Non-Surgical Shoulder Osteoarthritis Care In Grass Valley, CA

Regenexx procedures are non-surgical alternatives that use precise image-guided injections of your body’s own natural healing agents to treat shoulder injuries.

Shoulder arthritis impacts nearly 25% of adults, yet many of the other treatments still used today deliver less than ideal results. Research has shown that surgery is unreliable and that commonly used nonsurgical alternatives can do more harm than good. For example, steroids can break down cartilage1 and kill cartilage cells in arthritic joints.2

Shoulder joint anatomy graphic with labels.
Shoulder joint anatomy – arthritis pain

380 Sierra College Drive
Suite 200
Grass Valley, CA 95945

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Doctors

Since completing his residency in physiatry, Dr. Richnak has consistently pursued additional professional training, driven by his strong interest in regenerative medicine and its ability to help the human body heal itself.

This led to training in prolotherapy in 2007, followed by training in regenerative medicine concepts and treatments in 2014. In 2015, he became a physician in the licensed Regenexx network.

Today, Dr. Richnak is managing partner at Mountain View Rehabilitation Medical Associates, where he is co-chairman of their sports and spine specialty clinic.

Since 2003, Dr. Richnak and his family have lived in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California. He is an avid outdoor sports enthusiast, with experience as a climbing and back-country ski guide. He and his family spend much of their leisure time cycling, running, backpacking, and skiing the mountains of the Sierra Nevada.

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He completed both a residency in anesthesiology and fellowship in pain management at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. And while in the US Navy Reserves, he went to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1991.

He moved to Nevada City, California, in 2001 and began a solo practice in interventional pain management and anesthesia in 2005. He continues to practice in Sacramento and Grass Valley at various locations.

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Areas Treated

Cervical Spine (Not Upper Cervical or CCI)*, Elbow, Foot & Ankle, Hand & Wrist, Hip, Knee, Lumbar Spine, Shoulder, Thoracic Spine

*This provider is NOT authorized by Regenexx to treat the C0-C1 or C1-C2 levels of the neck or CCI (craniocervical instability).

Woman in telemedicine consult with physician to see if she's a candidate for Regenexx for knee osteoarthritis.

Regenexx patients benefit from reduced pain and improved function, helping them avoid shoulder surgery.

Am I a candidate?

A 2015 study looked at 100 shoulders 13 years after they were treated surgically. The research found that the operated shoulders had just as much arthritis as that reported by other studies in patients who didn’t get surgery.3

Moreover, shoulder replacement is a major surgery involving amputation of the shoulder joint and insertion of a prosthesis. Such an invasive surgery involves a long recovery time and the risk for serious complications. In addition, 40% of shoulder replacements in patients younger than 55 fail within 10 years.3

Regenexx’s procedures for degenerative arthritis of the shoulder joint can be a better alternative for people looking to avoid surgery, lengthy recovery, and overuse of prescription pain medication. Best of all, Regenexx procedures spare normal body biomechanics helping you to remain active for your lifetime.

The cartilage in your shoulder is there to help reduce the friction in the joint and to cushion the bone. When cartilage starts to wear down or is injured by metabolic syndrome (i.e., overweight, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides), that’s called arthritis. It leads to chronic shoulder pain, stiffness, limited shoulder function, and decreased mobility.

What might surprise you is that it’s not the lost cartilage that causes the pain but rather the chemicals your body releases in response to inflammation.

Research suggests that those who have shoulder osteoarthritis before rotator cuff surgery for massive tears are at greater risk for retears and a much higher risk for progression of arthritis after surgery.(3) Additionally, a percentage of patients who don’t have shoulder arthritis prior to rotator cuff repair will develop it after the surgery.

When a bone begins to get spurs (osteophytes) — extra extensions of the joint that are your body’s reaction to instability — it is trying to stabilize the joint. So removing spurs is rarely a good idea

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