Healing Help for Golfer’s Elbow

Do you feel elbow pain with each golf swing? Does your golf club grip seem weak and maybe even painful? You may be experiencing Golfer’s Elbow-known medically as “medial epicondylitis”. Golfer's elbow is a condition that causes pain where the tendons of your forearm muscles attach to the bony bump on the inside of your elbow. The pain might spread into your forearm and wrist. Golfer's elbow is similar to tennis elbow, which occurs on the outside of the elbow. It's not limited to golfers. Anyone who repeatedly uses their wrists or clenches their fingers can also develop golfer's elbow.

Traditional orthopedic treatment often includes oral anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen, an elbow brace and physical therapy with daily exercises-and of course-REST-NO GOLF! In some instances where you have extreme pain a single steroid injection might be recommended. This will also require splinting and hand exercises. However, repeated steroid injections are a problem in that can cause tissue breakdown, weakening of the tendon and even more pain. This is not a recipe for long term success.

Fortunately, injections of platelet rich plasma (PRP) can dramatically benefit both golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow. With targeted injections of PRP we can actually form a “graft” over the area which results in healing and regeneration of the tendon, actually growing back on to the troubled area of the eipicondyle. The best part of PRP for golfer’s and tennis elbow is that pain relief occurs within 2-3 weeks AND you have a stronger tendon!

The pain of golfer's elbow doesn't have to keep you off the course or away from your favorite sports and activities. Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine treatment with PRP injections for golfer’s elbow can get you back to your game!

Drive the Body’s Power, Return to ‘Body Strong’

To get help for golfer’s elbow or learn more about Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine treatments including stem cells and platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections, schedule a consultation with Daniel Southern, M.D. by calling 203-702-6629 or visiting www.regenerativeorthopedicmedicinect.com, Google+,  www.facebook.com/DanielSouthernMD.

Preventing Joint & Bone Problems

“Patients who see me for consultation and treatment for orthopedic joint and bone problems almost always ask if there was something they could have done to prevent their injury, problem or degenerative condition”, shared Regenerative Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Physician Daniel Southern, M.D. Here are some tips and things you can do to protect bone and joint health.

Nutrition & Diet are Important for Bone & Joint Health

>Calcium: Bones cannot be formed without calcium. Calcium is found in dairy products such as cheese, yogurt and milk. Calcium is also abundant in broccoli, collard greens, kale, almonds and soy products.

>Vitamin D: Vitamin D is required for calcium to be absorbed in your body. High amounts of Vitamin D can be found in dairy products, egg yolks, shrimp, and fatty fish. Equally, if not more important to know is that your body will produce vitamin D when exposed to the sun. Just 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure at least three times per week is beneficial!

>Potassium: Potassium itself isn’t required for bone & joint health, but it neutralizes acids in your body that remove and deplete calcium! You can get plenty of potassium by eating foods like bananas, yogurt, and white and sweet potatoes with the skin still on.

Exercise is Important for Bone & Joint Health

>Weight Bearing Exercise: Weight bearing exercise and activities such as walking, running, skiing, stair climbing or jumping rope are effective to help build and maintain healthy joints and bones.

>Resistance Training: Resistance training exercises and activities such as light dumbbells or weights or elastic resistance bands to build strength help build and maintain healthy joints and bones.

>Stretching: Stretching builds flexibility. Being flexible allows you to maintain a wider range of motion to aid in avoiding injury and help you develop better balance. Always spend a few minutes “warming up” and “cooling down” before and after exercising to stretch your arms, leg, and back muscles. A good range of motion helps keep joints flexible, reduce pain and improve balance and strength.

Healthy Lifestyle Choices are Important for Bone & Joint Health

>Dress: Dress for support and comfort by choosing shoes and clothing help keep your body in its natural position. High heel shoes and tight fitting clothes can be a problem.

>Caffeine: While caffeine has certain health benefits, too much caffeine can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb calcium.

>Smoking: Simply-Stop Smoking. Numerous studies have shown that smoking decreases bone mass as it prevents the body from absorbing calcium efficiently.

Drive the Body’s Power, Return to ‘Body Strong’

To learn more about bone and joint health or preventing orthopedic injury and problems visit www.regenerativeorthopedicmedicinect.com, Google+,  www.facebook.com/DanielSouthernMD.

Rebuilding Knee Stability and Performance

If you play any sport, you know that knee injuries are extremely common. Often, a tear of one ligament is associated with other tears and strains so that recovery of knee stability and sports performance can be a real challenge. Athletes who play soccer,  basketball, field hockey, gymnastics, lacrosse, skiing, snowboarding and volleyball are most susceptible to Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries, while Medial Cruciate Ligament (MCL) injuries are more often experienced in hockey and wrestling. This is a bit different from knee problems experienced by people who participate in cycling, rugby, running, swimming and water polo which generally lead to overuse injuries.

