Patient Education

Is IV Stem Cell Therapy a Good Idea?

I got an e-mail yesterday from a physician colleague asking about whether IV stem cell therapy for knee arthritis was for real. It hit me that this would be a great blog topic as the number of physicians offering IV stem cell therapy has exploded in recent years. So is this a good idea? Is…read more

Why Is Regenexx the Best That’s Out There?

How can Regenexx claim that it’s the most advanced and best-researched orthopedic stem cell therapy in the world? After all, if you cruise the Internet, you’ll find any number of clinics, all proclaiming that they’re the “best” or the “greatest” or “experts.” However, if you look “under the hood” of any of these web-sites and…read more

What Is a Flexion-Extension X-Ray?

On this page: What is spinal instability? Can instability be seen on an x-ray or MRI? What is a flexion-extension x-ray? The problem with flexion-extension x-rays How to make sure your test is worthwhile Back and neck pain patients and doctors are often confused by the idea of instability in the spine. From the patient’s…read more

Are Squats Supposed to Hurt your Knees?

Are squats supposed to hurt your knees? I was in an exercise class yesterday and my left knee was hurting a bit while doing squats. Thankfully, I was able to correct the muscle activation sequence and my knee stopped hurting. But given the fact that squats are a mainstay of every cross fit or exercise class, learning how…read more

Knee Surgery Side Effects? New Research Raises Questions

Could it be that the naked in Times Square moment is approaching for knee arthroscopy? The most common orthopedic surgery on earth has taken a beating in the medical research, with study after study showing it’s not effective. Now a new British Medical Journal study has begun to look at knee surgery side effects vs. the…read more

How to Recover from Neck Pain? A Little Muscle Holds the Key…

How to recover from neck pain? The status of a little stabilizing muscle in your neck may determine if you recover quickly or have long term chronic pain. This little muscle can also be easily seen on an MRI, but the likelihood that the radiologist reading your report knows to take a look at and…read more

CDC Report: Scary Rise in Narcotic Use!

I’ll never forget the pesky Oxycontin rep that invaded my office about 15 years ago. He was armed with a fistful of research papers written by fancy university professors showing just how non-addictive his new drug was and he couldn’t understand why I avoided him like the plague. Fast forward 15 years and we all…read more

Skiing with Knee Arthritis: Can Stem Cells Help?

Is skiing with knee arthritis possible? Severe knee arthritis is a tough problem. The cartilage is all gone and bone spurs have taken over. Can stem cells get patients back on their skis? When we first began stem cell injections for arthritis a decade ago, we figured that the severity of the knee arthritis would…read more