Lander Chiropractic is now offering prolotherapy and stem cell injections, thanks to the addition of Dr. Joseph Dubroff, a naturopathic doctor.
Dr. Dubroff and I met a few years ago due to a shoulder injury. I was experiencing severe shoulder pain, which was due to a combination of carrying large laundry bags over my shoulders to and from the office as well as a few incidents of leash pulling with a very strong dog named Lola. A few of you may remember her. When she got excited on a walk, boy could she pull! My pain was quite severe, causing difficulty sleeping and any movement above shoulder height would instantly reaggravate it. The pain was primarily in the acromionclavicular joint (AC joint), which is on top of the shoulder. I had been doing several exercises to try to strengthen and stabilize the area, but it just wasn’t resolving. Therefore, it was time to seek out other interventions. This is when I met Dr. Dubroff. I had been scouring the internet for someone close by to receive prolotherapy from, which was more difficult than I had expected. We connected and with one treatment, my shoulders were significantly better.
So, Dr. Dubroff, tell us, what is prolotherapy?
Prolotherapy is a regenerative injection therapy that heals musculoskeletal pain and is exceptionally good for instability. A joint can become too unstable at which point chiropractic alone can be insufficient in restoring joint integrity. Prolotherapy is an extremely safe procedure as the active ingredient is simply sugar water, which causes a cytokine mediated growth phase stimulating the healing of tissues. Prolotherapy regenerates and strengthens cartilage, tendons, capsules and ligaments. This means it is a very effective treatment for osteoarthritis, spinal pain, knee pain, elbow pain, shoulder pain, foot pain, and hand pain.
Prolotherapy is also very cost effective. For a $375 appointment we can address 2-3 sources of long standing or short standing pain/injury. A very good response is a 50% change in pain and range of motion post 1st treatment. Typically, 3-5 treatments are needed for a full result. If one receives 15-30% improvement post 1st treatment, we simply look for what is missing.
Stem cell injections, on the other hand, are a more effective treatment for joints but a more expensive protocol of $3500. This contains 16 to 20 million mesenchymal stem cells, which can be used ideally all in one joint for maximum effect. Stem cells are recommended over prolotherapy for any encapsulated joint including the shoulder, hip or knee, and can help even those cases where patients have been told they are “Bone on Bone.”
Thanks Dr. D! We feel the addition of Dr. Dubroff’s services at our office can greatly help those patients of ours with instability, degeneration, and chronic pain. If you have questions regarding stem cell or prolotherapy, or want to determine if you are a candidate, feel free to reach out to Dr. James at the office or Dr. Dubroff directly at 949-444-4884. He is seeing patients at Lander Chiropractic by appointment on Saturdays.
