Osteoarthritis remains the most common joint disease in the world. It is characterized by chronic pain, joint stiffness, structural damage and bone remodeling through the progressive loss of cartilage. What most people do not know is that cartilage loss and osteoarthritis are the long-term results of joint instability from unresolved ligament trauma.
This leads to destructive joint motions every time the joint moves which, over time, causes the wearing down of cartilage and other joint damage. For many years, Caring Medical has been a leader in regenerative treatments for arthritic pain relief that helps patients avoid joint replacement surgery, as well as helps patients who already underwent a surgery that did not result in pain relief.
Degenerative conditions need Regenerative Medicine!
This is why our Comprehensive Prolotherapy technique (including traditional dextrose, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), and Stem Cell Therapy) have helped thousands of patients restore joint and cartilage integrity. Our Prolotherapy providers Danielle Matias, MMS, PA-C, and Ross Hauser, MD, treat osteoarthritis of all joints, including knees, shoulders, hips, fingers, toes, ankles, and wrists, as well as the spine, including the neck, thoracic, and lumber (low) back.
What are symptoms caused by arthritis?
- Cracking with movement
- Deep aching joint pain
- Grinding sensations in the joints
- Loss of muscle strength
- Reduced movement
- Stiffness
- Tenderness on palpation
What can be done about arthritis and its associated symptoms? Well, first of all, we need to stop the arthritic process from continuing. Thus, we need to regenerate the body instead of allow it to keep degenerating. Unfortunately, traditional medicine will prescribe anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) medications such as Ibuprofen, Naprosyn, Aleve, etc., then jump to steroid injections, and wonder why the patient is now facing joint replacement surgery?
Many people have no idea that NSAIDs and steroid shots drastically reduce the body’s ability to repair and actually accelerates the degenerative arthritic process. So, you ask, why would you be prescribed these things? Good question!
Completely blocking the pain with medications in and of itself is dangerous because the brain does not recognize that a part of the body is injured. For example, running on an injured ankle because you do not feel the pain can cause further damage. This is often what happens to professional athletes – they get back in the game medicated or shot up with cortisone. Once the ligaments have been damaged and overstretched, they allow for destructive joint motions which causes more bone overgrowth to try to stabilize the area(s) – IE arthritis formation. So bottom line: stop taking these things!
Treatments that stimulate the body to heal! Treatments that increase blood flow cause increased flow of immune cells to the injured tissue which triggers their repair. We coined the term “MEAT” which is movement, exercise, heat, analgesics (natural pain control), and treatments vs the old method called “RICE” (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) which we know worsens healing.
Treatments that stimulate healing are things like physical therapy, massage, ultrasound, acupuncture, and gentle movement, for example, in a pool. However, when these more conservative treatments do not resolve the issue within a few weeks, it is time to consider Prolotherapy to directly stimulate repair of these injured ligaments and tendons.
Remember, if you already have the osteoarthritis diagnosis, you have a progressive disorder. Meaning, it will continue to degenerate unless something is done – especially if you are also taking NSAIDs and/or cortisone shots.
Prolotherapy RE-generates. By injecting healing solutions into the bone-ligament junctions, the process can be halted and the integrity of the joint repaired, relieving pain and avoiding a future joint replacement (knee, shoulder, hip, etc).
We want our patients to stay active for life! So, if you have any of the above symptoms or have been told you (or a friend) have/has osteoarthritis, stop the progressive disorder so that you can keep doing all that you want to do! The choice is yours!
