HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Hutchinson chiropractor will be the guest speaker at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina to discuss a form of treatment he’s been using for a little more than a year.

Dr. Christopher Schroeder will talk Thursday, April 25, about the treatment known as placental allograft transplant. The procedure is gaining popularity among chiropractors and other doctors as a way to heal joint damage.

The cells would normally be discarded, but are donated following a C-section. “You’re using cells that are not categorized yet so they can turn into any type of cell. So you can get them to turn into cartilage, or a ledgment, or bone,” Schroeder said.

The procedure is quite easy and requires only one simple shot. The positive effects of the treatment can come quite quickly. “Our average patient is pain free in about four weeks,” Schroeder said. “You’re looking at about four to six months to get 100 percent healed.”

Schroeder has performed more than 500 of these treatments and takes in the oversight of a doctor and nurse to help with the program. While Schroeder is using the treatment for joint injuries or pain, many see that as just the tip of the iceberg. Research is ongoing to tap into the full potential of PAT for kidney patients and even spinal surgery in the future.

There has been controversy surrounding stem cell treatment over the years, but Schroeder wanted to stress that this treatment does not come from any type of abortion procedure.