An active lifestyle can place significant strain on the body over time. Repetitive movement, intense physical activity, and years of athletic training can lead to chronic pain, reduced mobility, and joint damage. Joey Varner, a 40-year-old patient at CELLAXYS, knows this reality all too well.
“Growing up I played every sport you could play – swimming, soccer, basketball, football – but combat sports took my heart,” Varner said. “I loved wrestling and boxing and kickboxing and jiu jitsu, so from my teenage years through my twenties and thirties I did mixed martial arts and combat sports.”
Combat sports are especially demanding on the body. Athletes involved in MMA, wrestling, boxing, and similar disciplines often experience conditions such as tendonitis, arthritis, and other soft tissue injuries due to years of high-impact training and competition.
“I had multiple shoulder surgeries and I started having hip problems,” Varner told CELLAXYS. “I went to have both checked out and was diagnosed with needing both shoulder and hip replacement.”
Major joint replacement procedures can involve long recovery periods and may require additional surgeries later in life.
“It’s not a fun experience,” Varner said. “I’ve had surgery and it’s something I don’t look forward to doing.”
After feeling disappointed with the results of previous surgeries, Varner began searching for alternatives that could help him avoid more invasive procedures. He turned to the CELLAXYS team to explore regenerative treatment options.
By that point, his physical condition had significantly impacted his life. The pain and discomfort had become so severe that activities he once loved, including combat sports, weightlifting, and running, were no longer possible.
“Having something that you love to do and that you’re extremely passionate about be removed from your life, it takes a toll,” Varner said. “Not just physically, but psychologically as well.”
Over the next few years, Varner experienced continued physical decline, along with weight gain and emotional frustration as his mobility worsened.
“I was at a low point in my life and I didn’t know what to do,” Varner told CELLAXYS. “I had heard a lot about stem cell therapy and so I did some research in Las Vegas and found CELLAXYS.”
Following an evaluation, the Cellaxys team determined that Varner was a strong candidate for adipose-derived stem cell therapy.
He was dealing with post-surgical shoulder pain caused by arthritis and rotator cuff tendonitis, as well as hip arthritis that he hoped to treat without undergoing replacement surgery. The recommended treatment involved using stem cells derived from adipose tissue, allowing multiple major joints to be treated during a single procedure.
The outpatient procedure was relatively quick, and Varner was able to leave the treatment facility within a few hours.
Like many regenerative treatments, recovery took time. After approximately six weeks, Varner began noticing major improvements in both his hip and shoulder.
One of the primary goals of treatment was to help restore mobility, reduce pain, and delay or avoid major surgical intervention at a relatively young age.
Since undergoing the procedure, Varner says he has regained nearly full range of motion in both his shoulder and hip and is now almost completely pain free.
“I’m living the high quality of life that I want to lead and it’s all thanks to CELLAXYS.”
