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Achilles Tendonitis, tears and other injuries are debilitating conditions that can easily take more than a year to heal. The long recovery period is notorious for its severe limitations to daily routines. A boot and crutches, along with constant pain, become the everyday standard for most patients. Moreover, the risk of detachment or re-rupture can take away the patient’s confidence in their own athletic ability.

At thriveMD, we focus on helping patients return to an active, healthy lifestyle. We apply the science of stem cell therapy to help patients recover from an acute Achilles tendon injury as well as chronic pain. Peer-reviewed studies show promising results after the application of stem cells to Achilles tendon injuries, as well as a wide variety of joint & soft tissue pain and injuries.

We are excited to report that among our patient population, Achilles tendon injuries have responded very well to stem cell therapy. Many of our patients have been able to avoid surgery. Other patients have been seen post-surgically in order to expedite their recovery.

The results we’ve witnessed include dancing a month after the stem cell injection, running a marathon less than twelve months after, or returning to demanding construction labor without pain. Individual patient results may vary – please contact us to find out if the therapy may be able to help you.
achilles treatment with stem cell injections testimonial

A patient from California uses stem cell therapy for both of his Achilles tendons, returns to exercise and construction work.

Individual patient results may vary. Please contact us to find out if stem cell therapy may be able to help you.

What Is Achilles Tendonitis & What Happens in Achilles Tendon Injuries

Achilles tendonitis is the result of overuse of the Achilles tendon, the band connecting calf muscles to the heel.

The chronic condition frequently occurs when athletic activity is inconsistent. Common scenarios include a rapid increase in intensity of runs, or intensive weekends of tennis or soccer during otherwise sedentary weeks. The associated pain usually begins as a mild ache, with more severe pain after strain. Daily activities such as walking up stairs become problematic. Symptoms include tenderness, stiffness, swelling, and persistent pain.

Achilles tendon rupture is a painful condition that occurs when the tendon separates fully or partially, often with an audible pop. The injury most commonly occurs during sports activity for people between the ages of 30 and 50.  This is especially true when the motion involves quick starts and stops, side to side motion, and heavy strain without sufficient training. The inability to raise ones toes and a noticable gap on the back of the heel are telltale signs.

The commonly applied conservative treatments for Achilles tendonitis include deep tissue massage, physical therapy, ultrasound, rest, and dry needling. Achilles tendon pain can be very persistent and results of the conservative treatments vary greatly. Tendon injuries have a challenging recovery because their natural repair process is inefficient and intricate.

How Stem Cells May Provide Pain Relief & Help Recovery

Stem cells from your own body are healing agents that have the potential to stimulate your body’s own natural healing processes.

Stem cells are an active and multi-potent repair agent in your body. Yet, certain body parts, such as joints, tendons, ligaments and spinal discs, do not have an adequate supply of stem cells that would be required to repair some injuries or conditions resulting from years of wear and tear.

Applying findings of modern stem cell research and years of patient experience, a skilled stem cell physician will harvest stem cells from your adipose tissue and bone marrow. The resulting ortho-biologic is injected directly into the site of injury or chronic pain.

The cells then find the damaged tissue and have the potential to help to improved the tendon structure, neutralize inflammation and accelerate healing.

For Achilles tendon pain and injuries, stem cells may have the potential to target the cause of inflammation or to regrow tissue where a partial tear exists. With some patients, that leads to avoiding surgery. For patients who have undergone surgical reconstruction already, stem cells have the potential to significantly speed up the recovery.

achilles tendon stem cell testimonial

Patient from Denver uses stem cell treatment to treat her injured Achilles tendon, enjoy quick return to salsa dancing.

Individual patient results may vary. Please contact us to find out if stem cell therapy may be able to help you.


