Intermittent Fasting and Weight Loss

May 18, 2020

Have you been trying to lose weight without success? You are definitely not alone, and as weight loss specialists, we know that there is no one-size-fits-all method for weight loss. Different things work for different people, and today we would like to tell you about one method of weight loss that is rapidly rising in popularity: intermittent fasting!

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is an umbrella term for not just a diet, but an eating pattern. To fast is to go with little to no food for a period of time, usually no longer than 24 hours per fast. Often abbreviated as IF, intermittent fasting can be done many different ways. The 16:8 method is quite popular and it involves restricting food intake for 16 hours out of the day, and eating all of your calorie needs within an 8-hour window. The 5:2 method consists of eating a regular, well-balanced diet for five days out of the week, and then eating 0-500 calories of protein and fat, such as fish, eggs, or nuts, for two fasting days out of the week.

These methods of intermittent fasting reduce your calorie intake, but you must be careful not to overeat during your “allowed” eating windows. If done correctly, this is a very successful weight loss strategy!

What are some health benefits of intermittent fasting?

  • Reduced inflammation
  • Lowered blood pressure and resting heart rate
  • Positive effects on the cardiovascular system
  • Improved insulin sensitivity
  • Shifts in the body’s cellular and metabolic processes in ways that promote optimal health
  • Weight loss

According to Mark Mattson, a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the 5:2 plan of intermittent fasting has the most data backing it up. It works best if the two fasting days are not consecutive. Split those days apart from each other to improve your chances of success. It is also best to have very little to no carbohydrates on fasting days.

What can you expect when beginning with intermittent fasting? Prepare yourself to feel hungry for the first few days or weeks. But by the end of the first month, most people’s appetites have adapted to the new changes. Do you have any additional questions or would like more support? Give us a call and we can help! As one of Utah’s fastest-growing weight loss clinics, we’ve helped hundreds of people lose weight and keep it off in just a few years of doing business, and we know that we can help you, too! Intermittent fasting and weight loss might be what gets your body going towards your health and wellness goals.

Lose 100 Pounds in One Year

March 11, 2020

“I need to lose 100 pounds.”

“My doctor told me that I should lose 75 pounds before I can” …

“I’m 50 pounds overweight.”

“I am developing type 2 diabetes.”

“I gained 60 pounds during my pregnancy.”

We hear these phrases often, and we empathize with you. Losing weight is not an easy process, and when you have more than 50 pounds to lose, it can feel extremely overwhelming and nearly impossible!

If you are just getting started, our primary message to you is that YOU CAN DO THIS! We want to help. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Focus mainly on your nutrition.

The word diet feels like a punishment, so we are going to focus on the word “nutrition” and ways we can nurture our bodies to promote goodness, health, and wellness. Nutrition is the number one factor to weight loss, and many people lose weight based on their nutrition alone without exercise. We always encourage some form of exercise, but we strongly believe that success can be found with what we put into our mouths. In order to lose 100 pounds in a year, your focus should be on protein, vegetables, fruits, and complex carbohydrates, like beans, oats, squash, and brown rice.

Vegetables are high in volume and low in calories. They can fill you up without filling your daily calorie intake, meaning you can eat more food. Just imagine what 400 calories of vegetables looks like versus 400 calories of a donut. Try building your meals around your vegetables. How do you like to cook your vegetables? If you like roasted veggies, make a huge pan of them and throw in some chicken for protein. If you like salad, find a light dressing and add turkey or another form of protein to keep you full. Eating all of these vegetables will not only help you reach your goals, but your body will be absorbing all of these amazing vitamins and nutrients, which will help you feel better, you will have more energy, your mood will be improved, and you may even sleep better at night.

2. Sleep.

Speaking of sleep, it is an important factor in weight loss. Studies have shown time and time again that when we are deprived of sleep, our health goals become sabotaged. Getting a good night’s rest every night helps us control our mood, our cravings, and if anything, there is less time that we are awake and tempted by mindless snacking.

