Clinically reviewed by Hemal V. Mehta, MD and Kate Sherman, PA-C, Vita Nova Stem Cell Professionals
Vita Nova Stem Cell Professionals serves patients across the Franklin and Nashville area who are looking for non-surgical options before saying yes to an operation. Our practice is built around a regenerative approach to orthopedic care, led by Dr. Hemal V. Mehta and Kate Sherman, PA-C, and delivered from our Franklin office roughly twenty minutes from downtown Nashville.
If that sounds like your situation, you are in the right place. You wake up at 3 AM because you turned the wrong way in your sleep. The knee that used to handle stairs is now a daily decision. You have been negotiating with your body for months, and by the time a surgeon tells you the next step is an operation, you are ready for a different conversation. That is the conversation we have every day.
What We Mean by “Non-Surgical Pain Care”
Non-surgical pain care is not one thing. In the Franklin and Nashville area, it spans several distinct approaches, and each one has a different mechanism and a different set of conditions where it helps or falls short. Understanding where each option fits is the first thing that helps a patient choose a direction.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care focuses on spinal alignment and joint mobility. For pain driven by movement patterns or muscular imbalance, a skilled chiropractor can provide meaningful relief. Where it falls short is structural tissue damage. A chiropractic adjustment cannot restore degenerated cartilage or repair a torn tendon, even when it temporarily quiets the surrounding pain.
Interventional Pain Management
Interventional pain management uses procedures like nerve blocks, epidural steroid injections, and radiofrequency ablation to reduce pain through different mechanisms: interrupting nerve signals, reducing inflammation around nerve roots, or disabling small pain-carrying nerve fibers. These procedures work for many patients as short-to-medium term symptom control. The underlying condition typically continues to progress while the pain itself is managed.
Ketamine Infusion Therapy
Ketamine infusion therapy has emerged as an option for treatment-resistant chronic pain involving the nervous system. For some patients with neuropathic pain, it has shown benefit where conventional medications have not. It is not designed for orthopedic structural problems and is rarely the right starting point for joint or spine pain driven by tissue damage.
Physical Therapy and Structured Rehabilitation
Physical therapy and structured rehabilitation deserve their own place on this map. For many patients, a well-designed physical therapy program addresses the problem before any procedural intervention becomes necessary. Where it plateaus is when the underlying tissue is too degenerated to respond to mechanical loading alone.
Regenerative Medicine
Regenerative medicine is the category our practice works within. It uses biological materials drawn from your own body to support tissue repair rather than to interrupt symptoms or realign mechanics. Its goal is to support the underlying tissue itself, not only the pain around it. Whether it is the right approach for your specific situation depends on the condition, the extent of damage, and what you have already tried.
Our Regenerative Options
Regenerative medicine is itself a category, not a single treatment. At Vita Nova, three approaches sit within it, and we select among them based on each patient’s specific condition and clinical history.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy
PRP therapy uses a concentrated portion of your own blood. Platelets carry growth factors that signal tissue repair and reduce local inflammation. We deliver PRP directly into the affected area under real-time image guidance to ensure accurate placement. PRP tends to be most useful for chronic tendon conditions, partial joint tears, and situations where the body needs a stronger biological signal to support healing that has stalled.
Alpha-2-Macroglobulin (A2M) Therapy
A2M therapy uses a naturally occurring protein in the blood that captures and neutralizes destructive enzymes. In joint conditions like osteoarthritis, elevated levels of these enzymes contribute to ongoing cartilage breakdown. A2M’s role is protective: it may work to slow the destruction rather than to rebuild what is already gone. Clinical research on A2M is still at an early stage. We consider it when the clinical priority is preserving remaining joint tissue.
Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cell therapy uses regenerative cells harvested from your own body, processed in our on-site laboratory, and delivered to the affected tissue under image guidance. These cells release biological signals that modulate inflammation and support tissue repair. This is the most involved of the three approaches and is typically considered for conditions where other regenerative options have not produced adequate results, or where the extent of tissue change calls for a stronger biological intervention.
