Why Some Bodies Struggle to Heal
If you’ve ever dealt with lingering joint pain, slow-healing injuries, or skin issues that do not seem to improve no matter what you try, you’re not alone. Many people do “all the right things” — rest, exercise, supplements, even medical treatments — yet their bodies still struggle to fully heal. This can feel frustrating, confusing, and sometimes discouraging.
From a functional medicine perspective, healing isn’t just about fixing a single body part. It’s about whether your body is getting the right signals at the right time. Every repair process in the body — whether it’s rebuilding cartilage in a knee, repairing skin after an injury, or restoring damaged tissue — depends on communication between cells. When that communication breaks down due to chronic inflammation, stress, poor circulation, or nervous system imbalance, healing can slow or stall altogether.
Regenerative Protein Array (RPA) therapy is an emerging approach designed to support this natural communication process. Rather than forcing the body to change, RPA focuses on delivering biological signals that may help guide the body back into a healing state. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at what RPA therapy is, how it’s thought to work, what the science currently shows, and how it fits into a functional medicine approach — including why therapies like biofeedback may play an important role in supporting the body’s ability to repair itself.
What Your Body Needs to Heal Properly
Before we talk more about regenerative therapies, it helps to understand how the body is designed to heal in the first place. Healing isn’t random — it’s a well-organized process that depends on communication between cells.
When you injure a joint, cut your skin, or strain a muscle, your body immediately sends out chemical signals. These signals tell certain cells to clean up damaged tissue, others to calm inflammation, and still others to start rebuilding what was lost. Two of the most important types of healing signals are growth factors and cytokines.
Growth factors act like project managers. They tell cells when to grow, divide, and produce new tissue like collagen, cartilage, or blood vessels. Cytokines are messengers that help control inflammation — turning it up when protection is needed and dialing it back so healing can continue. Together, these signals help guide each stage of repair within cells, from early inflammation to long-term tissue rebuilding.
Problems can arise when this signaling system gets disrupted. Chronic stress, ongoing inflammation, poor circulation, past injuries, or nervous system imbalance can all interfere with the transmission and reception of these messages throughout the body. Instead of moving smoothly from injury to repair, the body can get stuck in a cycle of low-grade inflammation or incomplete healing. This is often why joint pain lingers, scars don’t heal well, or tissues remain weak long after an injury should have resolved.
Regenerative medicine examines healing through this lens—not merely as a structural problem, but as a communication problem. Therapies such as Regenerative Protein Array are designed to support the body by improving the signaling environment, which helps cells “hear” the right messages again so repair can move forward more effectively. This understanding explains why regenerative therapies such as the Regenerative Protein Array are gaining attention.
What Is Regenerative Protein Array (RPA) Therapy?
Regenerative Protein Array (RPA) therapy is a newer approach in regenerative and functional medicine focused on natural healing support at the cellular level. Instead of using medications to suppress symptoms or procedures that try to force change, RPA is designed to work with the body’s natural repair systems.
At its core, RPA is a cell-free therapy made from carefully processed human placental tissue. “Cell-free” means it does not contain live cells or DNA. Instead, it contains a wide range of naturally occurring proteins — including growth factors and cytokines — that the body already uses to communicate during healing.
You may hear RPA compared with treatments such as PRP (platelet-rich plasma) or stem cell therapy. While these approaches all fall under the broad umbrella of regenerative medicine, they work in different ways. PRP uses a concentration of your own platelets to deliver healing signals. Stem cell therapies involve introducing new cells into a target site. RPA takes a different approach by delivering signals only to help the body organize and coordinate its own repair process more effectively.
Because RPA does not rely on live cells, it is often described as an acellular regenerative therapy. This makes it fundamentally about communication between cells rather than cell replacement — supporting the environment around damaged tissue so the body can do what it is designed to do.
It’s important to understand that RPA is considered an emerging therapy. While the biology behind growth factors and cytokines is well-studied, research on RPA as a specific clinical treatment is still developing. For this reason, it is typically approached as one supportive tool within a broader, personalized care plan — rather than as a stand-alone solution or guaranteed fix.
