Regenerative medicine is the umbrella term for three distinct modalities that repair tissue instead of removing it: platelet-rich plasma (PRP), cell-based therapy sourced from bone marrow (BMA) or fat tissue (MFAT), and focused shockwave (ESWT). Each targets a different tissue problem, and none substitutes for another. Most Boulder clinics that advertise “regenerative medicine” perform one modality, delegate the injection to a technician, and do not disclose the source material or the clinician’s training. At Dynamic Athlete, every PRP, stem cell, and shockwave procedure is performed personally by Aneesh Garg, DO, CAQ, an ISMST-certified physician who founded and directs the American Shockwave Training Institute (ASTI). Every PRP and stem cell injection is placed under live ultrasound guidance.
If you were told surgery is your only option, or that one injection fixes everything, this is the second opinion: what regenerative medicine covers, which modality fits your tissue, and the questions that reveal what a Boulder clinic can deliver.
The decision
The question is rarely “PRP or stem cells.” It is which tissue problem you have, and which modality matches it. A partial tendon tear, an early joint change, and a joint that has already lost cartilage are different biologic problems. A physical exam and imaging decide which, not a menu.
At Dynamic Athlete, the evaluation comes first. Dr. Garg reviews your imaging, examines the tissue, and builds the protocol, PRP alone, staged toward stem cell therapy, shockwave priming, or a combination, to the finding, decided in the room, not before you walk in.
Key takeaways
Regenerative medicine covers three distinct modalities, not one. PRP, cell-based therapy (BMA or MFAT), and focused shockwave each target a different tissue problem.
The source material and the physician are separate decisions from the modality name. Two clinics offering “PRP” can deliver different products depending on dose, processing, and who performs the injection.
All three modalities at Dynamic Athlete are performed personally by Aneesh Garg, DO, CAQ, ISMST-certified and the Founder and Medical Director of the American Shockwave Training Institute (ASTI).
Over 90% of our patients self-report a 75% or greater improvement, all without surgery, across the Dynamic protocols.
HSA and FSA dollars typically apply, and Cherry financing spreads the investment over monthly payments.
Why regenerative medicine means three separate decisions
The term “regenerative medicine” gets used as if it names one treatment. It does not. Below is what the term actually covers, and how the modality is chosen.
“Regenerative medicine” is a category, not a treatment
Regenerative medicine describes any treatment that uses your own biologic material, or a physical energy stimulus, to encourage a tissue’s own repair, rather than replacing or removing tissue surgically. Under that umbrella sit three modalities: PRP (concentrated growth factors from your own blood), cell-based therapy (bone marrow aspirate or microfragmented adipose tissue, BMA or MFAT), and focused shockwave (acoustic energy, ESWT). A clinic that says only “we do regenerative medicine” has not told you which of the three, or how.
The modality is chosen by tissue, not by menu
Tendon injury, early joint changes, and cartilage loss are different problems, and they do not respond to the same input. PRP suits many tendon, ligament, and early joint presentations. Cell-based therapy (BMA or MFAT) is physician-selected for more degenerated joints, paired with high-dose PRP, never alone. Focused shockwave stimulates healing through acoustic energy, and often primes a joint before an injection, or treats tendinopathy on its own. See the comparison below.
| Modality | Source Material | Best Suited For | How It Is Delivered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic PRP+ | Your own blood, concentrated 12 to 20x | Tendon and ligament injury, early joint changes | Live ultrasound injection, by Dr. Garg |
| Dynamic Stem Cell+ | BMA or MFAT, physician-selected, paired with PRP+ | More degenerated joint tissue | Live ultrasound injection, by Dr. Garg |
| Dynamic Shockwave+ | Focused acoustic energy plus EMTT | Tendinopathy, calcific deposits, bone stress, joint priming | Focal-point delivery, by Dr. Garg |
The physician performing it is the variable the name does not show
Dose, source-tissue selection, and ultrasound-guided placement decide whether a regenerative procedure does anything. Every Dynamic PRP+, Dynamic Stem Cell+, and Dynamic Shockwave+ procedure is performed personally by Aneesh Garg, DO, CAQ, ISMST-certified (Instructional Certification Course, ISMST World Congress 2026, Madrid), a presenter at both ISMST and ASMST, and founder and director of the American Shockwave Training Institute (ASTI). Dynamic Athlete also maintains three complete sets of focused, radial, and EMTT shockwave devices, plus a fourth radial and focused set. No clinic in the 50-mile radius carries that many.
The point: the modality changes. The physician does not. Three decisions, one evaluation, one clinician accountable for all three.
How to verify what a Boulder clinic actually delivers
Three questions for any clinic marketing “regenerative medicine.” Most will not have a specific answer to at least one.
Print this. Ask it before you book.
