Key Takeaways
- We use your own cells, not donor products. At Integrated Spine, Pain, and Wellness, bone marrow stem cell therapy uses BMAC harvested from your own body—no third-party products from umbilical cord, amniotic tissue, or other donors.
- Ideal candidates have mild-to-moderate conditions that haven’t responded to conservative treatment. Bone marrow stem cell therapy may suit patients with joint or disc-related pain who’ve tried physical therapy and medications but want to explore options before surgery.
- Not everyone qualifies—honest evaluation is essential. Active infections, certain health conditions, and severe end-stage degeneration may disqualify patients. We believe in honest conversations about candidacy rather than treating everyone who asks.
- Biological age and overall health matter more than chronological age. There’s no strict age cutoff, but overall health status influences candidacy and potential response.
- Results vary and develop gradually. Bone marrow stem cell therapy isn’t a quick fix or guaranteed solution. The body’s response develops over months, and not all patients experience meaningful improvement.
- Choose Cleveland Clinic-trained expertise. Dr. Ashu Goyle provides thorough evaluation using only FDA-compliant autologous treatments from your own bone marrow.
Is Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy Right for You?
Chronic pain doesn’t have to control your life. But finding the right treatment requires honest evaluation of your specific situation—not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Bone marrow stem cell therapy offers a regenerative option for certain musculoskeletal conditions, using your body’s own cells to support natural healing processes. But it’s not appropriate for everyone, and understanding candidacy requirements helps you make informed decisions about your care.
This guide explains how bone marrow stem cell therapy works, who may qualify for treatment, and what to expect during evaluation. Dr. Ashu Goyle at Integrated Spine, Pain, and Wellness provides expert assessment to determine if this approach aligns with your pain management goals and unique health needs.
What Is Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy?
Bone marrow stem cell therapy—specifically BMAC (bone marrow aspirate concentrate)—is a regenerative treatment that uses mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) harvested from your own bone marrow to support tissue health and natural healing processes.
Understanding How BMAC Works
At Integrated Spine, Pain, and Wellness, we harvest bone marrow from your iliac crest (hip bone), process it in our office to concentrate the stem cells and growth factors, and deliver it to the target area the same day.
BMAC may work through several potential mechanisms:
- Paracrine signaling: Stem cells secrete growth factors, cytokines, and other bioactive molecules that communicate with surrounding tissues
- Cellular interaction: MSCs may interact with your body’s existing cells to support natural processes
- Immunomodulation: Components may help modulate inflammatory responses
- Differentiation potential: MSCs have the ability to differentiate into various cell types depending on their environment
The therapy is designed to support your body’s natural healing mechanisms rather than simply masking symptoms. However, individual responses vary significantly, and results cannot be guaranteed.
Why We Use Only Your Own Cells
At our clinic, we exclusively use autologous bone marrow—cells harvested from your own body. We do not use:
- Umbilical cord tissue products
- Amniotic fluid products
- Adipose (fat) tissue
- Any third-party donor materials
This autologous approach offers important advantages: you know exactly what you’re receiving, there’s no rejection risk, and the treatment stays within FDA guidelines for minimally manipulated cells.
Many clinics advertise “stem cell therapy” using third-party products of uncertain cell viability and quality. We believe using your own fresh bone marrow cells, processed the same day, provides the most transparent and appropriate approach.
Who May Be a Good Candidate?
Not everyone qualifies for bone marrow stem cell therapy. Candidacy depends on your specific condition, its severity, your overall health, and your treatment history.
