Before You Try Regenerative Medicine: What Charlotte Patients Should Know

by Dr. John Stavrakos | Nov 6, 2026 | Regenerative Medicine

Active man learns about Regenerative Medicine in Charlotte NC

If you’re weighing the option of doing regenerative medicine for a sore knee, a cranky shoulder, or a tendon that hasn’t healed the way it should, you probably have more questions than answers right now. That’s normal. Here’s the short version of what you should know before treatment: a good plan starts with a careful evaluation, the right testing, and an honest conversation about how many visits your body is likely to need. These treatments work with your own healing process, so they move on your body’s timeline rather than overnight. Patients in Charlotte, NC, who go in knowing that tend to feel calmer and get more out of every appointment.

So what is regenerative medicine actually? Regenerative medicine is the title given to a select group of non-surgical treatments that aim to help damaged tissue repair itself. At our practice, that includes platelet-rich plasma made from your own blood, dextrose prolotherapy that strengthens loose ligaments, biologic injections, and shockwave therapy for stubborn soft tissue injuries. Each one works a little differently, and each one might be a better initial solution thant he others depending on your paticular situation. That’s why the workup before the first injection matters so much. Your history, an exam of the painful area, imaging when it’s useful, and occasionally lab work that looks at factors like inflammation and potential deficienciesall shape which option makes sense. Skip these steps and you’re essentially doing guess work.

Most people come to us after trying rest, anti-inflammatories, physical therapy, or a cortisone shot that either didn’t work or eventually wore off. They want to avoid surgery, but they also want a straight answer about whether these treatments fit their situation. At Heritage Regenerative Medicine, your consultation will be with Dr. John Stavrakos, a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician with Sports Medicine fellowship training and more than twenty-five years of practice experience. He also serves as the Chief Medical Officer and regenerative medicine instructor for a multi-state tissue bank, so he understands how biologic products are sourced and handled long before they reach a syringe.

This Article Will Address

What happens at your first regenerative visit
When imaging or lab testing comes into play
How Dr. Stavrakos builds your treatment plan
How many sessions common treatments take
How payment works when insurance doesn’t cover care

What Happens During a Regenerative Medicine Consultation?

Your consultation is a sit-down evaluation where Dr. Stavrakos works out what’s causing your pain and whether a regenerative treatment is likely to help. It usually covers four things:

Your story: when the pain started, what makes it worse, and what you’ve already tried.
Your goals: getting back to tennis is a different target than walking the dog without a limp.
A hands-on exam: parameters such as range of motion, strength, joint stability, and the exact areas that hurt may be tested.
Your records: prior imaging, surgical notes, and medications and/or supplements that could affect healing.

You’ll leave with a clear picture of your options. If a regenerative approach isn’t a good fit for you, you’ll be told that as well. Reviews from our patients mention one thing more than almost anything else: Dr. Stavrakos takes the time to listen. He would rather spend extra minutes on your history than recommend the wrong injection. To get the most out of the visit, write down your questions ahead of time and bring a list of the medications and supplements you take.

Will I Need Imaging or Diagnostic Testing First?

Sometimes. It depends on the injury, how long it’s been bothering you, and which records you already have. If you’ve had a recent MRI or X-ray, bring it along, since it can save time and money. For tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissue, ultrasound can often be a more practical tool. It shows structures in real time, uses no radiation, and lets the provider watch the needle reach the right spot during ultrasound-guided injection therapy. If you don’t have imaging yet, that’s no reason to put off booking. The exam itself often shows whether more testing is needed.

Lab work is the other piece. Healing depends on more than the injured spot, so in some cases, our office may check inflammation markers, hormone levels, metabolic health, and micronutrients. A tendon that won’t heal can be telling you something about vitamin D or blood sugar, and treating only the tendon misses that.

How Is a Regenerative Treatment Plan Created?

Your plan comes from putting the exam, imaging, and lab results side by side, then matching them to the treatment most likely to help that specific tissue. A partial tendon tear, an arthritic knee, and a loose ligament in the low back each call for a different approach. Dr. Stavrakos willexplain why he’d recommend one option over another, what the injections involve, and what you can do between visits to support healing. That might mean adjusting your activity, correcting a shortfall in the body that the labs uncovered, or pairing an injection with another therapy from our regenerative and functional medicine services. You’ll get the plan in plain language, along with a cost breakdown, so you can decide how you’d like to move forward. Nothing gets scheduled until it makes sense to you.

How Many Regenerative Medicine Treatments Will I Need?

Most people need more than one visit, but the number depends on the treatment and the tissue involved. Here are typical ranges for our most common therapies:

PRP injections: one to three sessions for many conditions, with relief that may start (if successful) in two to six weeks with the largest improvements typically occurring around the three to four month mark.
Prolotherapy: usually three to six sessions, spaced four to five weeks apart.
Shockwave therapy: often four to ten short sessions over several weeks.

Biologics: one to three sessions, typically six weeks apart, with the largest improvements often occurring around the three to six month mark.

It’s important to treat those numbers given above as starting points and general guidelines, not absolutes. Someone with a recent tendon strain may need fewer visits, while long-standing arthritis may need more, plus occasional maintenance. Dr. Stavrakos tracks how you respond after each session and adjusts from there, so you aren’t locked into a package you don’t need. The visits themselves are manageable. A PRP session takes about 45 to 60 minutes, which covers drawing your blood, spinning it to concentrate the platelets, and the injection. Shockwave sessions are much shorter, often 5 to 15 minutes.

Does Insurance Cover Regenerative Medicine Treatment?

Usually not. Most insurance plans don’t cover regenerative injections like PRP and prolotherapy, and our office doesn’t process insurance claims directly. That doesn’t leave you on your own, though. We provide a detailed summary of charges that includes medical codes where they apply, and you can submit it to your insurance company for possible reimbursement. Some patients may also be able to use HSA or FSA funds for certain services, so check with your plan administrator. We’ll go over pricing during your consultation, before any treatment begins, so the numbers are clear from the start. Cost depends on the area being treated, the number of sessions you need, and whether therapies are combined, which is why an exact figure has to wait until after your evaluation.

Now Booking Regenerative Treatment Evaluations with Dr. Stavrakos

The best way to prepare for regenerative treatment is a thorough evaluation, and that’s exactly where we start. Heritage Regenerative Medicine is welcoming new patients in Charlotte, NC, and we’d be glad to look at your knee, shoulder, back, or old injury with fresh eyes. Call 980-210-0079 or request an appointment to set up your regenerative medicine consultation with Dr. Stavrakos, and bring any imaging you already have.

Sources

Dr. John Stavrakos

Dr. John Stavrakos brings over 20 years of experience in physical and regenerative medicine to Heritage Regenerative Medicine in Charlotte, NC. He is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, completed a fellowship in Sports Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and is certified in Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT). Dr. Stavrakos is passionate about helping patients address the root cause of pain and chronic conditions so they can get back to living fully.