3. Get moving.

The benefits of exercise are so numerous that we could write an entire book on the subject. There are so many different kinds of exercise, and the main point is the most important point: get your body moving! Whether you like to go for an afternoon walk, make step goals using a fitness tracker, swim in the pool, climb stairs, hit the weights, or play sports, all of these are good ways to help our bodies become stronger, and the more you move, the more calories you will burn during the day which will speed up your weight loss. Here are some ways to help you get started with exercise.

4. Accept that this is a long-term process.

It took a long time to gain extra weight, and it might take a long time to lose it, too. If you need to lose 100 pounds, or even 50 pounds, it can take many people about a year’s time. Rather than let that overwhelm you, think of it this way: this one year will pass regardless. Will you make the effort during this one year to better yourself and become healthier? Or will you stay stuck with your weight gain for another year? Considering all of the years that we (hopefully!) have to live, sacrificing one year’s time so you can have many more years of feeling your best is a small price to pay. Having a realistic mind frame will hopefully keep you from become overwhelmed and frustrated, which will hopefully help you stay on the path towards health.

You don’t need to suffer as you lose weight. Our weight loss programs at South Valley OrthoMed are designed to help you achieve success! 100% of our patients lose weight, and they do it while managing their busy lives, their families, their jobs, and their hobbies. You can do it, too! Our compassionate staff will help you stick with your goals, and help you overcome the obstacles in your way. Schedule your free consultation today so you can find out how we can help YOU!

You may also be interested in the best way to lose weight fast.

Looking for more tips? Check out this Healthline article.

A Letter From Our Veteran, John D. Sonnenberg, MD

November 11, 2019

Dr. Sonnenberg is inspiring to our staff and others in many ways. Today we are proud to honor him as a veteran and highlight his service to our country. Read below to learn more about life for Dr. Sonnenberg as a practicing physician with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Our forward surgical team, the 909th, was initially mobilized in September, 2002.  We were one of the first reserve units to be deployed to Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom.  We were co-located with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  We were tasked with establishing a forward operating base (FOB) in the eastern-most section of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border.  Our engineers essentially transformed an almond grove into a forward, fortified, frontier station dubbed Fort Salerno.  Our mission was to clear eastern Afghanistan from Taliban insurgency.  The 909th FAST team was the medical asset for the 504th.


We enjoyed the afghan fall, winter and spring.  We were shot at, endured rocket attacks, but were able to perform our mission in tents with dirt floors.  Regardless, we were the most sophisticated medical facility in all of eastern Afghanistan.  Not only did we treat injured soldiers, but we also served as a medical resource to the local population.  One must remember that the territory was still littered with Russian mines from that occupation in the 1980’s.   I swear, I put more external fixators on femurs of local youngsters than on our troops.  


As an example, an Afghan general brought his 5-year-old daughter to us with a malunion of a supracondylar elbow fracture.  She had severely limited motion with pain.  I performed a supracondylar corrective osteotomy with pin fixation (re-broke and straightened the elbow).  Six weeks later she was moving her now-straightened elbow normally without pain.  


Early in 2003, command of the FOB was transferred to NATO and the Italian Army replaced the 504th at Fort Salerno.  These were members of Task Force Nibbio of the Monte Cervini Paracadutisti regiment.  We, again, served as medical assets for over 600 Italian soldiers.  I was tasked with learning as much Italian as possible in order to interface with our Brothers-in Arms.


We appreciated our Italian compatriots for their commitment but largely because they brought a full-service kitchen to our FOB.  Previously we were existing on MREs and Ramen noodles.  Pasta at every meal including meatballs with wonderful marinara sauces was certainly a welcome change.  And their officers established the Nibbio Nest, a type of officers club including a satellite up-link where we could watch Italian TV through the RAI network.  Nibbio, by the way, is a smallish, falcon-like bird of prey, translated as kite from the Italian. We first learned of the invasion of Iraq via Italian TV, not through U.S. Army channels.  So my Italian studies eventually served me well. 


