Arthritis Is a Pain
This chronic joint pain and swelling, reduced mobility and physical weakness affects daily life. The energy it takes to do your daily tasks causes even more symptoms like fatigue, trouble sleeping and exhaustion. All of these symptoms can greatly affect your everyday life and overall well being.
When patients come into the office with complaints of mild arthritis, I ask them, “what are you taking for relief”, and I hear all kinds of Ibuprofen/Aleve/Aspirin stories. More often than I’d like, I also hear of the patients taking these over-the-counter pain relievers for many years. The high doses they take to get any relief cause an array of other side effects, like: indigestion – including stomach aches, feeling sick and diarrhea. These NSAIDs have a reputation of causing stomach ulcers – these can cause internal bleeding and anemia; (so then they’re taking other medicines to help with this discomfort) headaches, drowsiness, dizziness, allergic reactions … and with prolonged use, damage to the liver or kidneys.
But, what if there’s something natural that could relieve arthritis pain without all these side effects? If you are looking for an over the counter remedy, Turmeric (or Curcumin) …Yes, the spice!… has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory. It has also been seen in many cultures as a natural antibiotic, antiseptic and analgesic. This multifaceted spice can strengthen ligaments and reduce arthritis pain.
Patients come to me every week with complaints of severe arthritis pain. They usually have seen an orthopedic doctor, who recommends 3 interventions to possibly reduce the arthritis pain. These three interventions are: cortisone or gel injections, prescription strength anti-inflammatories, and/or surgery. Our patients are seeking help in our office usually because these interventions make them a bit nervous, or they have tried injections and prescriptions with no success. As an alternative to surgery, you do have opportunities for your own body to heal. Stem cells offer tissue regeneration - which would assist in cartilage growth and strengthening of connective tissues (tendons and ligaments), via stem cell injections. There are natural antiinflammatories and often use these in conjunction with our platelet rich plasma injections. As Dr. Young always says, when using the platelet rich plasma, “we are using YOU to heal YOU”.
These injections have helped patients stay out of the operating room, ditch those prescription pain meds, and get back to the activities that they love. Platelet Rich Plasma therapy (PRP) is very successful for a number of our patients. In fact, this therapy is being used by many professional athletes to aid in healing and recovery time from sports-related injuries.PRP requires drawing a patient’s blood, spinning it down to produce a serum consisting of platelet growth factors and a few stem cells, and injecting it back into the troubled joint, muscle, or wound, essentially fertilizing the area and causing it to heal more quickly; the added benefit being that since your healthiest and most nurturing cells are injected back into your body, there is no risk of allergic reaction. Additionally, studies observing PRP vs. steroids have found that over the long-term – two years or more – the PRP injected areas heal better and cause less problems than those treated with steroids.
– Guest Author Tiffany Barber, APRN
Tiffany is a true Floridian, born and raised in a small town north of Tampa. She has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Anthropology with a focus in Biocultural studies and a Master of Science in Nursing. She has spent several years practicing as an RN in orthopedics at a local hospital before becoming a Board Certified Nurse Practitioner. Her specialties include bioidentical hormones, orthopedics and thyroid and weight management.
