Interview: Dr Venkatesh Movva, Founder of RegenOrthoSport

Interview with Dr Venkatesh Movva, Founder of RegenOrthoSport

Dr Venkatesh Movva is the finest regenerative medicine specialist internationally. He specializes in sports and is board-certified in pain management.

Dr Movva has many years of professional experience, a fellowship of Primary Care Sports Medicine, Tulsa.

He has worked at the Pain Evaluation and Treatment Center, Tulsa, where he dealt with sports injury evaluation and treatment, stem-cell injections and interventional orthopaedic procedures.

Dr Movva later went on to establish RegenOrthoSport in Dallas and expanded it to other countries. He is the first physician in India to offer non-surgical Regenexx regenerative treatment with Mumbai and Hyderabad as the main centres of RegenOrthoSport.

Tell us a little about yourself

Dr Venkatesh Movva: In my early years, I gained experience from such places as the Clinical Base at Eastern Oklahoma, Orthopaedic Center, working as a team physician at Tulsa University (Basketball and Football), Oral Roberts University (Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball) Track and Field Teams NCAA, Northeastern State University Football Team NCAA-II.

I also have a fellowship in Primary Care Sports Medicine, Tulsa, and worked at the pain Evaluation and Treatment Center, Tulsa, where I did sports injury evaluation and treatment, stem cell injections and interventional orthopaedic procedures. Later, I went on to establish RegenOrthoSport in Dallas and expanded it to other countries.

What inspired you to start your own orthopaedic medical clinic?

Dr Venkatesh Movva: Orthopaedic stem cells, also called orthobiologics, is quite common. Most of you must have heard that athletes used to get treated non-surgically with their own blood with a quicker and better rehab protocols.

You may have also heard that many athletes have got some platelets, plasma rich platelets—products of your own blood.

And that is how it started. About 20-25 years ago, no one had heard about stem cells in the orthopaedic industry, but we started it.

Some athletes made it more popular. Several top athletes did it and then, much research went into the subject.

Surgeons started saying, “Hey, why can’t we do it for people other than sportspersons?” So, Europe became the frontrunner for most of these stem cell applications because, compared to the US, Europe is a little more advanced regarding regulations. And we started seeing a lot of growth in the US in the past 12 years.

This is when the real stem cell orthopaedics started and our group, Regenexx, was started about 14 years ago. We were the first group to try commercial stem cell injections on patients.

Back then, it is only done in high-level athletes and sportspersons. But now, we pretty much treat everybody from age 12 onwards till 94 years.

But every year, we notice that there are more and more applications that can be used. As I said, this is just the beginning of a bigger revolution literally and we expect this to grow at an exponential rate in future.

The industry for orthobiologics and orthopaedic stem cells is huge because everyone has some or the other joint issue.

Kindly brief us about RegenOrthoSport, its specialization, and the services it offers.

Dr Venkatesh Movva: RegenOrthoSport is a leading network of interventional orthopaedic medical clinic founded in 2015, with Mumbai and Hyderabad as the main centres in India.

It specializes in Regenexx procedures, where it uses the body’s natural healing agents to treat orthopaedic injuries, such as osteoarthritis, joint injuries, ACL tears and non-union fractures, besides acute and chronic sports injuries.

RegenOrthoSport is a pioneer in the field of orthopaedic regenerative medicine and advanced interventional orthobiologics through research and development and varied treatments.

The Regenexx network chain stretches across the world with more than 78 clinics that have access to regenerative medical procedures with an array of expert physicians who also receive hands-on training for several hours while developing new treatment procedures.

The clinic has published approximately 44% research studies on Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate on Orthopaedic Conditions with 15 international patents in Interventional Orthopaedic Procedures and Technologies.

We were specially focused only on regenerative orthopedics and were able to do that and offer the same treatments we were doing in the US back in India, as well. We are the only specialized orthopaedic stem cell centre in India.

What are the most common orthopaedic problems that patients come to you with?

Dr Venkatesh Movva: The most common orthopaedic problems patients come to us with are low back pain, knee pain, hamstring injuries, hip fracture and arthritis.

What are some of the latest advancements in orthopaedic care?

Ans: The past two decades have seen a lot of changes in trauma and orthopaedics. We are likely to see greater advancements in this decade, especially in such areas as material science, and molecular biology. Besides, we have witnessed changes in care provision, like greater sub-specialization of surgeons.

We are using autologous chondrocyte transplantation to provide better quality of life and prevent arthritis in young patients who have already had articular cartilage damage.

How do you see the future of orthopaedics?

Dr Venkatesh Movva: The future is bright. We’re just at the beginning of a major change event in the solutions that patients have access to, as we do more and more research, we find there are more applications.

If we can intervene early, we can change a lot of things. People can live longer and healthier and enjoy an active lifestyle.

We feel that most of us need some kind of help through biologics. The future holds possibilities of helping a large number of people through using the newer technology.

What are the biggest challenges facing orthopaedic doctors today?

Dr Venkatesh Movva: Along with the possibilities of helping millions of people and using newer technology, there is always the challenge of ensuring that the technology is being used properly, and that everybody is working responsibly.

We have to be very responsible and just do the procedure or treatments that are evidence- and research-based.

The problem now is that newer technology regulations are not fully formed yet. We welcome having a well-structured regulation.

The proper use of biologics or orthopaedic stem cells has a tremendous advantage that can help millions of people, but it has to be done responsibly.

What are your company’s goals?

Dr Venkatesh Movva: The Company started about 6 years ago and we never expected as a business to help as many patients as we did.

We had always wanted to bring in the new technology to India and help all the people and that resulted in commercial success, as well.

Now, we are in Mumbai. Our future plan is that we want to expand pan-India. We’re looking at Bangalore and Delhi as our next stop.

The same technology should be available to people across the country. We’re strategically moving into bigger metros first.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering a career in orthopaedics?

Dr Venkatesh Movva: Orthopaedic doctors should never stop learning so that they can serve patients to the best of their abilities. Moreover, newer technological and medical innovations are developing each year.

Orthopaedic doctors should consider how their decisions today will affect patients 10-15 years down the road.

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