Non-Surgical Shoulder Osteoarthritis Care In Pleasanton, 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

7031 Koll Center Pkwy
Suite 100
Pleasanton, CA 94566

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Doctors

Interventional pain management specialist Navin Mallavaram, MD, holds board certifications in anesthesiology and pain medicine. He provides exceptional treatment at The Spine & Pain Center of California, which has offices in Pleasanton and Fremont, California. Dr. Mallavaram founded The Spine & Pain Center of California to offer state-of-the-art facilities and compassionate pain management care to men and women in the Bay Area community.

Dr. Mallavaram graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora. He completed an internal medicine internship at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, followed by his residency at Columbia University in New York City. Dr. Mallavaram had the honor of being named chief resident in his final year at Columbia. After completing his residency, Dr. Mallavaram completed a fellowship in Pain Medicine at Columbia’s Manhattan Center for Pain Management.

Dr. Mallavaram specializes in treating spinal pain. However, his extensive training means he is highly knowledgeable and can treat a wide variety of painful musculoskeletal disorders. Dr. Mallavaram believes in using a comprehensive approach to pain management that looks at all aspects of a patient’s health. He works to restore his patient’s health and improve their general quality of life.

Dr. Mallavaram is active in high-quality medical research that focuses on improving pain management and treating spinal conditions. He’s completed research projects sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and presented his award-winning research at national medical conferences. Dr. Mallavaram co-authored a chapter in a pain management textbook that is used in training programs all over the world. He regularly attends lectures and workshops to stay up to date on developments in pain management.

Away from his work as a leading interventional pain management physician, Dr. Mallavaram enjoys spending time with his wife and children. He also likes to travel and play golf.

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Areas Treated

Cervical Spine (Not Upper Cervical or CCI)*, 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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