- What is the source material, and what dose or concentration do you target? “Regenerative medicine” and a price is not a specific answer; a platelet count or a named source tissue is.
- Who performs the procedure, physician or technician, and under what imaging guidance?
- If one modality is not enough, what is the staging plan? Shockwave priming, cell-based escalation, or neither.
What regenerative medicine treats in Boulder
The Dynamic PRP+ hub, the Dynamic Stem Cell+ hub, and the Dynamic Shockwave+ hub break down protocol specifics, evidence, and candidacy by condition.
- Knee osteoarthritis
- Rotator cuff and shoulder pain
- Tennis and golfer’s elbow
- Achilles tendinopathy
- Patellar tendinopathy
- Plantar fasciitis
- Hip labral and gluteal pain
- SI joint dysfunction
- Meniscus tears
- Calcific tendinitis
Frequently asked questions
What is regenerative medicine?
Regenerative medicine is the umbrella term for treatments that use your own biologic material, or a physical energy stimulus, to encourage a tissue’s own repair process, rather than replacing or removing tissue surgically. At Dynamic Athlete, that umbrella covers three genuinely different modalities. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) concentrates growth factors from your own blood. Cell-based therapy uses bone marrow aspirate (BMA) or microfragmented adipose tissue (MFAT), physician-selected and always paired with high-dose PRP. Focused shockwave (ESWT) uses acoustic energy to stimulate tendon and bone-healing response, with EMTT as an enhancer. These are not interchangeable, and a clinic that advertises only “regenerative medicine” without naming which modality, what dose, and who performs it has not told you what you are actually purchasing.
What is the difference between PRP, BMA, and MFAT?
PRP (platelet-rich plasma) is processed from a blood draw and concentrates your own platelets and growth factors. At Dynamic Athlete, Dynamic PRP+ is a high-dose, multi-spin preparation reaching 12 to 20 times baseline, over 10 billion platelets, combined with Exosome-Containing Fibrin-Rich Plasma. BMA (bone marrow aspirate) and MFAT (microfragmented adipose tissue) are both cell-based source materials, drawn from bone marrow or fat tissue rather than blood, suited to more degenerated joint tissue. Dr. Garg selects BMA or MFAT based on the individual case, and Dynamic Stem Cell+ is always paired with High-Dose PRP+, never delivered alone. All three are autologous (your own tissue) and placed under live ultrasound guidance, by Dr. Garg.
Is shockwave therapy considered regenerative medicine?
Yes, though it works by a different mechanism than PRP or cell-based therapy. Focused shockwave (extracorporeal shockwave therapy, ESWT) delivers acoustic energy to stimulate a tendon or bone’s own healing response, rather than introducing biologic material. Dynamic Shockwave+ delivers true focused ESWT plus EMTT (an enhancer of focused shockwave) every session, with radial pressure wave used only as an adjunct when indicated, on the Storz gold-standard system, per ISMST and ASMST classification. Radial pressure wave alone is a separate, more superficial modality, not focused shockwave, regardless of what a clinic calls it. Shockwave is often used to prime a joint before an injection, or as a standalone treatment for tendinopathy, calcific deposits, and bone stress injuries.
Who is a candidate for regenerative medicine in Boulder?
Candidacy depends on which modality and which tissue problem, which is why the evaluation happens before any protocol is decided. Active adults with tendon or ligament injuries, early-stage joint changes, or tendinopathy that has not responded to rest, physical therapy, or an initial cortisone injection are frequently good candidates for PRP or shockwave. Adults with more advanced joint changes, where imaging shows cartilage loss, are the population where Dr. Garg considers Dynamic Stem Cell+, staged with High-Dose PRP+. A joint that has already collapsed structurally is the population where regenerative medicine is not the right answer, and an honest evaluation says so. Candidacy is determined at your evaluation, from your imaging and exam, not from age or activity level alone.
Who performs the procedures at Dynamic Athlete?
Every Dynamic PRP+, Dynamic Stem Cell+, and Dynamic Shockwave+ procedure at Dynamic Athlete is performed personally by Aneesh Garg, DO, CAQ. He is double board-certified in Sports Medicine and Internal Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital trained, an Andrews Sports Medicine fellowship graduate, and ISMST-certified (Instructional Certification Course, ISMST World Congress 2026, Madrid). He founded and directs the American Shockwave Training Institute (ASTI) and has presented at both ISMST and ASMST. At many clinics, the injection is delegated to a technician or mid-level provider. At Dynamic Athlete, the physician who trains other clinicians on regenerative technique performs your procedure himself, under live ultrasound for every injectable.
What makes Dynamic PRP+ different from a standard PRP injection?