As our deployment was coming to an end, our departure date kept getting postponed because of the lack of air assets to fly us back to Baghram air base and then eventually to North Carolina.  It seems the war in Iraq was occupying all of the available transport aircraft.  Therefore, by April, 2003, the 909th forward surgical team became the longest continuously serving unit of the United States Army in a combat zone.  


When our C-130 finally arrived and our replacement unit was briefed on their responsibilities, we were finally able to load our equipment and personnel into the waiting aircraft for the first stage in our long journey home.  At that very moment, a 9-Line message arrived signifying a mass casualty event and the imminent arrival of BlackHawks transporting injured soldiers to our medical facility.  These were friends and brothers from the 504th who we had trained with, served with and shared our lives.  Without hesitation our entire 20-man team exited the aircraft and took our positions alongside our replacement unit in order to have adequate medical manpower to deal with this mass casualty situation. 


We spent hours in the operating room saving lives, but losing a few, repairing limbs (my job), and patching up these brave, but injured and scared American soldiers, most of whom were younger than our own children back home. The supply of whole blood depleted quickly.  At one point, as I came out of the surgical tent with my Italian assistant surgeon, Massimo, he pointed out the que of Italian volunteers, two abreast, stretching for tens of meters, all lined up to donate blood for their American brothers.  With a tear rolling into my surgical mask, I turned back to by business in the surgical tent.  


We eventually made it home.


My story is but one of thousands, each highly personal and precious.  My heart goes out to the families of our soldiers who did not make it home, or to those who made it home less than whole. many soldiers with whom I was personally well acquainted.  Let Veterans Day be our opportunity to remember their sacrifice and to offer our Thanks.  Proud to be an American Soldier.”


John D. Sonnenberg LTC USAR.909th FST, Afghanistan 2002-2003544th CSH, Iraq 2005-2006

Eating Healthy and Not Losing Weight

November 6, 2019

If you’ve tried everything to lose weight and nothing has worked, we are here to help!

Weight Loss can be so terribly frustrating. When you feel like you are doing EVERYTHING in your power to drop the extra pounds, and they stick around like an annoying younger sibling, it’s demoralizing. We get it. We’ve been there! And you are definitely not alone in this struggle.

There are certain illnesses and ailments that can prevent a person from losing weight, but for the majority of Americans, these illnesses are not the cause of weight gain, and are not preventing weight loss.

Okay, we hate to be the bad guys here, but we have to tell the truth.

You are eating more than you think you are.

You are not creating enough of a calorie deficit.

You are not properly tracking your food intake.

You are having little bites of snacks here and there throughout the day.

You are too sedentary.

Please don’t hate us, we send this truth bomb out there with love. And once people are no longer in denial over their weight gain, real progress can begin!

Check out this great graphic from @soheefit on Instagram. Isn’t it amazing how quickly all of those little things add up throughout the day? A person would definitely lose weight on sticking to 1,205 calories per day, and most people would actually gain weight after consuming 3,250 calories per day.

Accountability is one of THE most important factors when it comes to weight loss. This can be a hard change for many people, but there is a plus side. Accountability also leads to control and empowerment! Once you realize that your weight is in your hands, everything can change because you can change it!

Our medical weight loss plans are packed with resources to help you stave off hunger, feel energized, and lose the weight for good. And for you exercise-haters out there, while we always encourage healthy habits and regular exercise, it is actually NOT built into our weight loss programs.

We do offer a 100% FREE consultation for any interested patients to come take a look-see at medical weight loss, what the plans consist of, the type of commitment it would entail, etc… Our staff is ready and waiting to help you meet your goals. We’re just waiting on you!

