What is Bone Marrow Concentrate?

Bone marrow concentrate (BMC) is a type of regenerative medicine injection that can decrease pain and improve healing in the areas where it is used. During the BMC process, bone marrow from your body is removed, concentrated, and then injected back under at a specific location to decrease pain and promote healing.

Our bone marrow is a spongy, soft substance that is be found inside some bones, and it's also where our blood is produced. There are at least two different types of stem cells in our bone marrow. Each of these cells is like a little factory producing proteins and other biologically active things important for our overall health and function. In Regenerative Medicine, we use these cells for their ability to stimulate healing and their ability to minimize inflammation and pain.

How bone marrow concentrate is harvested

A needle smaller than a pencil is used to aspirate the bone marrow of the posterior pelvis under ultrasound guidance. This type of method only requires local anesthesia and takes less than 10 minutes and requires no recovery time. The harvested bone marrow is then placed in a centrifuge for 15 minutes to concentrate the number of stem cells and to remove the red blood cells and other undesirable elements of the bone marrow. Once the bone marrow has been concentrated, it is re-injected. There is no need to culture the stem cells or to add any other things to the bone marrow concentrate.

How bone marrow concentrate can be used

BMC is currently being studied for use in nearly every orthopedic pathology. BMC is used clinically most often to decrease pain and inflammation and improve function. Bone marrow concentrate does not have any current approval from the FDA for a specific orthopedic indication and research is ongoing to document the many potential benefits that BMC therapy may have in orthopedics.

Here are some of the areas where peer-reviewed published research shows that BMC may provide medical benefits:

• Treating bone fractures that have not healed properly
• Promoting the healing of significant wounds and injuries
• Treating bone death (osteonecrosis)
• Treating osteoarthritis in joints of the body
• Treating tendon partial tears
• Improving orthopedic surgery results for some conditions

How BMC is used at Texas Orthobiologics

At Texas Orthobiologics, we only harvest BMC from the patient's own body to avoid the possibility of rejection or the transmission of any disease. All procedures are done by Don Buford, MD, a Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon and Regenerative Medicine expert. Bone marrow and the stem cells in it can be obtained in a 10-minute procedure under local anesthesia with virtually no post-procedure discomfort to the patient. Bone marrow concentrate can be re-injected into a site on the patient's body that is hurting or inflamed or simply not healing like it is supposed to!  We only use BMC where there is substantial clinical evidence that it represents an effective alternative to other more invasive and risky treatments. After a thorough patient evaluation and open discussion of the clinical risks and benefits, we may offer a patient BMC therapy for their orthopedic condition.

As an orthopedic surgery clinic AND regenerative medicine center, we are uniquely positioned to best counsel patients on all their surgical and nonsurgical treatment options.

We have had outstanding results from using BMC thoughtfully and have helped a great many patients who were told their only option was an orthopedic surgery like a joint replacement or back surgery.

To learn more about BMC at Texas Orthobiologics, click here.