What’s Inside an RPA — and Why “Array” Matters
The word array in Regenerative Protein Array is actually one of the most important parts of the name. It means a collection of many helpful signals working together, rather than just one.
When your body heals, it doesn’t rely on a single message. Healing is more like a group conversation. Different signals tell the body when to suppress inflammation, when to bring in nutrients and blood flow, and when to start rebuilding tissue such as collagen, cartilage, or skin.
A RPA contains a wide range of these natural healing signals. Many people have heard of growth factors, which promote tissue repair and regeneration. There are also cytokines, which help regulate inflammation and keep the healing process moving in the right direction. Each signal has a role, and none of them function effectively on their own.
Research in regenerative medicine indicates that healing tends to be most effective when these signals are present together, as they are in the body naturally. When healing messages are incomplete or out of balance, the body can struggle to repair itself fully.
Placental tissue is often used in RPA because it is naturally rich in these healing signals. During pregnancy, the placenta helps support rapid growth, tissue development, and immune balance. Scientists have studied placental tissue for many years because of how effectively it supports repair, without creating excessive inflammation.
By providing a broad array of healing signals in a cell-free form, RPA therapy aims to support the body’s natural repair process. Instead of forcing change, it provides the body with clearer instructions so that healing can occur more smoothly.
How RPA Is Thought to Work in the Body
To understand how Regenerative Protein Array (RPA) therapy is thought to work, it helps to shift how we think about healing. Healing isn’t something the body has to be forced to do. In most cases, the body already knows how to heal — it just needs the right support.
When RPA is introduced, the goal isn’t to replace damaged tissue or override the body’s natural systems. Instead, RPA is designed to support the environment around injured or stressed tissues so the body can move out of a “stuck” state and back into repair mode.
One way to think about this is by imagining a construction site. If the workers don’t have clear instructions, the right materials, or a safe environment, the job slows down or stops altogether. RPA aims to help create a better “work site” or foundation for healing by providing the signals that guide repair.
These signals may help the body in a few key ways:
- Calming ongoing inflammation: Some tissues stay inflamed long after an injury has occurred. RPA contains proteins that are thought to help balance the inflammatory response, allowing the body to shift from protection into repair.
- Supporting tissue rebuilding: Healing requires more than rest. It depends on blood flow, collagen production, and healthy communication between cells. The signals in RPA are designed to support these rebuilding processes, enabling tissues to become stronger and more resilient.
- Improving intercellular communication: Cells rely on continuous signaling to determine what to do next. When those messages are unclear or disrupted, healing can slow down. RPA is intended to improve this communication, enabling cells to respond more effectively.
As with any regenerative approach, the experience of RPA can vary from person to person, depending on overall health and the body’s readiness to heal. Healing depends on multiple factors, including nutrition, stress levels, circulation, and nervous system balance. That’s why, in functional medicine, therapies such as RPA are often combined with other supportive approaches rather than used alone.
RPA and Joint Health
Joint pain is one of the most common reasons people seek regenerative therapies. Whether it’s stiffness in the knees, aching shoulders, hip discomfort, or lingering pain from an old injury, joint issues can slowly affect how you move, sleep, and enjoy daily life.
One reason joints can be so complex to heal is that many joint tissues don’t get a lot of blood flow. Cartilage, tendons, and ligaments rely heavily on healthy signaling rather than direct circulation. When inflammation lingers, or communication between cells breaks down, the repair process can stall — even long after the original injury has healed.
From a regenerative medicine perspective, the goal is to support the joint’s internal healing environment. RPA therapy is being explored as a way to deliver biological signals that may help calm chronic inflammation and support tissue repair within joints and surrounding structures like tendons and ligaments.
Research on growth factors and regenerative signaling shows that these messages play an important role in how cartilage and connective tissue repair themselves over time. While RPA is still considered an emerging therapy, its use is based on this well-established understanding of how joints respond to the proper healing signals.
