PAIN MANAGEMENT

HARNESSING YOUR BODY’S NATURAL HEALING POWER
The body has an amazing capacity to heal itself. When the body becomes injured, a natural healing process occurs to repair the damaged tissue. The body signals platelets and other components in our blood supply to migrate to the site of injury. Under normal conditions, these platelets release a variety of growth factors that initiate and subsequently promote healing. New advances in medicine have been developed to harness and concentrate these platelets and growth factors, to be precisely introduced to the injury site in an injectable form. The implantation of this biological material from a small amount of a patient’s own blood effectively “supercharges” the body’s capacity for healing and tissue repair. Healing in many instances may be associated with reduced pain and a quicker return to activity. The entire process takes less than 15 minutes and increases the concentration of platelets and growth factors up to 500%.

PROCESS FOR RECOVERING PLATELETS AND GROWTH FACTORS
A very small amount of blood is drawn from the unaffected arm into a sterile tube in the exact same manner as a standard blood sample. The tube containing a patient’s blood is placed into a centrifuge and spun to separate the platelets and growth factors from the other blood components.

After a few minutes, the concentrated platelets and growth factors are removed from the same tube and re-introduced into the patient at the site of the injury. Using a sterile needle, your physician will inject the platelets and growth factors in and around the injury site. This is all accomplished without using any animal products or other foreign material.

When PRP is injected into the damaged area it stimulates the tendon or ligament causing mild inflammation that triggers the healing cascade. As a result new collagen begins to develop. As this collagen matures it begins to shrink causing the tightening and strengthening of the tendons or ligaments of the damaged area.

WHAT ARE TENDONS AND LIGAMENTS?
Tendons, composed of collagen fibers, connect muscle to bone making it possible for you to perform every day physical activities. Overuse or damage to tendons over a long period of time causes the collagen fibers in tendons to form small tears, a condition called tendonitis. Other tendonitis / tendinosis indications that may be treated with platelet rich plasma therapy are the following:

• Shoulder Pain: Rotator Cuff Tendonitis / Tendonapathy, Triceps Tendonitis
• Arm Pain: Biceps Tendonitis, Elbow Tendonitis / Tendonitis (Tennis Elbow), Wrist Tendonitis
• Hip Pain: Trochanteric Bursitis, Hamstring Tendonitis, Quadriceps Tendonitis
• Knee Pain: Patella Tendonitis (Jumper’s Knee)
• Foot and Ankle Pain: Achilles Tendonitis, Plantar Fasciitis

PRP injections can be performed in tendons and ligaments all over the body. Sports injuries, arthritic joints, lower back, degenerative disc disease and more specific injuries including tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, ACL tears, shin splints, rotator cuff tears, plantar fasciitis and iliolibial band syndrome may all be effectively treated with PRP.

IS PRP RIGHT FOR ME?
If you have a tendon or ligament injury and traditional methods have not provided relief, then PRP therapy may be the solution. The procedure is less aggressive and less expensive than surgery. It will heal tissue with minimal or no scarring and alleviates further degeneration of the tissues. There will be an initial evaluation with your doctor to see if PRP therapy is right for you.

Stem Cell therapy is a human amniotic tissue allograft that contains multi-potent cells and growth factors able to stimulate the body’s natural healing process.  The multi-potent cells contained in the graft are capable of differentiating into numerous types of tissue such as cartilage, bone, tendon, ligament or muscle. Growth factors, proteins, cytokines and other elements in the graft are also thought to be beneficial for healing, tissue regeneration and pain reduction.

This injection therapy is typically administered in the Doctors’ office to aid painful conditions such as joint inflammation, arthritis and damaged cartilage. While each patient and injury is different. Normally 1-2 injections are needed, however, your physician will advise the number of treatments recommended based on their professional assessment of your medical condition. Dramatic pain relief may happen as quickly as a few days after injection and for some patients, symptom improvement may occur in a matter of weeks.  While there is still much to learn about the clinical benefits of amniotic tissue therapy, there is a large body of evidence in medical literature highlighting the clinical benefits, including dramatic anti-inflammatory effects, tissue regrowth and accelerated tissue healing.  For more information www.arthrosurface.com

Cortisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication. Cortisone shots are injections that may help relieve pain and inflammation in a specific area of your body. Cortisone shots are most commonly given in joints, such as your ankle, elbow, hip, knee, shoulder, spine and wrist, as well as the small joints in the hands and feet. Joint injections are commonly referred to as cortisone shots, but what medication or combination of medications is injected varies. Cortisone shots typically include a corticosteroid medication and a local anesthetic which provides immediate relief and the effects can last up to several weeks.

There’s some concern that repeated use of cortisone shots may cause deterioration of the cartilage within a joint. For this reason, doctors typically limit the number of cortisone shots in a joint. The limit varies depending on the joint and the reason for treatment.

A solution of hyaluronate, a natural substance that acts like “oil” to cushion and lubricate your knee joint. It is injected into your knee, once per week for a total of five injections rather than three injections. The manufacturer believes that by using five injections rather than three, the duration of pain relief can in many cases be doubled and the product can relieve symptoms for up to twelve months. For more information visit www.supartz.com

In knees with osteoarthritis, the joint fluid (called synovial fluid) can break down and not provide the cushioning your knees need. SYNVISC is a gel –like mixture made up of sodium hyaluronate that supplements your knee fluid to relieve the pain and improve the knee joint’s natural shock absorbing abilities to relieve pain and can allow you to move more freely for up to 6 months. SYNVISC is injected directly into the knee over the course of three doctors visits, one week apart. For more information visit www.synvisc.com

EUFLEXXA is a hyaluronic acid (HA) injection therapy that is used to relieve osteoarthritis (OA) knee pain at its source.  It is not distributed throughout your entire body unlike pills that can irritate your digestive system. EUFLEXXA is made from an all-natural and non-bird-derived source and therefore, can be used in people who are allergic to poultry products.

EUFLEXXA is injected into the space in your knee joint. The treatment consists of 3 injections—1 injection per week for 3 weeks. When it comes to the length of pain relief, every person is different. In general, 1 course of EUFLEXXA injections can give you months of pain relief.  For more information www.euflexxa.com