How I Can Save You From Joint Replacement Surgery?

by Dr Brad Abramhamson

Integrativesportsmed.com

The man who came to see me wasn’t old, but he moved as though he were.

He had a long history of contact sports and was a good athlete, a strong athlete, serious about the sports he’d played — a man who practiced hard and practiced well. He’s a salesman now and enjoys hunting and fishing and playing golf.

For a full year prior to my meeting him, he’d awakened each morning with knees sore and achy — nothing seriously painful, and yet definitely noticeable and definitely a daily occurrence. The pain, however, was mild enough for him to ignore — or, at any rate, to ignore for approximately 12 months. Then both his knees began to feel unstable. Shortly after that, his hips and shoulders began to ache as well. Soon he found himself having difficulty with the heavy lifting that hunting requires.

It was then and only then that he made the decision to seek medical treatment, which is when I made his acquaintance.

The truth is that it’s distressingly common for people to do precisely what this gentleman did: ignore the early aches and pains until they become too painful to ignore.

Why is this so common?

I’ve asked myself this question many, many times.

Perhaps it’s apathy. Perhaps it’s not wanting to take the time out of a busy schedule. Perhaps it’s fear — fear of what the doctor may find and recommend. Perhaps it’s a cross-combination of some or all of these.

It is also understandable. Nobody wants to be unwell.

It’s more common among men than women.

But a grave and tragic thing can and often does happen when people ignore their early aches and pains. And this grave, tragic thing is made all the more tragic by the fact that because the person waited, his or her treatment options grow drastically more limited.

The scientific data is absolutely clear on this point: people who address aches and pains early will go on to lead far healthier and more normal lives than those who ignore their early pain.

It turned out that the man I’ve just described had arthritis in both knees and severe arthritis in both hips. Had he not ignored the pain, had he not toughed it out for as long as he did, I’d have been able to rescue his shoulder — his rotator cuff tendons — his hips and his knees. But because he waited so long, his hips will both need replacement by age 40, and he’ll likely need knee replacements too.

Please compare that to a different patient who came to see me — a man a little older than the first, who taught martial arts several times a week and participated in dog trials on the weekends.

This man didn’t ignore for very long the stiffness and swelling he began feeling in both his knees, nor did he ignore the moderate pain he felt during his rigorous physical activities. He came to see me comparatively early, and he was very pleasantly surprised to learn that he had other treatment options besides cortisone injections and knee replacement surgery. Most people are surprised to learn this, and if there’s one thing I’d like for readers to know it’s this: there are effective state-of-the-art treatment options — options that use and rely entirely upon organic matter, not just artificial parts and replacements. I know that these treatments are effective because I routinely administer them, and the results are often nothing short of astounding.

In assessing this second patient’s X-Rays and his general health, I found him to be a good candidate for so-called stem-cell therapy (“so-called,” I say, because the term “stem-cells” is a misnomer). Within a week, he had his bone-marrow-stem-cell procedure done, and was thrilled to be able to walk out of my office and drive himself home that same morning. Six weeks post-procedure, the man was able to walk completely pain-free, and by three months, he reported to me that he was back to “100 percent” and doing his full schedule of martial arts and weekend dog trials. A year later, he needed no further treatment at all, saying to me that he still felt 100 percent.

It seems almost absurdly simple, doesn’t it?

And yet the fact of the matter is that I could give you countless examples of this precise outcome — experiences I’ve witnessed firsthand in my twenty-two years of practicing sports medicine.

The upshot of it all: I urge you not to ignore your early aches and pains. Come in for a consultation, an assessment. I can guarantee you that you’ll be glad you did not ignore your early aches and pains. How can I be so sure? Because your treatment options will be far better, and your odds far greater that you’ll be restored to full health.

Best Regards, Dr. A

Integrative Sports Medicine 

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