Musculoskeletal injuries are classified as any injury that affects bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves. They normally result in pain, loss of function, instability, and, in the longer term, osteoarthritis. These ailments cost healthcare services billions of dollars each year. Conventionally, the management of these injuries involved immobilization, activity modification, physical therapy, and pharmacological agents, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids viscosupplementation, and narcotics, and a variety of surgical procedures. All these modalities have limitations and potential side effects.
Over the last decade, there has been an increased interest in the use of biologics for regenerative medicine applications including in the field of interventional pain management and orthopaedics. In regenerative medicine, living, functional tissue is engineered to repair, regenerate or replace cells, tissues, or organs to restore and/or establish normal function lost from age, disease, damage, or congenital defects. Biologics currently used in clinical practice include platelet-rich plasma (PRP), bone marrow aspirate and/or concentrate, adipose tissue aspirate/lipoaspirate, amniotic fluid, amniotic membrane, umbilical cord derived Wharton’s Jelly, umbilical cord blood, etc. The healing potential of these products is attributed to the presence of stem cells, growth factors, cytokines, hyaluronic acid, and extracellular vesicles, including exosomes.
The increasing applications of biologics for regenerative medicine have led to considerable marketing, patient demand, and clinical use. This collection highlights the present state, regulatory challenges, and evolving trends on the use of biologics for musculoskeletal regenerative medicine applications. We invite clinicians and researchers working with biologics in the field of interventional pain management and orthopaedics to submit their work to this topic. We welcome, not limited to, both basic science and translational original research, study protocols, case reports, case series, perspectives, commentary, and review articles. We look forward to your valuable contribution!
Musculoskeletal injuries are classified as any injury that affects bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves. They normally result in pain, loss of function, instability, and, in the longer term, osteoarthritis. These ailments cost healthcare services billions of dollars each year. Conventionally, the management of these injuries involved immobilization, activity modification, physical therapy, and pharmacological agents, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids viscosupplementation, and narcotics, and a variety of surgical procedures. All these modalities have limitations and potential side effects.
Over the last decade, there has been an increased interest in the use of biologics for regenerative medicine applications including in the field of interventional pain management and orthopaedics. In regenerative medicine, living, functional tissue is engineered to repair, regenerate or replace cells, tissues, or organs to restore and/or establish normal function lost from age, disease, damage, or congenital defects. Biologics currently used in clinical practice include platelet-rich plasma (PRP), bone marrow aspirate and/or concentrate, adipose tissue aspirate/lipoaspirate, amniotic fluid, amniotic membrane, umbilical cord derived Wharton’s Jelly, umbilical cord blood, etc. The healing potential of these products is attributed to the presence of stem cells, growth factors, cytokines, hyaluronic acid, and extracellular vesicles, including exosomes.
The increasing applications of biologics for regenerative medicine have led to considerable marketing, patient demand, and clinical use. This collection highlights the present state, regulatory challenges, and evolving trends on the use of biologics for musculoskeletal regenerative medicine applications. We invite clinicians and researchers working with biologics in the field of interventional pain management and orthopaedics to submit their work to this topic. We welcome, not limited to, both basic science and translational original research, study protocols, case reports, case series, perspectives, commentary, and review articles. We look forward to your valuable contribution!