Is Stem Cell Therapy Covered by Insurance

August 20, 2019

One of the most common questions we’re asked regarding stem cell therapy and platelet rich plasma (PRP) is whether or not these procedures are covered by insurance. As new medical techniques develop over time, all aspects of modern medicine need to be adaptable to changing methods, and insurance providers are no exception. The healing potential of stem cells are among the most exciting areas currently developing within medicine, both in the orthopedic field and beyond, with orthopedic stem cell treatments having shown impressive healing results time and time again! However there are also plenty of other areas of medicine where the capabilities of stem cells are very much in their earlier stages of development, and in turn, that much farther away from the regulatory approval that is often required for a service to be covered by medical insurance. Much of the challenge moving forward lies in determining what new medical technologies, and particularly what types of stem cell treatments, can and will become prominent treatment options for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately the stem cell therapy treatments that we offer here at South Valley OrthoMed are not currently billable to any known insurance providers. However at an out-of-pocket price of $1,950, South Valley OrthoMed offers orthopedic stem cell therapy treatment at one of the best overall values found anywhere!

But why isn’t it covered?

Orthopedic stem cell therapy is currently categorized as FDA Cleared, however as was mentioned earlier, stem cells are being used in many different areas of medicine. Plenty of these treatments are still very experimental, with results not replicated often enough to truly be considered as viable treatment options. As a result, it appears to be the case that insurance providers are waiting until there’s a much better understanding of all of it, before they’ll be covering any of it. In other words, with so many new medical technologies developing over time, differentiating between what has true long-term viability and what might just be a passing fad is an important distinction that insurance providers will want to make.

I spoke to my insurance and they said it is covered!

Several times here at our clinic, we’ve encountered a misunderstanding where certain insurance provider representatives have told prospective patients that stem cell therapy would be covered under their plan. This unfortunately is not the case. This miscommunication refers to a type of bone marrow/stem cell transplant for treatments related to conditions such as leukemia, Hodgkin’s Disease, and others. These treatments do not go into areas such as orthopedic use, and despite the miscommunication that has appeared to happen on several occasions, orthopedic treatments with stem cells are still indeed not yet covered under insurance.

Moving forward:

It’s impossible to say when orthopedic stem cell injections might be covered under insurance. With ongoing clinical testing and almost countless success stories, it seems like an inevitability down the road, we just don’t know how long that road will be. Considering the drastically reduced cost of stem cell therapy in relation to an alternative and more traditional treatment like knee replacement surgery, one would think stem cell therapy is something the insurance providers SHOULD be in a rush to cover. With lower cost procedures the can yield significantly better results than traditional treatments, one has to think it will happen sooner rather than later.

7 Tips For Adding Exercise Into Your Life

May 16, 2019

Do you want to add exercise into your life? This desire is not uncommon, and the benefits of exercise are so numerous that it is easy to convince just about anyone that they should exercise. Are you wondering how to get started? Don’t worry, we are here to help. We’ve compiled some of our favorite tips for adding a workout routine into your daily routine!

Tip 1 - Start Small

The NUMBER ONE THING we want to avoid is burnout, or attempting to do routines and diets that are not sustainable long-term. Full stop!  Not only does this not serve anybody, but it can cause people to digress into poor habits, and can be just downright discouraging. When adding exercise into your life, START SMALL. Begin with a 30 minute walk every other day. Or try to run one mile each day. Try lifting weights just on Saturdays. Or maybe begin with some simple Pilates and yoga in your living room. Any of these simple changes are steps in the right direction, and it provides a foundation which you can build upon later. Add in small changes that you know you will enjoy and be able to stick with, rather than choosing something that starts out intense, but that causes you to get overwhelmed and quit two weeks in.

Tip 2 - Don't Do Exercises That You Hate

Do you hate running? Perfect! Then don’t run. Running is not the only way to exercise, and is not required for good fitness and health. If you love lifting weights but hate Zumba classes, focus your attention on lifting weights for your exercise. Do you prefer to be in a gym, outside, or workout at home? Do you need a lot of variety and change with your routines? Or do you tend to find what you like and stick with it long-term? These are things that will come up during your health journey, and you will be able to discover your preferences with your workouts. Doing workouts that you enjoy will help you feel good and help you look forward to your next one. Sloshing through workouts may be noble, but if it is going to cause burnout, then you will want to shift some things around in your repertoire.