Characteristics of Potential Candidates:
- Chronic joint or disc-related pain from mild to moderate degeneration
- Have tried conservative treatments (physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, possibly injections) for at least 6-12 weeks without adequate relief
- Good overall health
- Non-smokers or willing to stop smoking
- Realistic expectations about gradual improvement over months
- Conditions that haven’t progressed to end-stage
- Looking to explore options before considering surgery
Conditions That May Be Appropriate:
Bone marrow stem cell therapy is primarily focused on musculoskeletal conditions:
- Joint conditions: Knee osteoarthritis, hip discomfort, shoulder issues (mild to moderate)
- Spine conditions: Disc-related back pain, degenerative disc disease (earlier stages)
- Soft tissue conditions: Chronic tendinopathy, ligament concerns that haven’t responded to conservative care
The key is that conditions should be mild to moderate—where enough healthy tissue remains for regenerative support to potentially be beneficial.
Who May Not Be a Good Candidate:
Certain factors may disqualify patients from bone marrow stem cell therapy:
- Severe, end-stage conditions: “Bone-on-bone” arthritis, complete disc collapse, or extensive joint destruction typically requires surgical intervention rather than regenerative treatment
- Complete tears: Acute complete tendon or ligament tears generally require surgical repair
- Active infections: Bacterial, viral, or fungal infections must be resolved before treatment
- Certain health conditions: Severe organ failure, uncontrolled systemic illness, severe blood disorders, or active malignancy
- Spinal instability: Conditions requiring mechanical stabilization need surgical intervention
- Dominant nerve pain: When leg pain (sciatica) significantly overshadows back pain, the condition may not be appropriate for disc-focused regenerative treatment
Age Considerations:
There’s no strict age cutoff for bone marrow stem cell therapy. Biological age and overall health matter more than chronological age. However, patients in advanced age with multiple health conditions may face increased procedural considerations that need careful evaluation.
The Importance of Honest Evaluation
At Integrated Spine, Pain, and Wellness, we believe candidacy evaluation should be thorough and honest—not a formality before treatment.
What Honest Evaluation Means:
- We don’t treat everyone who asks. If bone marrow stem cell therapy isn’t appropriate for your condition, we’ll tell you directly.
- We evaluate whether your specific condition is likely to benefit, not whether you can afford to pay.
- We discuss realistic expectations, including the possibility that treatment may not provide meaningful improvement.
- We recommend alternative approaches when they’re more appropriate for your situation.
The Stepped Approach:
We typically recommend a graduated treatment approach:
- Conservative treatment first: Physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, activity modification
- Interventional options: Epidural injections, facet joint injections, or other procedures if appropriate
- PRP therapy: Often considered before BMAC for appropriate conditions due to lower cost and simpler procedure
- Bone marrow stem cell therapy: When less invasive options haven’t provided adequate relief
- Surgical referral: When your condition truly requires surgical intervention
This approach ensures you’re not jumping to more intensive treatments before trying appropriate alternatives.
What to Expect During Your Consultation
Dr. Goyle conducts thorough evaluations to determine if bone marrow stem cell therapy may be appropriate for your specific situation.
The Evaluation Process:
During your consultation, Dr. Goyle will:
- Review your complete medical history: Including all previous treatments, surgeries, and health conditions
- Discuss your symptoms in detail: When they started, what makes them better or worse, how they affect your daily life
- Perform a physical examination: Assessing the affected area and overall function
- Review diagnostic imaging: MRI, X-rays, or other studies that show the condition of your joints, discs, or soft tissues
- Assess your treatment history: What you’ve tried, how you responded, and why previous treatments may not have worked
- Discuss your goals: What you’re hoping to achieve and what would constitute success for you
- Evaluate overall health status: Factors that might affect candidacy or response
What You’ll Learn:
By the end of your consultation, you’ll understand:
- Whether bone marrow stem cell therapy may be appropriate for your specific condition
- If not, what alternatives might be more suitable
- Realistic expectations for timeline and potential outcomes
- The procedure itself, including what to expect before, during, and after
- Costs and any available payment options
- Next steps if you decide to proceed
Honest Guidance:
If Dr. Goyle determines that bone marrow stem cell therapy isn’t the right approach for your condition, he’ll explain why and recommend more appropriate alternatives. This might include:
- Continued conservative treatment
- Interventional procedures (epidural injections, facet joint injections, etc.)
