Stem cell therapy, explained.

For most conditions, no. Stem cell therapies are not FDA approved for the orthopedic, autoimmune, or longevity indications we treat. They are offered under the Mexican regulatory framework in México, by licensed Mexican physicians, under explicit written informed consent.

This is the same reason regenerative protocols at this level of dosing are not widely available in the United States. The legal and regulatory framework is different here, not the medicine. The physicians, the lab, and the protocols are held to international clinical standards.

If FDA approval status is a hard line for you, this is not the right care setting. Tell us on the consult and we will say so.

Most single-joint protocols are a same-day procedure. You walk out the same afternoon. Mild soreness and swelling at the injection site is common for 48 to 72 hours and usually resolves on its own with acetaminophen.

Functional changes typically begin in the 4 to 6 week window. Peak benefit lands at 3 to 6 months as the joint environment stabilizes. Published trials show pain and function gains sustained at 12 months, with some cohorts maintaining benefit at two years and beyond.

Aftercare check-ins are scheduled at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. See the full recovery timeline on the arthritis article.

End-stage, bone-on-bone joint disease where joint replacement is the better answer. Active, uncontrolled inflammatory arthritis or autoimmune disease that needs to be quieted by a rheumatologist first. Active malignancy or recent cancer treatment without oncology clearance. Active infection in the target joint or systemically. Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Severe uncontrolled cardiovascular, hepatic, or renal disease.

If you are not a candidate, we will tell you on the consult. There is no pressure to proceed.

Twenty minutes from the San Diego border to Hospital Blue in Tijuana. Mercedes Sprinter pickup from your San Diego hotel, the border crossing, and arrival at the clinic. Most single-joint protocols are a same-day procedure with optional overnight stay.

The concierge handles scheduling, hotel coordination, ground transport, and post-procedure check-ins. You focus on the procedure. Get in touch and we will send you the trip outline based on the protocol you are scheduled for.

Single-joint UC-MSC protocols typically begin in the mid-five-figure range (USD), with dose and combination therapy scaling pricing. Bilateral and multi-joint protocols are quoted as packages with pricing efficiency over single-joint billing. IV systemic and spine protocols are quoted per case.

The consultation is complimentary and you receive an itemized written quote before anything is scheduled. No surprises. U.S. insurance typically doesn't cover regenerative cellular therapy because most protocols aren't FDA-approved; many patients use HSAs, FSAs, or medical financing.

Cortisone is a potent anti-inflammatory that gives fast pain relief but does not change the joint's underlying tissue trajectory. A 2017 JAMA trial showed repeated triamcinolone was associated with measurable cartilage volume loss over two years compared to saline.

MSC therapy works biologically in the opposite direction. Rather than suppressing inflammation, it recalibrates the cellular signaling toward a healing rather than degrading state. Benefit develops over 4 to 12 weeks and tends to last 12 months or longer.

PRP (platelet-rich plasma) is a concentration of your own platelets drawn the same day. It delivers a burst of growth factors locally and is fast, autologous, and particularly useful in tendinopathy.

MSC therapy uses living allogeneic UC-MSCs (umbilical-cord-derived) that secrete a sustained signaling complex over weeks. The two are complementary. Many orthopedic protocols combine PRP with UC-MSC where both the growth-factor burst and longer paracrine signaling add value.

Not in the imaging sense. MSCs do not, in the published trials, physically rebuild cartilage on MRI. What they appear to do is shift a chronically inflamed joint back toward homeostasis through paracrine signaling.

The practical effect is meaningful pain reduction and functional improvement in early-to-moderate osteoarthritis, sustained at 12 months in many patients and beyond two years in some cohorts. We will not promise cartilage regeneration; the evidence supports what the evidence supports.

Local anesthesia is used; sedation is not typically required for joint injections. Most patients describe the procedure itself as comparable to a standard intra-articular injection.

Mild post-procedure soreness and swelling at the injection site is common in the first 48 to 72 hours and resolves on its own. Acetaminophen is preferred over NSAIDs in this window because anti-inflammatories may blunt the early cell signaling we want to preserve.

For the right patient, yes. Patients with early-to-moderate osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grades 1 through 3) often have years of native joint function still worth preserving. MSC therapy can buy time, defer surgery, and improve quality of life in the meantime.

For end-stage bone-on-bone disease (KL 4), joint replacement remains the gold standard for durable pain relief. We are not a substitute for replacement at end-stage disease, and we will tell you so during the consult.

Most patients are scheduled for a single protocol per joint and we measure the result at the 12-week endpoint. Some elect to repeat at 12 to 24 months, particularly for high-demand joints, polyarticular disease, or progressive OA.

Limited data suggest repeat dosing may produce additional benefit (Matas 2019). We do not push re-treatment on a calendar. The labs and the exam decide.