Dose. A basic single-spin PRP kit, the kind many clinics use, concentrates platelets about 2 to 3 times your blood baseline. Dynamic PRP+ uses multi-spin processing to reach 12 to 20 times baseline, over 10 billion platelets, and adds Exosome-Containing Fibrin-Rich Plasma as a scaffold that supports a more sustained release rather than a single rapid burst. A 2024 systematic review in Arthroscopy found that studies reporting better clinical outcomes for PRP in knee osteoarthritis used a meaningfully higher mean platelet dose than studies that found no benefit. Platelet dose is one of the variables most likely to determine whether a PRP injection does anything, and it is also the variable a low-cost, single-spin product most often gives up.
Where do stem cells come from, and how does Dynamic Athlete choose BMA or MFAT?
Dynamic Stem Cell+ sources cells from your own body, either bone marrow aspirate (BMA), typically drawn from the pelvis, or microfragmented adipose tissue (MFAT), drawn from fat tissue. Both are autologous and both are processed the same day as your procedure. Dr. Garg selects BMA or MFAT based on your specific tissue finding and joint, not a default protocol, and Dynamic Stem Cell+ is always paired with High-Dose Dynamic PRP+, never delivered as a stand-alone injection. A 2022 systematic review in The American Journal of Sports Medicine reviewing bone marrow aspirate concentrate for knee osteoarthritis found consistent improvement in patient-reported outcomes across the included studies, though the authors noted study designs varied. No stem cell source is injected at Dynamic Athlete without a physician selecting it for your specific case.
How do I know which modality is right for my condition?
You do not decide the modality. Dr. Garg does, after reviewing your imaging and examining the tissue. A partial tendon tear, an early joint change, and a joint with structural cartilage loss are three different biologic problems, and they call for different inputs: PRP for many tendon and early joint presentations, shockwave to stimulate healing response or prime a joint, and cell-based therapy staged with PRP for more degenerated joints. The comparison table on this page is a starting reference, not a self-diagnosis tool. The evaluation, not a menu, is where the actual modality decision is made.
What conditions does regenerative medicine treat?
Across Dynamic PRP+, Dynamic Stem Cell+, and Dynamic Shockwave+, the conditions most frequently treated at Dynamic Athlete include knee osteoarthritis, rotator cuff and shoulder pain, tennis and golfer’s elbow, Achilles and patellar tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, hip labral and gluteal tendon pain, SI joint dysfunction, meniscus tears, and calcific tendinitis. Which modality applies depends on the specific tissue and stage, which is why the same condition can call for different protocols in different patients. See the PRP hub, the stem cell hub, and the shockwave hub for the protocol details, evidence, and candidacy specifics for each condition.
Is regenerative medicine covered by insurance?
The evaluation and office visit are typically billable to Medicare and Kaiser. PRP, BMA, and MFAT procedures themselves are out-of-pocket, since most insurance plans classify them as not medically necessary regardless of clinic. Dynamic Athlete gives a quote after a thorough evaluation. We price the plan for optimal outcomes, not line items off a menu, and every patient leaves with a good understanding of the next steps. HSA and FSA dollars typically apply, and Cherry financing is available to spread the investment over monthly payments. Ask about your specific protocol’s coverage and financing options at your evaluation.
What questions should I ask before choosing a regenerative medicine clinic in Boulder?
Three questions reveal whether a clinic can deliver what it advertises. First, what is the source material and what dose or concentration is targeted? “Regenerative medicine” and a price is not a specific answer; a platelet count or a named source tissue (BMA, MFAT, or your own blood) is. Second, who performs the procedure, a physician or a technician, and is it placed under live ultrasound guidance? Third, if one modality is not enough, what is the staging plan, shockwave priming, cell-based escalation, or neither? Most clinics marketing “regenerative medicine” in Boulder will not have a specific answer to at least one of these. Print these questions and ask them before you book.
How is Dynamic Athlete’s shockwave different from other Boulder providers?
Dynamic Athlete delivers true focused ESWT plus EMTT every shockwave session, with radial pressure wave used only as an adjunct, on the Storz gold-standard system. The clinic maintains three complete sets of focused, radial, and EMTT shockwave devices, plus a fourth radial and focused set, more shockwave equipment than any other clinic in the 50-mile radius. Dr. Garg is ISMST-certified, has presented at both ISMST and ASMST, and founded and directs the American Shockwave Training Institute (ASTI), where he trains other clinicians and physicians on focused shockwave technique. A clinic offering only radial pressure wave is not delivering shockwave, regardless of what it calls the treatment. Ask what modality is actually being used before you book.
One evaluation. The right protocol for your tissue.
Imaging review, physical exam, and a protocol built to the finding, PRP, stem cell, shockwave, or a combination, by Dr. Garg. Book an Evaluation.
1790 30th Street Suite 270, Boulder, CO 80301. 303-997-1733.