Arthritis
What is Arthritis?
Arthritis is defined as the degeneration of one or more joints, resulting in pain, swelling, stiffness and reduced range of motion.
Who is Affected?
Arthritis can occur in men and women of all ages. About 37 million people in America have arthritis of some kind, which is almost one out of every seven people.
Osteoarthritis (OA), or degenerative arthritis, is the most common type of arthritis (affecting more than 24 million Americans) and is more likely to occur as you age – although it is not a normal part of aging; rather, it is a disease. If left untreated, osteoarthritis damages ligaments, menisci and muscles. You may feel its effects in any of your joints, but most commonly in your hips, knees, shoulders, low back or fingers.
Risk factors for osteoarthritis include:
- Being overweight
- Previously injuring the affected joint
- Using the affected joint in a repetitive action that puts stress on the it
- Elevated levels of lead in the blood
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), which is a form of inflammatory arthritis, is a chronic autoimmune disease. In RA, the immune system – which is designed to protect our health by attacking foreign cells such as viruses and bacteria – instead attacks the body’s own tissues, specifically the synovium, a thin membrane that lines the joints. As a result of the attack, fluid builds up in the joints, causing pain and inflammation that’s systemic – meaning it can occur in other areas of the body, as well.
Other symptoms include:
- Joints that feel warm to the touch
- Decreased range of motion
- Visible swelling in the areas around the affected joints
- Symmetrical pain (if a joint on one side of the body is affected, the corresponding joint on the other side will be, as well)
- Fatigue
- Anemia
- Loss of appetite
- Low-grade fever
What Are the Options for Treatment?
At the Magaziner Center for Wellness, we help rid you of the symptoms and treat the underlying causes of arthritis without medications. We promote lifestyle changes – rest, exercise, stress reduction and proper nutritional supplementation – in addition to natural alternatives to surgery, like Prolotherapy and Platelet Rich Plasma.
Prolotherapy (proliferative therapy), also known as Reconstructive Injection Therapy (RIT) or sclerotherapy, is a recognized orthopedic and holistic procedure that reconstructs – and restores normal function to – joints, ligaments, and tendons weakened by trauma or arthritis by stimulating your body’s healing mechanisms. It works by placing precise injections into the damaged area to stimulate cytokines or cell signals, enabling the immune system to naturally repair the damage. Traditional approaches with anti-inflammatory drugs and surgery often fail to restore joint function and relieve pain permanently. Prolotherapy has the unique ability to directly address the cause of instability and repair the weakened sites, resulting in permanent stabilization of the joint — all without surgery.
One of the most innovative uses for prolotherapy was developed here at the Magaziner Center for Wellness by Scott Greenberg, MD. Dr. Greenberg discovered a prolotherapy technique to correct pelvic tilt, which is typically diagnosed as a functional leg length discrepancy. Many patients who suffer from a limp, knee pain, back and neck pain, sacroiliac joint (SI joint) pain, and hip problems, in our experience, have a tilt in their pelvis. The pelvic tilt produces uneven forces across the joint, thus contributing to its damage. Our physicians can immediately correct this tilt, often on a permanent basis, contributing to the overall healing process, improving gait stability and eliminating a limp. The leg length corrective technique will work even when physical therapy, chiropractic or other techniques fail.
We also use Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP), a revolutionary new treatment that uses a patient’s own blood to relieve pain by promoting long-lasting healing of musculoskeletal conditions, especially osteoarthritis of the knee, shoulder, hip and spine, rotator cuff tears, chronic plantar fasciitis, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, pelvic pain and instability, back and neck injuries, tennis elbow, ankle sprains, tendonitis, and ligament sprains.
In PRP therapy, a small amount of a patient’s blood is extracted and spun to develop a concentration of platelets and growth factors naturally found in the body. We then inject this platelet rich plasma into the damaged area. In addition to stimulating the body to heal itself, the platelet “graft” serves as a biologic scaffold that provides optimal curative conditions in the injured area.
For patients suffering from inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis (a long-term disease that causes inflammation of the joints between the spinal bones, and the joints between the spine and pelvis) and psoriatic arthritis (a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of the skin (psoriasis) and joints), we work to control the immune system and reduce its tendency to attack the body. Our program consists of specialized diets, allergy elimination, supplements, detoxification, and the use of low dose naltrexone (LDN) to help control patient’s symptoms and decrease swelling. We have successfully treated patients for whom traditional therapies did not work, as well as those who did not want the risk or side effects associated with long-term steroid or immunosuppresant therapy.