Non-Surgical Shoulder Osteoarthritis Care In Des Moines, IA

6151 Thornton Avenue, Suite 200 Des Moines, IA 50321

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

6151 Thornton Avenue
Suite 200
Des Moines, IA 50321

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Doctors

Dr. Bergum has been practicing interventional orthopedics for over 15 years. He is a graduate of Midwestern University, Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. His residency training was at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN in Family Medicine, and his fellowship training in Sports Medicine was at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. He has extensive training in the field of Regenerative Medicine and image-guided musculoskeletal injections through groups such as the Interventional Orthobiologics Foundation, Mayo Clinic, and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and has ANSI accreditation in Musculoskeletal (RMSK) sonography certification.

Orthobiologic injections allow us to help the body’s natural healing agents repair areas of musculoskeletal degeneration and injury without the use of (and associated cell damage from) corticosteroids, with the goal of improving function, decreasing pain, and avoiding surgery. I take the time to let my patients tell me their whole story, including their goals and challenges, and perform a thorough musculoskeletal exam. I take a whole-body, holistic approach to my patients, and work with my patients to get them back into their game. He strives to be partners with his patients on the road to recovery, better health, and higher function.

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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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