Tuesday, 25 June 2024
Marvel’s beloved characters, Deadpool and Wolverine, are set to return in the highly anticipated “Deadpool 3”. Both are famous for their extraordinary healing factors, allowing them to recover from severe injuries almost instantly. But how realistic are these superpowers for us regular folks?
While we can’t heal as quickly as Deadpool and Wolverine, our bodies still have impressive regenerative capabilities. For instance, children can regenerate fingertips, and broken bones can fully mend. To understand these natural processes, it’s important to look at the wound healing process, which occurs in four distinct phases: Haemostasis, Inflammation, Proliferation, and Remodelling.
By exploring these phases, we can better appreciate the complexities of healing and see how modern medical technologies might help us accelerate this process.
The Factors Behind the Healing
To understand the incredible healing abilities of characters like Deadpool and Wolverine, it’s essential to look at how wounds heal in real life. The process involves four distinct phases:
- Haemostasis – This initial phase involves clotting to reduce or stop bleeding by plugging the break in the blood vessel.
- Inflammation – In this phase, white blood cells remove damaged and dead cells, debris, bacteria, and other pathogens. The body then begins encouraging cell growth in the affected area.
- Proliferation – New cell growth takes place. Fibroblasts gather at the site and produce collagen, forming the basis of new tissue growth.
- Remodelling – The wound fully closes as collagen rearranges and transforms into more permanent tissue.
While Deadpool and Wolverine experience these phases at an accelerated rate, we can only wonder: has modern medical science advanced enough to help us match their rapid healing factors?
Accelerating Your Healing Through Technology
While we can’t achieve the “mutant healing factor” of Deadpool and Wolverine, modern medical technologies can significantly boost the body’s natural healing processes for various conditions and injuries. Here are two effective methods:
Super Inductive System
The Super Inductive System or SIS uses electromagnetic fields to stimulate neuromuscular tissue, increase circulation, and provide pain relief. Improved circulation accelerates tissue regeneration and blood vessel formation, benefiting bone fractures and reducing inflammation. This technology restarts the healing process for non-healing wounds and speeds up recovery for typical injuries.
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy or ESWT, enhances the body’s regenerative abilities through three specific management forms:
- Radial Shockwave Therapy: This management uses acoustic waves to promote healing by improving blood flow and reducing muscle tension. It is commonly used in practices due to its broad range of applications, despite having minimal cellular impact.
- Focused Shockwave Therapy: This advanced technology generates shockwaves that penetrate deep into soft tissues, stimulating cellular changes in specific areas such as bones and deep tissue. It accelerates healing and provides pain relief for targeted injuries.
- Defocused Shockwave Therapy: Delivering a more superficial impact over a larger area, defocused shockwave therapy uses controlled wound trauma to stimulate healing in non-healing or diabetic wounds. It is ideal for managing large, chronic wounds that resist conventional therapy.
Choosing the Right Method
Selecting the right care plan depends on the wound’s location, size, and type. In Singapore, both the Super Inductive System and Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy can assist with wounds stuck in the inflammatory or proliferation phase, potentially promoting faster healing.
While these care plans may not be as extraordinary as the healing factors of Deadpool and Wolverine, they come close. Many patients have reported positive outcomes, bringing us a step closer to the remarkable healing abilities of our favourite superheroes.
Ensure Proper Healing with East Coast Podiatry
You might not have non-healing wounds, but you probably know someone at risk. Factors like advanced age, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions can lead to serious wound issues. In Singapore, one in nine individuals have diabetes, and another one in nine are obese. These conditions significantly increase the risk of non-healing wounds.
Diabetic patients are especially vulnerable to these wounds due to their reduced healing rates and increased susceptibility to infections. Regularly checking their feet for injuries is crucial, as they often don’t feel pain and may not notice wounds. By staying vigilant, you can help prevent complications and improve their quality of life.
Here at East Coast Podiatry, we offer advanced wound care plans to aid the healing process. With our guidance and personalised care, we can make a difference for you or a loved one struggling with wound healing. Take the first step towards better health and schedule a consultation with us today.
Deadpool & Wolverine opens in cinemas on 25 July 2024.