TAMPA, Fla. – World Series MVP Pat Borders has played ball most of his life. Now that he’s in charge of a team, he doesn’t want to take a knee anytime soon.
“I like to run. I like to sprint, and it was just impossible to sprint with the pain in both of my knees,” Borders said.
Borders tried the adipose stem cell procedure, which involves an injection of his own stem cells combined with his platelet-rich plasma. The combination can repair an injury fast.
“The goal of this is to get quicker healing,” said Michael Markou, an osteopathic physician at the Markou Medical Center in Tampa.
Stem cells are found in the adipose cells, or fat cells. Markou removed those cells from the abdomen.
“We then centrifuge it, and that spins down and isolates the stem cells from the adipose cells, from the fat cells,” Markou explained.
“By injecting the combination, you have an amplified effect,” he said.
Borders is already feeling improvement.
“I noticed for the first time, I got out and I’m going like, ‘Wow, there’s no pain at all in my left knee.’ My right knee, which was the worse one, I don’t feel a whole lot there. It was a fun day,” he said.
Markou said the procedure can be used for elbows, shoulders and the lower back. It is considered experimental by Medicare, so it is not covered by insurance. The procedure can cost up to $4,000.
Credits: Nancy Werteen / WFMZ