Tip 3 - Take Breaks When Needed

Sometimes our society glorifies extremes but when it comes to long-term exercise, slow and steady wins the race! If you are 3 or 4 weeks into your routine and you’re dreading your next workout, or feeling like you just need a break, it is perfectly OK to take one! Just ask your favorite fitness models or influencers. Most of them take regular breaks from their routines as well. You may not need as long of a break as it feels, and taking a break gives you the opportunity to re-evaluate your routine, and it even gives you the opportunity to miss it.

Tip 4 - Be Consistent

Ok, so we know this seems a lot like the opposite of taking breaks when needed, but we’re not talking about being consistent over days. We’re talking about months and years! Gaining weight and sabotaging health does not happen overnight, just like one cookie doesn’t make a person overweight. It’s the two or three cookies every day for months that will cause weight gain and it takes years for many of the negative effects of excess weight to manifest. The same thing goes for diet and exercise. Depending on how much weight a person is looking to lose, it can take a long time. It is ideal to set yourself up with something that you can stick with and avoid burnout, so you can settle in for the long haul if necessary. You really will not regret it!

Tip 5 - Eat the Right Foods

Food is our fuel, not our enemy. You will need wholesome, healthy and nutritious foods to fuel your body for health and fitness. Try to eat about a pound of protein for each pound of your ideal body weight. If I am a 5 ft 5 in female, my ideal body weight is about 120-130 pounds. So I will try and eat about 100-130 grams of protein per day. This may sound crazy, but going back to our first tip, start small! A diet high in protein will keep you full, it will help you build more muscle, and that will help speed up your metabolism, all while reducing cravings. Protein can do all that? Yes!

Tip 6 - Get Good Shoes

This is the fun part – shopping! Make sure you are wearing proper and quality footwear for exercise. There are so many kinds to choose from, and good footwear can help reduce the risk of injuries, and foot and leg problems down the road. Some of our favorite brands are Asics, Nike, Brooks, Reebok or Adidas. Find the right footwear for you and don’t put guilt upon yourself if you buy shoes that don’t end up working out for you. We’ve all been there!

Tip 7 - Be Patient. Change Does Not Happen Overnight

Ask any fitness guru around, it didn’t happen overnight. Not even close! A life filled with fitness and health was mindfully constructed that way, one piece at a time. Imagine you are building a tower – you don’t start out at the top, you start at the bottom. Get a good foundation and then add to it as you go along. You are the architect, engineer and constructor of your health and wellness tower.

It may be tempting to look at those people with firm, healthy bodies as “lucky”. We might assume they were born with it, or that they have a faster metabolism or more energy than the rest of us. For most of them, they have had to work for it. They learned to overcome themselves and become the masters of their domain. It is a gradual process and it requires mindfulness and dedication, but it something that anyone can also have. We all have only 24 hours in our day. If other people can do it, YOU CAN, TOO!

Our Newest Treatment – The Hydrafacial

May 15, 2019

We have a new machine at South Valley OrthoMed and we are super excited about it! Brought in by popular demand, the Hydrafacial machine is what our patients have been asking for (and we listened)!

HydraFacial-System-Photo

What is a Hydrafacial? The Hydrafacial is more than just some fancy creams and facial massage. The Hydrafacial is a hand-held device that is swiped across the face and works to address specific skin concerns such as:

Fine lines & wrinkles

Elasticity & firmness

Even tone & vibrancy

Enlarged pores

Skin texture

Brown spots

Oily & congested skin

The Hydrafacial treatment is broken down into 3 steps:

Step one cleanses and peels, which uncovers a new layer of skin with gentle exfoliation and relaxing resurfacing.

Step two extracts and hydrates. This step removes debris from pores with painless suction, and also nourishes the skin with intense moisturizers.

Step three fuses, protects, and saturates the skin’s surface with antioxidants and peptides to maximize your glow!

The treatment takes only 30 minutes and is completely painless. There is no downtime and the results are immediate. Hydrafacial works for all skin types of any age and color. You will leave South Valley OrthoMed with fresher, plumper and more hydrated skin! Try Hydrafacial today for the fastest way to obtain fresh and youthful skin!