- PRP therapy
- Referral for surgical consultation
- Other treatment approaches
We believe honest guidance—even when it’s not what you hoped to hear—serves you better than proceeding with treatment that’s unlikely to help.
How Does Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy Compare to Other Options?
Understanding how BMAC compares to other treatments helps you make informed decisions.
Compared to Conservative Treatment (Physical Therapy, Medications):
Conservative treatments should typically be tried first. Bone marrow stem cell therapy is generally considered when conservative care hasn’t provided adequate relief after an appropriate trial period—usually at least 6-12 weeks of consistent effort.
Compared to Cortisone Injections:
Cortisone injections provide temporary anti-inflammatory effects that typically wear off within weeks to months. They can be helpful for managing symptoms but don’t address underlying tissue concerns. Bone marrow stem cell therapy takes a different approach—delivering your own regenerative cells to the area rather than synthetic medication. Some patients use both approaches at different points in their treatment journey.
Compared to PRP Therapy:
Both BMAC and PRP use your own biological materials. PRP concentrates platelets and their associated growth factors from your blood. BMAC concentrates mesenchymal stem cells plus growth factors from your bone marrow.
PRP is:
- Less expensive per treatment
- Simpler procedure (blood draw vs. bone marrow aspiration)
- Often considered as a first-line regenerative option
BMAC is:
- More complex procedure with higher cost
- Delivers stem cells in addition to growth factors
- Often considered when PRP hasn’t provided adequate response
Many patients try PRP first, then consider BMAC if needed. The treatments can also be combined.
Compared to Surgery:
For appropriate candidates with mild to moderate conditions, bone marrow stem cell therapy offers a minimally invasive option to explore before committing to surgery. It doesn’t involve incisions, hospital stays, or lengthy recovery periods.
However, bone marrow stem cell therapy cannot replace surgery when surgery is truly indicated—particularly for severe instability, advanced stenosis, complete tears, or end-stage joint destruction. If your condition requires surgical intervention, we’ll be honest about that rather than proceeding with regenerative treatment unlikely to help.
What About Regenokine® and Other Options?
At Integrated Spine, Pain, and Wellness, bone marrow stem cell therapy is one option within our comprehensive regenerative medicine offerings.
Autologous Conditioned Serum (Regenokine®):
Dr. Goyle is one of only nine physicians in the United States—and the only doctor in Arizona—offering the Regenokine® Program. This innovative treatment processes your own blood to create a serum concentrated with anti-inflammatory proteins that target inflammation at its source.
Regenokine® is the treatment professional athletes like the late Kobe Bryant used to return to competition with minimal downtime. It works through a different mechanism than bone marrow stem cell therapy—focusing on anti-inflammatory proteins rather than stem cells.
Regenokine® may be appropriate for different conditions than BMAC, or the treatments may be used in combination. During your consultation, Dr. Goyle can discuss whether Regenokine® might be a better fit for your situation.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP):
PRP uses your own blood, concentrated to increase platelet and growth factor levels. It’s often considered as a first-line regenerative option before BMAC due to its lower cost and simpler procedure.
MLS M8 Class IV Laser Therapy:
Our state-of-the-art therapeutic laser delivers light energy to support the body’s natural processes and address inflammation. This non-invasive treatment can complement regenerative injections.
Interventional Procedures:
For certain conditions, epidural steroid injections, facet joint injections, trigger point injections, or other interventional approaches may be more appropriate—either instead of or alongside regenerative options.
Setting Realistic Expectations
We believe in transparent communication about what bone marrow stem cell therapy can and cannot do.
What You Should Understand:
- Results are not guaranteed. Some patients experience meaningful improvement; others don’t. Individual responses vary based on condition, severity, overall health, and factors we can’t fully predict.
- Results take time. The body’s response to BMAC develops over weeks to months. This isn’t a quick fix—it’s supporting gradual natural processes.