It’s also important to set realistic expectations. RPA is not a quick fix, and it isn’t designed to replace necessary medical care or surgery when those are appropriate. In functional medicine settings, it is often considered as part of a broader plan that may include nutritional support, movement therapy, nervous system regulation, and lifestyle changes — all working together to support joint health from multiple angles.
RPA for Skin, Scars, and Tissue Repair
Your skin is more than just a protective covering. It’s an active organ that’s constantly renewing itself, repairing damage, and responding to what’s happening inside the body. When skin heals well, it’s usually because inflammation is balanced, collagen is being produced properly, and cells are communicating clearly.
When healing doesn’t go as planned — whether after surgery, injury, or years of inflammation — skin and soft tissue can become fragile, slow to repair, or more prone to scarring. This is where regenerative therapies are being explored as supportive tools.
RPA therapy is based on the same biological signals the body already uses during skin and tissue repair. Research on growth factors and placental-derived proteins shows that these signals can support collagen production, help guide fibroblasts (the cells that build connective tissue), and improve how wounds and tissues remodel over time.
Because placental tissue naturally supports growth and immune balance, scientists have studied it for decades in the context of wound healing and tissue regeneration. RPA takes these naturally occurring signals and delivers them in a cell-free form, with the intention of supporting healthier tissue repair — not just faster healing, but more organized healing.
In functional medicine settings, RPA may be explored for concerns such as slow-healing wounds, post-procedural recovery, or areas of tissue that haven’t fully recovered. The focus is on supporting healthier, more complete healing rather than merely accelerating the process.
What the Research Actually Shows (and What It Doesn’t)
When it comes to regenerative therapies, it’s important to separate what science clearly supports from what is still being explored. At Michigan Health & Wellness, education and transparency matter — especially with newer therapies like Regenerative Protein Array.
What the science strongly supports is the role of growth factors, cytokines, and cellular signaling in healing. Decades of research show that these biological messengers play a central role in reducing inflammation, guiding tissue repair, supporting collagen production, and helping the body move from injury into recovery. Studies on wound healing, connective tissue repair, and placental-derived biologics consistently highlight how important these signals are for proper regeneration.
There is also growing research interest in placental and perinatal tissues. These tissues naturally support rapid growth, immune balance, and tissue development, which is why scientists have studied them in areas like wound healing, skin repair, and regenerative medicine. This body of research helps explain why therapies built around regenerative signaling are being explored in clinical settings.
What’s still emerging is research specifically focused on Regenerative Protein Array therapy as a defined clinical treatment. Large, long-term studies looking at RPA outcomes in different conditions are still limited. That doesn’t mean RPA lacks scientific grounding — it means the therapy is based on well-understood biology, while the clinical applications continue to evolve.
This distinction matters. Functional medicine values informed decision-making, realistic expectations, and patient education. Rather than promising outcomes, RPA is approached as a supportive therapy that may help create better conditions for healing when used thoughtfully and appropriately.
By understanding both the strengths and the current limits of the research, patients are better equipped to make choices that align with their goals, values, and overall health picture.
Where Biofeedback Therapy Fits Into Healing
One piece of healing that often gets overlooked is the nervous system. The state of your nervous system plays a major role in how well your body can repair itself. When the body is under constant stress, it stays in a “fight-or-flight” mode. In that state, healing takes a back seat.
Biofeedback therapy is a gentle, non-invasive way to help the nervous system shift out of stress and into a calmer, more balanced state. It works by giving the body real-time feedback about how it’s functioning, allowing it to self-correct and move toward better regulation. Many people describe biofeedback as helping their body “reset.”
This matters because healing — including tissue repair, joint recovery, and skin regeneration — happens most efficiently when the body feels safe and supported. Chronic stress can interfere with circulation, inflammation balance, immune response, and cellular communication. When these systems are under strain, even the best regenerative signals may not be fully received.
In functional medicine, therapies like biofeedback are often used alongside regenerative approaches such as RPA. The idea isn’t that biofeedback replaces regenerative therapy, or that RPA replaces nervous system support. Instead, they complement one another. Biofeedback helps create a calmer internal environment, while regenerative therapies help support the biological signals involved in repair.
