ARTHRITIS AND PAIN THERAPY

Acupuncture Not Superior to Placebo in Knee Osteoarthritis

2010-08-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

ScienceDaily (Aug. 18, 2010) — Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center determined patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee who are treated with traditional Chinese acupuncture (TCA) do not experience any more benefit than those receiving sham acupuncture (placebo). The team did find that the communication style of the acupuncturist could have a significant effect on pain reduction and satisfaction in patient... read more

Arthritis Pain Management with BioniCare Knee Device

2007-06-07T23:27:00.000-07:00

Arthritis pain relief is significantly improved lately with a new device that's closing the therapeutic gap between drugs and surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee.

The BioniCare Knee Device is the first and only non-drug, non-invasive treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee cleared by the FDA for marketing in the United States. The Device is intended for use as an adjunctive therapy in reducing the level of pain and symptoms associated with osteoarthritis of the knee and for overall improvement of the knee as assessed by physicians' global evaluation (http://www.rsmedical.com).

The Device represents a safe and effective option for the management of osteoarthritis of the knee for patients whose pain and other symptoms are not controlled by appropriate drug therapy alone, and who are unable or unwilling to undergo knee replacement surgery.

The BioniCare Knee Device delivers a specific electrical signal to create a new kind of therapy:
- Targeted relief of pain and associated symptoms.
- Substantial improvement over baseline NSAID therapy.
- Excellent safety profile.
- Easy for patients to use.

Osteoarthritis - the most common form of Arthritis

2007-06-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

This form of arthritis is the most common and affects tens of millions of people. Osteoarthritis can occur in any joint and may occur only on one side of the joint. Usually it is seen in the joints of the fingers, spine, hips, and knees. Osteoarthritis is the type of arthritis involving the deterioration of the cartilage of a joint. Doctors treating osteoarthritis tipically recommend different forms of therapy from lighter treatments to more agressive ones:
- non-pharmacological treatments such as exercise, muscle-strengthening, and local heat administration
- non-prescription pain relievers such as acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen - prescription and non-prescription anti-inflammatory drugs
- injections into the knee joint
- arthroscopic surgery
- total knee replacement
Very few orthopedic doctors recommend novel techniques which are the main subject of this blog.
If you are interested to find out more information about less-invasive or non-invasive, non-medication therapies for arthritis please visit this blog often since I will add new info all the time.

Arthritis Therapy by Injecting Human Growth Hormone

2007-06-04T00:06:00.000-07:00

An inovative alternative for arthritis therapy has been reported several years ago and involves human growth hormone injections to stimulate cartilage growth.

Since 1965, Dr. Allan Dunn, an orthoped surgeon from Florida, is working on a new treatment of degenerative cartilage disease by injecting human growth hormone directly into affected joint space.

One of the major functions of growth hormone is to increase the length of the bones. For more information please read the article "Doing Away with ... Arthritis", by Mellisa Block, M.Ed., published in May 2000 in Life Extension Magazine:

"Dr. Dunn has successfully treated 35 patients with IAGH thus far. Dr. Dunn's patented procedure entails three to six separate injections in the affected joint. Between injections, x-rays are taken to monitor cartilage regrowth. The regrowth is visible on the x-ray as increased space between the ends of the bones. Patients have consistently shown an increase from zero space to about four millimeters, a difference that can transform a nearly crippled person into one who can move again without stiffness and who can sleep through the night without waking in pain."

"Dr. Dunn does not believe that growth hormone will be a substitute for total joint replacement surgeries in all cases. He would, however, like to see growth hormone injections as first-line therapy, to try to restore cartilage and joint mobility before resorting to invasive and risky surgery."

Arthritis - Natural Alternative Therapies

2007-05-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

Arthritis is a common disease and can be treated by surgery, medication with heavy side-effects or/and by natural alternative therapies. Arthritis causes pain and swelling in joints and is degenerative, which means over time the joints might become severely damaged. And, an extremely important thing you can do to ease your pain: LOOSE WEIGHT! The heavier you are , the more pressure is on your joints and the more painful it is. Does this make sense to you? If yes, you might want to visit my Weight Loss blog pretty often because I am updating it all the time.
For my own benefit I was doing research on natural alternative therapies for arthritis and joint pain for a long time.
I injured my knees 30 years ago at ski and soccer. I had surgeries at that time, but after a while arthritis kicked in and now I am almost bone-on-bone. I was told several times by different orthopedic surgeons that I need Total Knee Replacement. My cartilage is gone, my menisci and ligaments are torn, my knees are totally messed-up. But I am still skiing (on advanced slopes), ice skating, rollerblading, biking, swimming, hiking, and doing all kind of sports that do not involve running (impact is a killer).
If you wonder how I am doing all of these, is because of PROLOTHERAPY. This is my favorite natural alternative treatment for arthritis and pain management and I will share information with you about it.

The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. You should not stop taking any medication without first consulting your physician.

Arthritis could be cured by Prolotherapy

2007-05-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

PROLOTHERAPY is a 60-years old arthritis and pain treatment and is practiced unfortunately by an extremely limited number of physicians. It is not very popular among most of the physicians and pharmaceutical companies for obvious reasons. This is by far the best therapy I did and is scientifically proved that works. It worked for me, my wife, my friends, anybody I know that follow this therapy. Not all forms of arthritis could be treated by Prolotherapy. You have to find out from a physician specialized in this kind of therapy (Prolotherapy Physicians) if your form of arthritis could be treated. Fortunately, the most common arthritis form, osteoarthritis, could be treated and eventually cured.

I found out about Prolotherapy 4-5 years ago when a friend of mine mentioned tremendous improvements after his treatment.
Before Prolotherapy, my knees were not very stable and swelled each time I was exercising. After few sessions of Prolotherapy, my knees never swelled again. Couple of days after my first Prolotherapy session I felt my knees a lot more stable and I regained my confidence in my moves.

The philosophy of Prolotherapy is simple. A combination of substances (no side effects) is injected into the affected area leading to local inflammation and stimulating the body to repair the painful area. The natural healing process kicks in. As a result, new collagen (the material that tendons and ligaments are made of) is deposited, and by ageing it strengthens the ligaments and tendons. The ligament and tendon tissue, which forms as a result of Prolotherapy, is thicker and stronger than normal tissue and conform to scientific studies can be up to 40% stronger. Prolotherapy is useful for many different types of musculoskeletal pain, including arthritis, back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia, sports injuries, unresolved whiplash injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic tendonitis, partially torn tendons, ligaments and cartilage, degenerated or herniated discs, TMJ and sciatica (http://prolotherapy.com/prolodefine.htm).