Sharon is a Regenexx success story for joint pain. I love to share because she really captures several facets of what makes a fantastic patient, and exemplifies why she had such success with her Regenexx procedures.
Whenever a patient asks me how to maximize their results from a procedure, I always say, “It takes a great physician treating the correct area in the correct way, a great patient who is compliant to the physician’s recommendations, and a great therapy regimen as a trifecta to get your best result.”
The adoption of this trifecta are three major reasons why Sharon is a fantastic case study for a Regenexx success story:
- Sharon has a history with using traditional surgical orthopedics for one of her areas we treated, and was on board to our recommendations for how to proceed with procedures.
- Sharon is a fantastic patient who is in touch with her body, and embraced our whole-person approach to achieving optimal results.
- Sharon was tenacious with her rehabilitation program to strengthen and recover from her procedures.
Sharon’s Joint Pain Journey Before Regenexx
About three years ago, Sharon had meniscus surgery on her right knee. The goal with this surgery was just to “clean up” the knee joint, and she reports having several years of relief after this procedure. Sharon is a very active person, who loves to spend time with her husband in the gym or doing other active things like yoga. For a long time the knees were great, until they weren’t. When the knees started to worsen, the symptoms were worse on the right than the left, leading Sharon to feel there were signs of arthritis in both knees. She felt that neither knee was stable in side-to-side movement, she had pain going up and down stairs, as well as pain when on the elliptical and leg press machines at the gym.
Although Sharon felt these new knee pains, what really ailed her was her right great toe. Several years ago she had severely stubbed her great toe by accidentally kicking a bookcase. She never looked into this injury besides letting it heal on its own, but then it got steadily worse. Then, one day, she was in a yoga class where she couldn’t put her foot down on the mat due to the pain. The toe then ached often, and it would even wake her up in the night throbbing.
At this point, Sharon knew she needed to do something. Her husband, Gary, had tremendous success with Regenexx procedures for pain from a torn labrum in the hip, his elbow, and his knee. He had been treated at Regenexx Pittsburgh five years ago. Before the procedures, his knees were so bad that they were extremely “noisy” when using stairs. Now he can work out rigorously, without pain or issues. Because of Gary’s success, Sharon decided to look into Regenexx at New Regeneration Orthopedics for her big toe and knee pain.
Sharon’s Regenexx Story
Sharon and I had the pleasure of working together for her knees and big toe. We reviewed her history of surgery and cortisone shots for her knees, and I functionally evaluated her joints in addition to performing diagnostic ultrasound exams and reviewing her MRIs. When discussing her previous surgery, Sharon said, “It is possible it contributed to the arthritis. The right knee is ‘definitely different than the left.’”
*Side note: we do know that meniscus surgery is now linked to early knee arthritis, and the standard of care is moving away from meniscus surgeries or cleanups at all.*
Her knees revealed pretty severe chondromalacia, which is the degenerative change behind her knee cap, that can cause joint pain when bending the knee, which she had.
We decided to make an action plan to address the knee arthritis and targeting the joint pain, and decided to start with platelet rich plasma (PRP) in several locations within both of the knees. The knees did well, but they still had some joint pain issues in bending movements, like stairs. We decided to treat both of the knee caps within the bone, using a bone augmentation technique where the bone marrow concentrate (BMAC) is injected directly into the bone.
The right big toe was also treated with both BMAC and PRP.
Sharon’s sequence of procedures were completed by June 2022. Sharon reports feeling great and pain free.
Sharon’s Continued Success With no Joint Pain
As discussed above, It takes a great physician treating the correct area in the correct way, a great patient who is compliant to the physician’s recommendations, and a great therapy regimen as a trifecta to get your best result. And I have to say, this is where Sharon really shined!
She decided to take her own therapy on herself, and devised her own rehabilitation program she completed in her pool religiously. She committed to this regimen every day, and also made sure she committed to a clean diet free of sugar and processed foods. In fact, Sharon states:
Regenexx educated her on the correlation to diet and procedure success. Before the toe procedure, I was very careful of what I had to eat. I had cut out medicines like aspirin and even fish oil, so the inflammatory process could work its magic. I followed all of the instructions given for my diet, and I want to stress the dietary importance.
Sugar is nasty and it’s such an inflammatory substance, especially when working with joint issues. When I pay attention to what I am eating and stay away from the sugar body feels better in general. Or, any minor pain that I still have – a lot of it has to do with my diet – when I eat sugar, I feel aches and pains that wouldn’t be there naturally.
The procedures paired with her dietary and rehabilitation work on her own has helped Sharon achieve her goals going into her Regenexx procedures. She wanted a reduction in joint pain and more stability in both knees. She wanted to be able to go back to the gym and work out, and she has been able to work out and take Pilates classes without issue since the procedures.
When I asked Sharon what she would say to someone considering a Regenexx procedure, she said:
DO IT! Just do it! We believe in Regenexx so much that even if it hadn’t been a corporate benefit, we would have done it. It’s nice because it is non-surgical. It is using your own body. It’s definitely cutting edge and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Regenexx is amazing. We think Dr. Torrance is fabulous.
[My husband,] Gary and I cannot say enough about Regenexx. It has dramatically changed his life and mine, too…!
The Takeaway
A huge majority of my patients get great results with regenerative medicine alone, but it is always wonderful to see the impact of a patient who truly embraces and runs with the whole-person approach. Dialing in your nutrition, lifestyle, and movement is not just a great way to reap the maximum benefits of your Regenexx procedure, but it is a way of life that promotes health for the long haul.
If Sharon’s story sounds like you, or someone you care about, we would love to help you get back to doing what you love! Contact us to day to see if you are a candidate for Regenexx!