By addressing both the nervous system and the physical tissues, a more complete picture of healing begins to emerge — one that respects how deeply connected the mind, body, and physiology truly are.
A Functional Medicine View — Supporting the Whole Person
Functional medicine looks at health differently than conventional, symptom-focused care. Instead of asking, “What diagnosis does this person have?” it asks, “Why is the body struggling in the first place?” This approach recognizes that healing is influenced by many interconnected systems — including inflammation, digestion, hormones, circulation, stress, sleep, and the nervous system.
From this perspective, therapies like Regenerative Protein Array are not viewed as stand-alone solutions. They are considered supportive tools that may help the body heal more effectively when the underlying environment is addressed at the same time. For example, chronic inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, or ongoing stress can all interfere with how well the body responds to regenerative signals.
At Michigan Health & Wellness, regenerative therapies are typically explored within a broader plan that focuses on restoring balance across the whole body. This may include nutritional guidance, lifestyle changes, nervous system support such as biofeedback, and other therapies designed to reduce stress on the body and improve its ability to repair itself.
This whole-person approach helps explain why two people with similar symptoms may need very different care plans. Healing is not one-size-fits-all. Functional medicine respects individual differences and works to support the body in a way that fits each person’s unique needs.
By placing education at the center of care, functional medicine empowers people to understand their health more clearly — and to make informed choices about the therapies they explore.
Who Might Explore RPA — and Important Considerations
Because Regenerative Protein Array (RPA) therapy is still an emerging approach, it’s not something that’s meant for everyone — and that’s okay! In functional medicine, the goal is never to apply the same solution to every person, but to understand what each body needs to heal safely and effectively.
Many people who ask about RPA are those who feel their healing has slowed or stalled. This might include ongoing joint pain, slow recovery after an injury or procedure, chronic inflammation affecting tissues or skin, or areas of the body that haven’t responded the way they hoped with other approaches. In these situations, the question isn’t “Will this fix everything?” but rather, “Could this support my body’s natural repair process?”
At the same time, there are situations where RPA may not be the right choice — at least not right away. For example, regenerative therapies like RPA are generally avoided during pregnancy, during active infections, or when the immune system is under significant strain. In cases of active cancer or unexplained growths, providers typically take a very cautious approach and focus on other forms of support instead.
These considerations aren’t meant to be limiting or discouraging. They exist to protect your health and ensure that any therapy being explored truly aligns with what your body needs at that moment. Healing works best when the body feels safe, supported, and ready to respond.
This is why functional medicine places such a strong emphasis on personalized care and open conversation. Rather than offering quick answers or one-size-fits-all solutions, the focus is on understanding the whole picture — your health history, current stress levels, lifestyle, and long-term goals — before recommending any regenerative therapy.
When education leads the way, people are better equipped to make confident, informed decisions about their health.
Learning First, Healing Second
Regenerative Protein Array therapy represents an exciting and evolving area of regenerative medicine, rooted in the science of how the body communicates, repairs, and renews itself. While research continues to grow, what’s already clear is that healing works best when the body is supported as a whole — not rushed, forced, or treated with one-size-fits-all solutions.
Understanding therapies like RPA is an important first step. When people take the time to learn how healing signals work, why inflammation matters, and how the nervous system influences repair, they’re better prepared to make choices that align with their health goals and values.
At Michigan Health & Wellness, education is a core part of care. Whether someone is simply curious about regenerative therapies or exploring options for ongoing joint, skin, or tissue concerns, the focus is on helping people understand why their body may be struggling and what kinds of support may be appropriate.
If this article sparked questions or helped you see healing from a new perspective, that curiosity is worth honoring. Learning more — through educational resources, conversations, or guided support — can be an empowering step toward long-term wellness. Contact us today to learn more.
Healing is not about chasing the latest trend. It’s about creating the right conditions for your body to do what it was designed to do.
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Resources
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