George Town, Grand Cayman, December 11, 2018 – With an injury in the second quarter, Miami Dolphins’ quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, made a remarkable return in Sunday’s game against the Patriots. With only 7 seconds on the clock, Tannehill completed a pass that led to the “Miami Miracle” – but Tannehill’s history-making play isn’t his only miraculous comeback.
Sidelined by injury in 2016, Tannehill returned to the field this season. After being on the injured list for 5 consecutive games, he returned to regular play and now leads the Dolphins in a late-season playoff push.
In 2017, Tannehill opted for cryopreservation at Regenexx Cayman, where his stem cells were extracted, grown up to 1,000 times more than U.S. procedures, and stored for future use. Tannehill later received the advanced stem cell treatment, Regenexx-C.
“As an athlete, I’m always pushing my body to the limit, whether it’s in practice, training, or in games, and there’s always the possibility of injury,” says Tannehill. “Things are going to be hurting a little bit when I’m older; it’s just the nature of the business, so to have something available, to help heal from that, is huge. Whether it’s from an injury in practice, or I tweak something during the off-season, or in 20 years after my career is done…I have these cells banked in Grand Cayman and I’m able to use those in order to improve my quality of life and be able to enjoy the rest of my life.”
Stem cells are the body’s natural repairmen. Sometimes, due to injury or general wear-and-tear, the body cannot get enough of these critical repair cells to help restore function. In the world of professional sports, stem cell therapy is becoming more common. Athletes, such as Peyton Manning, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Rafael Nadal have looked to treat their injuries using minimally-invasive regenerative procedures.
Stem cell cryopreservation, however, is the next step in proactive healthcare – allowing athletes to save their younger cells for future orthopedic use, when the inevitable aches, pains, and injuries of professional sports set in.
“A lot of athletes will play through their issues – they might have a nagging hamstring or achilles – but our goal is to treat problems proactively with orthobiologics, including culture-expanded stem cells,” says Dr. Centeno, Regenexx Founder and Physician. “Unfortunately, you can’t store cultured cells in the U.S., but at Regenexx Cayman, athletes can have their cells extracted, grown to much larger numbers, and cryopreserved at their current biological age. It’s a great way to get a little insurance against the fact that your cells, like the rest of you, are aging.”
Cryopreservation and stem cell procedures help bridge the gap between physical therapy and surgery, so patients can heal naturally, with less downtime than invasive orthopedic surgeries. Professional athletes can proactively treat issues before they turn into bigger, potentially career-ending injuries. Looking for longevity, athletes are choosing stem cell storage to help prolong their career and improve quality of life after sport.
