Longevity Treatment Guides

Verify license, the product’s FDA status, imaging, and a diagnosis—not cash stem-cell tourism. Registration and autologous sourcing are not approval.

Focused shockwave and radial pressure wave deliver energy differently. Some tendinopathy uses are studied. Neither treats fracture or infection. Device and operator matter.

PRP and bone-marrow concentrate are different autologous products. Evidence is mixed and condition-specific. They are not stem-cell anti-aging. Use a licensed musculoskeletal clinician.

PRP is not a stem-cell product. Unapproved stem-cell clinics have FDA warnings. Evidence, cost, and risk differ. Ask what is injected and why that use is lawful.

Steroid injections can ease short-term pain but need tendon caution. PRP is autologous with mixed evidence. See a licensed MSK clinician. This is not anti-aging care.

FDA-approved stem cell uses are limited. Many clinic offerings are unapproved and can cause infection, tumor formation, or financial harm. They are not a proven anti-aging therapy.

Load-based physical therapy comes first for tendinopathy. PRP evidence is mixed. FDA warns that unapproved stem-cell products are not proven tendon healers.

Exercise, weight management, and physical therapy come first for knee OA. PRP and stem-cell packages are not proven substitutes for indicated joint replacement.

FDA approval is not clinic registration. Most marketed stem-cell and exosome products are unapproved 351 biologics, not qualifying 361 HCT/Ps.

PRP, PRF, BMAC, and donor birth-tissue products are different. Autologous is not automatically safer. Evidence is mixed, and FDA product rules still apply.

Injection of an irritant solution—commonly hypertonic dextrose with local anesthetic—around selected joints, tendons, or ligaments. Evidence varies by diagnosis, and it should not be marketed as proven tissue regeneration.

An autologous blood-derived fibrin preparation made without the standard anticoagulant used in many PRP systems. PRF can form a clot, membrane, gel, or injectable liquid depending on timing and processing; evidence is indication-specific.

An autologous point-of-care concentrate made from aspirated bone marrow and injected for selected musculoskeletal uses. BMAC is a heterogeneous mixture—not purified or cultured stem cells—and no stem-cell product is FDA-approved for orthopedic conditions.

An umbrella field spanning approved cell and gene therapies, tissue engineering, blood-derived orthobiologics, and investigational products. Evidence, FDA status, manufacturing, and risk must be evaluated for the exact product and indication.

A nonstandard marketing term used for some acoustic pressure-wave treatments. Because “ACT” does not define wave type or dose, patients should verify whether the device delivers focused shockwaves, radial pressure waves, or another technology.

Noninvasive acoustic treatment using focused shockwaves or radial pressure waves for selected musculoskeletal conditions. These technologies have different wave physics, depth, dosing, device status, and evidence.

Products marketed as exosomes or extracellular vesicles are offered by injection, IV infusion, inhalation, or after skin procedures. FDA states there are currently no FDA-approved exosome products, and serious adverse events have been reported.

Cell-based products vary by source, processing, dose, and intended use. In the U.S., FDA-approved stem-cell products are blood-forming cells from cord blood for specified hematologic disorders—not orthopedic, neurologic, cardiac, or anti-aging injections.

An autologous platelet-containing plasma preparation injected or applied for selected musculoskeletal, hair, dental, or surgical uses. PRP protocols vary substantially, and evidence must match the exact indication and product.