Medical Innovation

Regenexx Successes and Failures: When the Regenexx Procedure Doesn’t Work

All medical procedures have a success and failure rate, and therefore there are Regenexx successes and failures.  I’d like to blog on two patients this morning who are both treatment failures. One had the Regenexx-SD procedure for a torn meniscus after a very aggressive menisectomy and the other had the Regenexx-C procedure at the Cayman…read more

More Hip and Knee Replacement Side Effects: Significant Increases in Bleeding Stomach Ulcers

Hip and knee replacement side effects are in the news again.  Most patients believe that a knee or hip replacement surgery is like getting a new part in their car… nothing could be farther from the truth. Recent research has shown that knee and hip replacement procedures are associated with a dramatic increase in stroke…read more

Squats and Cartilage Loss -or- “Squat Lift Knee Arthritis”

What is “Squat Lift Knee Arthritis’?  Well, one common gym activity that we see cause injury is the weight lifting squat. Usually, it will cause low back disc injuries, as carrying hundreds of pounds on your back and flexing your spine can be a bad thing (who knew?) This week a paper was published showing a connection…read more

40% of Shoulder Replacements in Patients Younger than 55 Fail by 10 Years!

The web shows young and active people who are advertising shoulder replacements for clinics and manufacturers. But does that square with the research about young and active people and shoulder replacement recovery? First, total shoulder replacements are big surgery, and like hand joint replacement or an ankle joint replacement surgery, shoulder replacements can be problematic. The big…read more

Are Statin Cholesterol Drugs making Your Knee Arthritis Worse?

Statin drugs for cholesterol were the world’s first true blockbuster drugs. These cholesterol lowering drugs generated 27 billion in worldwide sales in 2009 and the number one selling drug in 2010 was a statin drug. With all of that extra cash, the drug companies have been funding what I call Statin “wonder drug” studies for years,…read more

High Chromium Levels in a Hip Replacement Patient

Is there such a thing as hip replacement chromium poisoning? I’ve blogged before about how wear particles in all types of joint replacements can make their way into the blood stream. Researchers have found metal ions in the blood of knee replacement patients. They also now advise allergy testing against the most common metals used in hip and…read more

Using Stem Cells in an Elite Track Athlete: Regenexx Patient Cydonie Mothersill wins Cayman Invitational

Can stem cells be used as a running stress fracture treatment in an elite track athlete? Cydonie Mothersill is an elite track athlete and gold medalist at the 2010 Commonwealth games, 2010 Mayaguez, and CARIFTA games. After her great performance at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, she was within striking range of a medal in…read more

More Evidence Glucosamine and Chondroitin Work: What the Heck is Quercetin?

Can quercetin help arthritis?   More research has just been published showing that a combination of glucosamine, chondroitin, and quercetin glycosides work to help osteoarthritis pain. The small randomized controlled trial tested 40 Japanese patients with knee arthritis, half of which got the supplements and half a placebo. The supplement group not only had better knee function, but also…read more