These three are not mutually exclusive. Some care plans combine them. Dr. Mehta and Kate Sherman develop each care plan jointly, reviewing imaging and history before recommending any direction. Cell-based regenerative therapies are not FDA-approved for orthopedic conditions, and we discuss this clearly with every patient before any procedure. PRP and A2M are also not FDA-approved for orthopedic use, though the FDA does regulate the devices used to prepare PRP. For a closer look at how we choose, see how Vita Nova selects between PRP and cell-based therapy.
How Our Care Plans Work
Several elements of how we operate set the experience at Vita Nova apart from what patients may find at other clinics offering similar treatments. They are operational decisions that affect what kind of care patients actually receive.
Three Regenerative Options Under One Roof
We offer PRP, A2M, and stem cell therapy at our Franklin office, which means a single physician evaluation can determine which approach (or combination) fits you rather than referring out for each one separately.
Autologous Biology
Every regenerative material we use comes from your own body. Some regenerative clinics use pre-packaged donor allograft products; we do not. There are no donor-sourced products and no synthetic substitutes, which keeps rejection risk minimal and removes donor-screening uncertainty from the conversation.
In-House Laboratory Processing
We collect and process cells in our on-site facility rather than shipping samples to an external laboratory. This gives our clinical team direct control over quality at every stage.
Cell Count and Quality Verification
Before any procedure, your cells are tested for count and viability. This internal quality control step confirms that what is being administered meets the clinical standard your care plan requires.
Image-Guided Administration
We use real-time ultrasound or fluoroscopy to deliver cells precisely into the target tissue. Cells that miss the target tissue cannot do their work, which makes administration precision a clinically meaningful factor.
Regenerative therapies are typically not covered by health insurance. We provide transparent pricing during consultation, before any commitment is required.
Who We Treat and Who We Do Not
Regenerative medicine is not appropriate for every patient or every condition. Our commitment, stated openly in every consultation, is to tell patients directly when regenerative therapy is not the right path for their situation. This is part of how we operate and is not negotiable.
If your condition is chronic and has not responded to conservative treatments such as physical therapy, anti-inflammatories, or cortisone, you are part of the patient profile this care path was built for. The same is true if your imaging shows tissue damage in a range where regenerative approaches have shown patient-reported benefit, or if you want to explore non-surgical options before committing to an operation. Realistic expectations about what regenerative medicine can and cannot do are part of the fit as well. Many patients who come to our Franklin office for knee, shoulder, back, or neck pain have already tried several rounds of cortisone and want a second perspective on what their imaging means for non-surgical options. That is a common starting point for the conversation.
If your imaging report or surgeon has used the term “complete tear,” “bone-on-bone,” or “severe instability,” regenerative therapy is unlikely to be the right path. Patients with complete rotator cuff tears requiring surgical reconstruction, severe bone-on-bone arthritis where structural damage is beyond what regenerative approaches can support, acute fractures requiring surgical fixation, or active infection in the affected area are not candidates for this category. In these situations, surgery, interventional pain management, or specialist referral may be more appropriate, and we will say so directly during consultation.
The Consultation Process
At Vita Nova, the consultation is the assessment. Dr. Hemal V. Mehta and Kate Sherman, PA-C, together review your imaging, your history, and your goals, and provide a direct recommendation about whether regenerative therapy is appropriate for your specific situation. There is no pressure to proceed, no obligation to commit, and no recommendation that does not match what we genuinely believe is in your interest.
Our office is located at 4601 Carothers Parkway, Suite 325, Franklin, TN 37067. We serve patients across Williamson County and the broader Nashville metropolitan area. Consultations can be scheduled through our contact page or by phone at 615-801-8005.
Ready to Explore Non-Surgical Options?
Schedule a physician-led consultation with no obligation to proceed. Let’s discuss what regenerative therapy can and cannot do for your specific situation.
Vita Nova Stem Cell Professionals
Phone: (615) 801-8005 | Email: info@vitanovatn.com
Address: 4601 Carothers Parkway, Suite 325, Franklin, TN 37067
Phone Hours: Monday–Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM
Website: vitanovatn.com
Disclaimer: This page is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Regenerative orthopedic therapies, including PRP, A2M, and autologous cell-based therapies, are not FDA-approved for orthopedic conditions. Individual results vary. Consult a qualified physician before making decisions about care.