Learn More

THE BEST WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST!

April 11, 2019

Oftentimes when
it comes to weight loss, slow and steady wins the race. But sometimes we want
to see the pounds fall of the scale quickly and there is a way to get ‘er done:
The HCG Diet Protocol!

How Does HCG Work for Weight Loss?

The HCG diet came about during the 1950’s by a British doctor, Dr. A.T.W. Simeons. He created a rigid protocol in combination with the HCG hormone (also known as the pregnancy hormone), which allows the body to use fat as a form of energy without cannibalizing organs or muscle.

The HCG
hormone alone does not cause any weight loss. HCG is a placental peptide
hormone produced and released during pregnancy (but don’t worry – it is safe
for women AND men). Dr. Simeons theorized that this hormone regulates the metabolic
systems of the body, making fat reserves readily available when food is not
available. When placed in the right environment and timed with a low-calorie
diet of specific foods, the HCG protocol allows both men and women to live off
their excess fat.

What is the HCG Diet Protocol?

The HCG Diet
Protocol is broken up into phases. PHASE ONE is the loading phase and for most
people, this is the fun part! The loading phase lasts for three days and the
patient is supposed to eat DOUBLE the amount of food they normally eat. High-fat
foods are best, and despite any initial reservations, this phase is critical
for success on the HCG protocol. This phase revs up the metabolism and prepares
the body for the phase two, which is the low-calorie phase.

PHASE TWO
lasts for 23-45 days. During this phase, the protocol is to eat only 500
calories per day, and only very specific foods which are outlined in the
manual. This may sound crazy, but we’re not pulling your leg – this is the
protocol! During this phase, patients lose on average between 1-2 pounds per day. Yes, per day! The weight loss
is fast, but only if the strictest adherence is given to the diet.

PHASE THREE
is the transition into maintenance and this phase lasts for 3 weeks. Phase three
is also strict and consists of a low-carbohydrate and low-sugar diet in order
to re-regulate the hypothalamus. During this phase, a new weight “set point” is
established. After the first 3 weeks of phase three, grains can slowly be added
back into the diet while maintaining the new weight and set point.

The HCG Diet
Protocol requires quite a bit of self-control, and if a patient is not willing
to adhere to the guidelines, weight loss may not be achieved. But when done
correctly, patients can see and feel the rapid weight loss, and keep it off for
good.

When it comes
to weight loss and healthy weight maintenance, as always, the traditional rules
of healthy living still apply. A patient can have amazing results using the HCG
Diet Protocol, but if that patient doesn’t change the dietary and lifestyle habits
that once caused the weight gain, any weight lost on any diet will be short-lived.

If you would
like to know more about the HCG Diet Protocol, we can answer any of your
questions and we offer a 100% free consultation. Schedule yours today!

The Golden Rules For Your Weight Loss Journey

March 22, 2019

Have you been watching your weight slowly climb over the years? Does the thought of making changes overwhelm or upset you? WE HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU, SO READ ON!

Beginning to take charge of your life is a monumental decision, but each step does not need to be so grand. You don’t need to work out for hours each day and never enjoy a scoop of ice cream again in your life. YAY! To get started, we have put together the two golden rules of weight loss that you need to remember:

1. Create a calorie deficit
2. See number 1 again

Just kidding! There is only one golden rule of weight loss, and that is to create a caloric deficit! You need to burn more calories than you are taking in. It truly is that simple! But then, why is it so hard? That is where things get, uh, complicated.

A simple internet search will yield millions of results regarding weight loss, weight gain, weight management, exercise plans, special diets, etc… It is very challenging to sift through all of the information and quite frankly, dogma. Should we eat carbs? What about meat? Or vegetarian? Should we eat less at night? Or skip breakfast? But isn’t breakfast the most important meal of the day? It isn’t anymore? **HEAD EXPLODES**

Thankfully there is an entire army of trained health professionals trying to correct half-truths and pseudo-science. The weight loss strategy of counting calories is not very sexy and doesn’t have a catchy tagline with huge promises. But the University of Vermont conducted a study that showed counting calories to be the best predictor of weight loss success and that, even better, it only took an average of 14.6 minutes per day to do! You can read more about that study right here.

