Platelet Rich Plasma
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is a concentrated sample of autologous blood, rich in natural cell and growth factor populations, obtained through centrifugation. This dense portion of blood, more suitable for orthobiologic procedures, stimulates repair cells in targeted areas, enhancing the body’s natural healing processes.
Subscribe to the BlogMy Favorite Blogs of 2022 and Happy 2023!
2022 has been an interesting year. From my perspective as a physician-scientist, this was the year that we began to see how much artificial intelligence (AI) will change the world and will make the changes we have experienced since the rise of the Internet look tame. Second, we began exiting the craziness of the pandemic,…read more
Neurotrophin Regulating Drugs to Help Knee OA Pain: What Could Go Wrong?
Should we use drugs that regulate critical receptors or instead focus on things that amp up repair? Today I’ll dive deep into a new drug class now being tested that I call neurotrophin regulators. Let’s dive in. Why Do this Review? As the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Regenexx, it’s my job to know what’s…read more
Manipulating the Data to Get What You Want: The PRP Systematic Review by O’Dowd
In medicine, you can often break those that publish research into two categories. There are those who invest a huge amount of time and resources to study a clinical concept, whether in the lab or clinic, and then there are the “reviewers.” Today we’ll go over this duality by diving into how easy it is…read more
The New SIS Fact Finder Paper on Intradiscal Biologics
Is it safe to inject the intervertebral disc with orthobiologics? That’s the topic taken up by the Spinal Intervention Society (SIS) in a recent paper published by their Patient Safety Committee. After reading this paper, I have to say that I agree with some of the caution, but I also recognize that there is a…read more
How Not Using a Treatment Registry May Blow Up Your Practice
This week I got a call from a medical provider who is being investigated by his state attorney general over a dissatisfied patient. IMHO that provider is at higher risk because he didn’t use a treatment registry. So let’s dig into why not tracking your outcomes when using interventional orthobiologics may risk your entire practice.…read more
What is Platelet Rich Fibrin Matrix? Something New or a Gimmick?
I’ve been hearing quite a bit of buzz from patients and others in this space lately about Platelet-Rich Fibrin or Platelet-Rich Fibrin Matrix. Hence, let’s review what this is, how it differs from PRP, and if it’s something new and revolutionary or just a gimmick. What is Platlet-Rich Plasma? PRP is made when whole blood…read more
Why is the Thoracic Spine a No Man’s Land?
A patient came in recently to discuss the effects of PRP treatment she received in Canada. Out of that conversation came a common refrain. A Toronto spine specialist didn’t want to repeat her prior very successful thoracic spine interventional treatment that I had done in Colorado. Why? He had never treated this area of the…read more
The Use of Botox to Treat TMJ: Why This Is Yet Another Bad Idea
A family member has TMJ and I learned recently that they were hit up by a dentist to inject Botox to cure the problem. I promised a blog deep dive into why this wasn’t a good idea and on whether the data exists to back up that claim. Let’s dig in. What is Botox? Botox…read more
