Role of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine in Treatment of Sport Injuries

Managing sports injuries is clinically challenging. Although new techniques can delay musculoskeletal deterioration and promote tissue restoration, they are not widely used. Thus, there is a critical need to promulgate these new methods. In recent years, “tissue engineering” approaches have been developed for improving the regeneration of cartilage by transplanting cells or engineered constructs into injured tissue. The mechanical environment affects the biology of a tissue and is necessary for the development and maintenance of load-bearing tissues. Platelets can be combined with other healing factors as a new therapeutic modality. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) can be introduced as an autologous blood product that may improve wound healing. In this regard, stem cell therapy that focuses on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been proposed as a new treatment method in sports medicine. MSCs are multipotent; they have the ability to differentiate into other cells, notably osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, myoblasts, and fibroblasts, depending on a variety of factors. In summary, recent advances in tissue regeneration have provided new perspectives for the use of tissue engineering to enhance tissue healing after sports injuries namely the microfracture method, the mechanical stimuli method, PRP therapy, and stem cell therapy.