NFL Hall of Famer opts for stem cell surgery
Is Terrell Owens thinking of a return to the NFL?
No, but some might think otherwise with the report from TMZ that Owens is undergoing stem cell treatments to help repair parts of his body damaged during his Hall of Fame career.
Not only is TMZ reporting it, it has video of the procedure to back it up.
Owens recently had a stem cell procedure done by Beverly Hills orthopedic surgeon Dr. Bal Rajagopalan, who goes by Dr. Raj for short.
“It’s minimally invasive,” Rajagopalan told TMZ. “In T.O.’s case, he damaged himself from years and years of football. He had both knees, both shoulders, both elbows (triceps tendonitis) and right hip done.”
Terrell Owens gets "stem cell surgery" and it is all on video for anyone to watch https://t.co/UZnGqxLtzS #stemcells #NFL #Cowboys Does it function like an ad?
— Paul Knoepfler (@pknoepfler) March 11, 2018
On his website, Rajagopalan promotes the benefits of stem cell treatments.
“Cutting-edge treatment with stem cell procedures are safe and offer the potential to avoid surgery and help you become more active and pain free,” the site claims.
Rajagopalan said the stem cell treatments help regenerate cells to repair common sports injuries.
“I’m utilizing regenerative cells to regenerate and repair joints, tendons, and ligaments,” the doctor told TMZ.
The medical community is not yet convinced stem-cell treatments are an effective way to treat arthritis and the other pain Owens is trying to prevent.
“In an editorial published March 16, 2017 in The New England Journal of Medicine, FDA officials warned the lack of evidence for unapproved stem cell treatments is ‘worrisome,'” Kathleen Doheny wrote on WebMD. “The officials cited reports of serious side effects, including two people who became legally blind after receiving the treatment in their eyes for macular degeneration.”
Owens says he isn’t getting the treatments with an eye on an NFL comeback, but rather with the hope of a better quality of life.
After all, he wouldn’t want to be walking on stage with a limp this summer when he delivers his induction speech at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Owens said as recently as two years ago that he believed he was still capable of producing a 1,000-yard season if he were to return to the league.
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