The emerging relationship between regenerative medicine and physical therapeutics

Abstract

Dramatic changes in the health care landscape over the next few decades undoubtedly will affect rehabilitation specialists' practice. In the multidisciplinary field of regenerative medicine, cell, tissue, or organ substitutes are used to enhance the healing potential of the body. Given that the restoration of normal functioning of injured or diseased tissues is expected to be the ultimate goal of these therapies, the future of regenerative medicine is, undeniably, tightly intertwined with that of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation specialists not only must be aware of cutting-edge medical advances as they relate to regenerative medicine but also must work closely with basic scientists to guide the development of clinically relevant protocols. The purposes of this article are to provide a current perspective on biological approaches to the management of musculoskeletal disorders and to highlight the needed integration of physical therapeutics with regenerative medicine.

Figure.

Demonstration of tendon gap injury repair after the application of a small intestine submucosal (SIS) extracellular matrix scaffold. bFGF=basic fibroblast growth factor, TGF-β1=transforming growth factor β1, VEGF=vascular endothelial growth factor. Based on Gilbert et al.