Stem Cell Procedure for Achilles Tendon – the Steps

Initial Consultation

  1. Review of your imaging
  2. One-on-one consultation
  3. Patient education

Out-Patient Procedure

  1. IV sedation and local anesthesia
  2. Harvesting of stem cells from fat tissue and bone marrow
  3. Blood draw for PRP
  4. Processing the biologics
  5. Injecting the biologics into the patient’s Achilles tendon, under live image guidance

Post-Procedure

  1. Patient returns to daily activities and work with in a day or two after the procedure
  2. Patient returns one month later for a follow up injection

Contact our Vail or Denver office to find out if you could be a candidate for stem cell therapy.

Recovery Time after a Stem Cell Injection for Achilles Tendon

Individual patients results vary.

Within a day or two after the procedure, most patients return to normal daily activities and work.

Within 4-12 weeks, most Achilles tendon patients report signficant improvement in their daily pain scores. The first month following the procedure, patient’s avoid any activities that place strain on their Achilles tendon. In the second and third months post-procedure, patients may slowly start increasing their exercise routines.

Within 3 months, most of our patients treated for Achilles tendon injuries report significant improvement.

It is important to note that the recovery from a stem cell procedure is far less painful than the recovery from an invasive orthopedic surgery. Post-proocedure, patients do not require bracing or casting. They can begin light cycling and walking as long as the tendon doesn’t become stressed.

Three to six months post-procedure, most of our patients have returned to full activity. They can once again enjoy their favorite sports, such as skiing, yoga, hiking and cycling.

For more detail, read about our Achilles tendon patient who ran a marathon less than 12-months after his stem cell procedure.

achilles stem cell treatment
Within 3 months, most of our patients treated for Achilles tendon injuries report significant improvement.

Advantages of Stem Cell Treatment as Compared to Traditional Achilles Tendon Surgery

  • Minimally invasive: Stem cell procedures are performed in an office-based procedure suite and cause minimal tissue damage.
  • Quick return to daily activities: Stem cell Achilles tendon patients return to work in 1-2 days.
  • Quick recovery time: Patients are able to increase activity levels within a few weeks and return to increased actvity within 4-12 weeks. 
  • Natural: Stem cells come from your own body and they trigger the body’s natural healing mechanism.
  • Cost efficient: Although stem cell therapy is not covered by insurance, the actual cost of the procedure is much less than that of invasive surgery and the price per area treated can be further improved when the patient undergoes a stem cell procedure for more multiple areas in the same day. Furthermore, the quick recovery time means that stem cell patients miss fewer work days and have lower rehabilitation costs.
  • Less medication: Stem cell therapy requires little, if any, post-procedure use of pain medication.

Does Stem Cell Therapy Treat All Achilles Tendon Injuries?

stem cell injections for achilles injuries

As groundbreaking as stem cell therapy is for treating Achilles tendon injuries, it is certainly not the answer to every Achilles tendon injury or condition. It is important for patients to understand the indications for stem cell therapy.

Stem cell treatments may have the potential to treat a partially torn or chronically inflamed Achilles tendon, but it is not the recommended treatment choice for a completely torn Achilles tendon that hasn’t had surgical reconstruction yet.

ThriveMD puts an emphasis on educating our potential patients. This helps you make a well-informed treatment decision. Learn more about stem cell misconceptions in our article about 10 Stem Cell Myths. Better yet, contact us to talk to a medical professional about your particular case and get answers to your specific questions.

Patient Results and Testimonials

Stem cell treatments have been known to yield positive results for both famous athletes and the general population alike. To cite a few famous examples, Cristiano Ronaldo used stem cell therapy to be able to treat his knees and keep playing soccer. Kobe Bryant and Rafael Nadal also used the treatment for their knees; Nadal returned for a treatment for his back, too. Jack Nicklaus mentions stem cell therapy for back pain as the solution that allowed him to return to golf.

Below are a few patient success stories from stem cell procedures administered at our offices in Denver and Vail, Colorado.