- It’s not a cure. Bone marrow stem cell therapy is designed to support your body’s natural processes, not guarantee specific outcomes or permanently eliminate all symptoms.
- One treatment may not be enough. Some patients benefit from a single treatment; others may need additional treatments or complementary approaches.
- Lifestyle factors matter. Smoking, nutrition, activity level, and overall health can influence response to treatment.
- It may not work for you. Even appropriate candidates sometimes don’t experience meaningful improvement. If BMAC doesn’t provide adequate relief, other options remain available.
Realistic Timeline:
- Weeks 1-2: Some discomfort at aspiration and injection sites is normal
- Weeks 4-8: Many patients begin noticing gradual changes
- Months 3-6: Continued response; this is when many patients report the most noticeable changes
- Months 6-12+: Ongoing gradual response for some patients
Individual timelines vary significantly. Dr. Goyle will discuss realistic expectations based on your specific condition during your consultation.
The Treatment Process
If you’re determined to be a good candidate and decide to proceed, here’s what the treatment process involves.
Before Your Procedure:
- Complete evaluation and candidacy determination
- Review of any necessary imaging
- Pre-procedure instructions (medications to avoid, fasting if needed)
- Discussion of realistic expectations and post-procedure care
The BMAC Procedure:
- Bone marrow aspiration: Using local anesthesia for comfort, Dr. Goyle extracts a small sample of bone marrow from your posterior iliac crest (back of your hip bone). Most patients tolerate this well with only mild discomfort.
- Processing: The bone marrow sample is processed in our office using specialized equipment to concentrate the mesenchymal stem cells and growth factors. This happens the same day—no sending samples to outside labs.
- Image-guided injection: Using fluoroscopy (real-time X-ray) or ultrasound, Dr. Goyle delivers the concentrated BMAC precisely to the target area. This image guidance ensures accurate placement.
The entire procedure is performed as an outpatient in our office. Most patients return home the same day.
After Your Procedure:
- Some soreness at the aspiration and injection sites is normal for several days
- Avoid anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) as directed—these may interfere with the process
- Follow activity restrictions and gradual return-to-activity guidelines
- Attend follow-up appointments to monitor your response
- Be patient—remember that responses develop over months, not days
Why Choose Integrated Spine, Pain, and Wellness
Cleveland Clinic Training:
Dr. Ashu Goyle completed his fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic—one of the nation’s premier medical institutions. This rigorous training with world leaders in pain medicine provided extensive expertise in both interventional procedures and regenerative approaches.
Double Board Certification:
Dr. Goyle is board-certified in both anesthesiology and interventional pain management, demonstrating advanced competency in precise, image-guided procedures.
Autologous Only:
We exclusively use your own bone marrow cells—no third-party products from umbilical cord, amniotic tissue, or other donor sources. You know exactly what you’re receiving.
Image-Guided Precision:
Every injection is performed using fluoroscopy or ultrasound guidance to ensure accurate placement.
Exclusive Access:
As one of only nine Regenokine® providers nationwide—and the only provider in Arizona—Dr. Goyle offers treatment options unavailable elsewhere in the state.
Honest Evaluation:
We don’t treat everyone who asks. We provide thorough evaluation and honest guidance about whether bone marrow stem cell therapy is appropriate for your condition—or whether another approach would serve you better.
Comprehensive Care:
Beyond regenerative medicine, we offer the full spectrum of interventional pain procedures, allowing us to recommend the most appropriate treatment for your specific situation rather than fitting everyone into the same approach.
Recognition:
Dr. Goyle has been recognized as a Phoenix Magazine “Top Doc” from 2011-2020, reflecting his commitment to excellent patient care.
Take the First Step: Schedule Your Evaluation
Determining whether bone marrow stem cell therapy is right for you requires a personalized evaluation—not just reading information online.
