This procedure surrounds the damaged cartilage with signaling cells that promote healing and new cell regeneration, helping you recover from your injury or arthritis more quickly.

How is PRP used?

Dr. Yeargan also uses orthobiologics to accelerate healing in another way: He creates platelet-rich plasma from a sample of your blood. The PRP is full of growth factors that help speed up healing, protect healthy cells, and reduce inflammation.

He removes inflammatory substances and concentrates TSG-6 in the PRP, which he then injects into your joint. You’ll experience pain relief and quicker healing from your injury — all powered by the healing properties of your own body.

If you want to find out more about how Dr. Yeargan and his team at Carolina Joint and Arthritis can treat you with orthobiologics, call our office at 910-659-9597 or book your own appointment with the online scheduler. You’ll be glad you did!