Bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) is a biologic therapy, a medical treatment in which the active medicine derives from a living organism. In the case of BMAC, that organism is you.
If you’ve heard of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell therapy, you can add BMAC to the list of biologics with a big potential for treating orthopedic pain, such as that caused by arthritis.
At Westside Pain Specialists in Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, and Rancho Cucamonga, California, Dr. James Nassiri believes BMAC may represent the future of orthopedic recovery. This month, we’ve provided a primer that describes the treatment and its applications.
Bone marrow is the body’s production center for red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
Medical science has used this ability for decades in the form of bone marrow transplants, a form of stem cell therapy to restore the ability to manufacture these components when that ability has been lost to blood cancers and other conditions.
In BMAC, we’re primarily interested in bone marrow stem cells, platelets, and growth factor hormones that fill the liquid portion of the marrow. The concentrated serum derived from bone marrow aspirate boosts soft tissue healing while reducing inflammation.
BMAC is typically a single-session treatment lasting less than 90 minutes. Under local anesthesia, we harvest bone marrow, usually at the iliac crest — the ridge at the top of the hip — a common site for this purpose.
The aspirated tissue goes through a centrifuge process to isolate its components by density. The selected elements are then recombined as an injectable serum, which we use at the site of your orthopedic injury.
The serum contains high concentrations of your body’s own stem cells and platelets (carriers of growth factor hormones). These are raw materials for your body’s healing process as well as regulators of inflammation.
Dr. Nassiri typically recommends BMAC therapy for moderate to severe osteoarthritis in joints like the ankle or knee, other forms of cartilage damage, and chronic injuries to ligaments and tendons.
Perhaps the biggest recovery adjustment for a patient with arthritis is avoiding the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for up to six weeks after your procedure. These medications can interfere with the early stages of recovery. Use acetaminophen as a substitute pain med during this period.
You can expect some soreness at the BMAC harvest site. Reduced pain and increased joint function usually take up to eight weeks to produce notable effects. You could see effective results for up to five years, though this varies among patients.
Contact us by calling the location of your choice directly to book your consultation with Dr. Nassiri today.