What a Consultation Provides:
- Thorough assessment of your specific condition
- Review of your imaging and treatment history
- Honest guidance about candidacy
- Discussion of realistic expectations
- Explanation of all your options—regenerative and otherwise
- Answers to all your questions
Important to Understand:
This information is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Every patient’s situation is unique, and candidacy can only be determined through proper medical evaluation.
If you’re exploring whether bone marrow stem cell therapy might be appropriate for your chronic joint or back pain, the next step is a consultation with Dr. Goyle.
Contact Integrated Spine, Pain, and Wellness today to schedule your evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How do I know if I’m a candidate for bone marrow stem cell therapy?
Candidacy depends on your specific condition, its severity, your overall health, and your treatment history. Generally, good candidates have mild to moderate musculoskeletal conditions (joint or disc-related) that haven’t responded to conservative treatment. The only way to determine your specific candidacy is through a consultation with Dr. Goyle, who will evaluate your complete situation and provide honest guidance.
Q2. What conditions do you treat with bone marrow stem cell therapy?
We focus on musculoskeletal conditions—joint pain (knee, hip, shoulder), disc-related back and neck pain, and chronic soft tissue concerns like tendinopathy. We do not offer stem cell therapy for neurological conditions, autoimmune diseases, or systemic illnesses. During your consultation, Dr. Goyle will evaluate whether your specific condition may be appropriate.
Q3. Why don’t you use umbilical cord or amniotic stem cells?
We exclusively use autologous bone marrow—your own cells, harvested, processed, and delivered the same day. Third-party products from umbilical cord or amniotic tissue raise questions about cell viability after processing and storage, quality control, and regulatory status. Using your own cells eliminates these concerns and keeps treatment within FDA guidelines.
Q4. What if I’m not a good candidate?
If bone marrow stem cell therapy isn’t appropriate for your condition, Dr. Goyle will explain why and recommend alternatives. This might include PRP therapy, interventional procedures (epidural or facet joint injections), continued conservative care, Regenokine®, or referral for surgical consultation. We believe honest guidance serves you better than proceeding with treatment unlikely to help.
Q5. How long until I might notice improvement?
The body’s response to bone marrow stem cell therapy develops gradually over weeks to months. Many patients begin noticing changes around 4-8 weeks, with continued response over 3-6 months. Individual timelines vary significantly. This isn’t a quick fix—it’s supporting gradual natural processes.
Q6. Does insurance cover bone marrow stem cell therapy?
No, bone marrow stem cell therapy is not typically covered by insurance for musculoskeletal conditions. Treatment requires out-of-pocket payment. Dr. Goyle can discuss specific costs and any available payment options during your consultation.
Q7. What is Regenokine® and might it be better for my condition?
Regenokine® is an autologous conditioned serum therapy that concentrates anti-inflammatory proteins from your own blood. Dr. Goyle is one of only nine physicians in the U.S. offering this treatment—and the only provider in Arizona. It’s the approach professional athletes like the late Kobe Bryant used. Regenokine® works through a different mechanism than stem cell therapy and may be appropriate for different conditions. Dr. Goyle can discuss which approach might be better for your situation during your consultation.
Q8. Is there an age limit for bone marrow stem cell therapy?
There’s no strict age cutoff. Biological age and overall health matter more than chronological age. However, patients in advanced age with multiple health conditions may require more careful evaluation of procedural considerations. Dr. Goyle will assess your individual situation during consultation.
Q9. What are the risks of bone marrow stem cell therapy?
Common side effects include soreness at the aspiration and injection sites, temporary increase in discomfort, mild bruising, and occasionally low-grade fever or flu-like symptoms. These typically resolve within days. Rare risks include infection. Using your own cells eliminates rejection risk. Dr. Goyle will discuss all potential risks specific to your situation during your consultation.
Q10. What if bone marrow stem cell therapy doesn’t work for me?
Not all patients respond to treatment. If BMAC doesn’t provide adequate relief, other options remain available—including additional regenerative approaches, interventional procedures, or surgical consultation if appropriate. We’ll continue working with you to find the best path forward.