It sounds so incredibly easy but the truth is, many people don’t accurately report their caloric intake. A treat here, a handful of nuts there – those things can really add up when they’re not accounted for in food logging especially if those little incidences happen several times throughout the day. It takes a great deal of honesty and accountability in order to count calories and oftentimes, our lack of honesty with ourselves is what led to greater weight gain to begin with.

If you’re interested in counting your calories, there are so many resources available to you. There are apps like Lose It or My Fitness Pal where you can keep your food log right there on your smartphone. You can just write your calories down on post-it notes or a blank notebook if you prefer – no need to be fancy if that isn’t for you! You can find the calorie counts for fresh produce using a little bit of Google researching. If you’re counting calories and are feeling hungry, add more protein to your diet. It will help you feel fuller for longer, which will enable you to stick within your calorie budget. And of course, make sure you write everything down, including the treats! Work the treats into your daily calorie budget as part of your healthy, balanced diet, because living without treats is not living your best life.

If you’re at the beginning of your health journey, we celebrate you! It takes a lot of courage to make big or small changes in our lives. South Valley OrthoMed is here to help in any way that we can, but even if you don’t end up working with us, we want everyone to be living their best life possible. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more information!

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” –Malcom Gladwell

Stem Cells for “Bone-on-Bone” Knee Joints

November 6, 2018

For many people, knee pain becomes an unfortunate reality of day-to-day life. With continued aging comes the continued wear and tear of the joints absorbing the majority of the impact from literally every step we take. For some, the deterioration of a knee joint can start at a young age, often jump-started by traumatic injury of some kind or another. For others, knee issues may develop later on in life, due simply to the amount of mileage put onto the joints. Regardless of timetable, there tends to be one particular diagnosis of a person’s knee that is often both overused and misinterpreted…

“My knee is bone-on-bone.”

It’s a frustrating outlook to have to face when the structure that’s held the knee together for a person’s whole life, has worn down to have very little of that structure remaining. But the outlook usually is never as grim as people may think, or are led to believe. In offering free consultations for stem cell therapy here in our clinic, we’ve seen countless people come through our doors under the impression that their knees were bone-on-bone, and that all hope was gone for avoiding something like total knee replacement surgery. And in years past, that absence of hope may have been perfectly valid. However, with the development and progression of orthopedic stem cell therapy in recent years, patients suffering from osteoarthritis have more hope for non-surgical recovery than ever before!

If there’s one common trend that we’ve come to notice here in our clinic, it’s that the “bone-on-bone” diagnosis of a knee, tends to be drastically overused. Oftentimes, it seems that this diagnosis is given to any knee suffering from a noticeable deterioration of cartilage. While the cartilage may no longer be in tip-top shape, A true bone-on-bone status of a joint is representative of the severity of stage 4 osteoarthritis. Among patients we see who fear their knee joint is bone-on-bone, only a small percentage are truly into this most severe stage of arthritis when examined under X-ray. The vast majority of patients would properly be classified as either stage 3, or even stage 2 arthritis, which brings with it a very promising outlook with regards to stem cell therapy.

Even at the point of stage 3 osteoarthritis, the vast majority of patients stand a very high chance of significant improvement from stem cell therapy. When compared to total knee replacement surgery, stem cell therapy can often provide the additional perks of avoiding a major operation, drastically shorter recovery time, and better overall results. And when it comes to out-of-pocket costs, stem cell therapy can also often provide a much more cost-effective option compared to knee replacement surgery.

As is the case with treating any joint with stem cells, the first step will be to visit South Valley OrthoMed for a free consultation. We want to evaluate each potential patient on a one-on-one basis, to make the most responsible recommendation possible regarding their candidacy for stem cell therapy. Even though the aches and pains of persistent joint pain can make a situation seem hopeless, the outlook almost always tends to be better than most patients anticipate before coming in to see us!