“After struggling with an Achilles injury for 1 1/2 years and trying everything to heal it – steroid, physical therapy, wearing a boot, no activity, stretching, etc – I decided to have stem cell therapy at ThriveMD. It was a short procedure and an afternoon of post op recovery, which after 6-8 weeks, resulted in a full recovery from my injury. This seemed to finally stimulate blood flow and healing to an injury I had resigned myself to having forever. I highly recommend this procedure for tendon injuries like this one.”*

“I am a runner, swimmer , cyclist and power walker. I am a Sr. Olympian and Director at a non-profit. Given all my activities I have had a few injuries… but by far the most debilitating was my achilles degenerating severely through the entire length. I was limping badly, had #10 burning pain along my right leg and achilles. I could not wear shoes with backs, could not wear socks, could not run nor walk much at all… could not use fins in the pool, jump, stand on my toes and so much more. When I walked, I dragged my right leg behind me. My life was based on my achilles pain…that’s all I could focus on and work to lessen. I saw a PT to no avail for months. On occasion in the pool I would kick up and hit the pool lane and would come out of the water screaming and it would set me back even more…limping with pain more than before. Anything that touched my Achilles created more pain.

A fellow swimmer mentioned that his friend had stem cells implanted to regenerate the cells and I began to do my own research. I actually read research and discovered that bone marrow stem cells implanted into the achilles had a very positive result. I began to search Drs in Albuquerque who did this procedure and found none that did the procedure I wanted. Finally, in searching online I found Dr. Brandt.

I contacted his office, sent my MRI, and then had a zoom consultation. He was kind, patient and answered all my questions. A few months later I was in Denver for my first treatment. The office arranged everything. A month or so later I had my second treatment.

A year later, my focus is on living life, exercising, competing, and having a pain-free life. I hardly ever think about my Achilles anymore. I am not limping, have ZERO pain, and can wear any shoe or sock I want. I can use fins in the pool. I can take Pilates on the reformer …that would have never happened in the past. Just this am in the shower I dropped a big bottle of shampoo and it hit my Achilles. NO PAIN AT ALL. I thank Dr. Brandt and his staff for helping me to have my life back.”*

Achilles tendon injury cured by stem cells

Patient from Chicago Uses Stem Cell Therapy to Treat Achilles Tendonitis, Returns to Skiing & Cycling

52-year marketing executive who had been suffering with Achilles tendon pain for approximately nine months. She returned to full aerobic exercise as well as weight training, cycling, skiing and pilates.*

Read the Achilles tendon case written by Dr. Brandt

stem cells for Achilles and back pain

Patient from Denver Uses Stem Cells to Avoid Spinal Fusion & Heal Achilles Tendon Injury, then Runs a Marathon

ThriveMD patient from Denver, CO, who used stem cell therapy to treat an Achilles tendon injury and back pain. When his stem cell therapy was complete, he was able to run a marathon.*

Read the Achilles tendon & back case by Dr. Brandt

*Individual patient results may vary. Contact us to find out if stem cell therapy may be able to help you.

Colorado’s Top Achilles Tendon Stem Cell Clinic & Doctor

“Approximately 65% of thriveMD’s new patients are referrals from existing patients.”

Dr. Brandt has trained extensively with other stem cell experts across the country and become one of the nation’s top stem cell doctors. He provides the highest quality stem cell therapies available. He continues to incorporate advancements in the field as rapidly as scientific evidence supports their addition. He has trained other doctors in injection technique, speaks at conferences, and applies a personal approach with every patient.

This combined with Dr. Brandt’s unparalleled expertise in minimally-invasive injection techniques, utilizing live image guidance, allows him to ensure the best biologic solutions are placed with accuracy in the appropriate areas of the Achilles tendon damage.

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Next Step

If you believe you or someone you care about could be a candidate for stem cell therapy administered by a trusted clinic, please contact us today.

Our Clinics

Denver Office:

7400 E Caley Ave #150
Centennial, CO 80111

(720) 575-7878

Vail Office:

280 Main St C-104
Edwards, CO 81632

(970) 766-8245