Acute injuries occur suddenly during an activity. In athletes, the most common acute injuries are ACL and MCL sprains. A sprain is the stretching or tearing of a ligament. An ACL injury can occur when an athlete changes direction quickly, stops suddenly, or lands from a jump. MCL injuries often occur in contact sports when the outside of the knee joint is struck. Overuse injuries are caused by a repeated action or continuous pressure on the knee which can result in bursitis, patellar tendinitis (“jumper’s knee”) or patellofemoral pain syndrome (“runner’s knee”). What we know is that with ACL or MCL surgery or even with minimally invasive arthroscopy procedures, biomechanical instability can result in a lack of performance for athletes. Even when ACL or MCL repair is successful, patients often report that they still suffer from pain and a loss of flexibility and are just unable to reach their desired performance levels in sports and athletic activities.

Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine for Rebuilding Knee Stability and Performance

By using highly targeted regenerative orthopedic medicine treatments that might include stem cell and platelet rich plasma injections (PRP) directly into the knee ligaments and tendons, it is possible to restore the knee to normal function. Growth factors in these regenerative injections facilitate the non-operative removal and repair of damaged tissue which allows stabilizing muscles to strengthen. As a result, you can often return to the normal range of motion and flexibility experienced before the knee injury occurred. These are same-day procedures done in as little as an hour causing minimal discomfort and virtually no down time.  Often patients experience decreased symptoms within one week but the full effect takes 2-3 months.

Drive the Body’s Power, Return to ‘Body Strong’

To get help for knee problems, restore strength, range of motion and stability or learn more about Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine treatments including stem cells and platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections, schedule a consultation with Daniel Southern, M.D. by calling 203-702-6629 or visiting www.regenerativeorthopedicmedicinect.com, Google+,  www.facebook.com/DanielSouthernMD.

Recovery from Hiking Knee, Ankle & Foot Sprains

Hiking is great way to enjoy the outdoors and nature and get a good cardiovascular workout along the way! But, did you know that knee and ankle injuries are especially common among hikers? Ankle and knee sprains occur from stepping awkwardly over irregular terrain or uneven surfaces. These sprains are painful, debilitating and are a prime target for regenerative injections to hasten healing and repair which otherwise can take 8-12 weeks and longer. Something else to be cautious about is that hiking, especially with a backpack, can spur or exacerbate hip arthritis and make walking painful-so be careful and don’t go overboard!

And of course wrist, shoulder, and elbow sprains from “trips-and-falls” onto outstretched limbs require can be a problem if you aren’t careful! Enjoy your time on the mountainside trails and know that regenerative orthopedic injections of stem cells and platelet rich plasma are very helpful for quick recovery as they amplify the natural healing process and restore normal strength, function and eliminate pain.

Drive the Body’s Power, Return to ‘Body Strong’

To get help with the healing of a sprains and strains or learn more about Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine treatments including stem cells and platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections, schedule a consultation with Daniel Southern, M.D. by calling 203-702-6629 or visiting www.regenerativeorthopedicmedicinect.com, Google+,  www.facebook.com/DanielSouthernMD.

Shoulder Performance: Eliminate Pain, Regain Strength & Range of Motion

Shoulder Performance: Eliminate Pain, Regain Strength & Range of Motion

Did you know that more than 7.5 million people go to doctor’s offices each year for shoulder problems? And-did you know that more than 50% have a rotator cuff problem! Shoulder injuries are frequently caused by athletic activities that involve excessive, repetitive, overhead motion, such as swimming, tennis, baseball pitching, and weightlifting.  Shoulder injuries can easily happen while performing construction work that involves lifting over your head or even with everyday activities like washing windows, hanging curtains, and gardening. All of these activities share movements and repetitive stress that can contribute to degenerative, chronic or acute rotator cuff injury. If you experience a single isolated traumatic event like a skiing or snowboarding fall and land on an outstretched arm, you know how the shoulder injury occurred. But for the majority of athletes or sports players it is the repetition of the same motion over and over again-pitching, serving or long distance crawl strokes-that just causes the rotator cuff to slowly degenerate and tear.

What we know is that the recovery time and rehabilitation from shoulder surgery can be lengthy, uncomfortable and can still result in weakness and lack of performance for athletes. Even when rotator cuff tear repair is successful, patients often report that they still suffer from pain and a loss of flexibility and are just unable to reach their desired performance levels in sports and athletic activities.

Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine for Shoulder & Rotator Cuff Injuries

By using highly targeted regenerative orthopedic medicine treatments that might include stem cell and platelet rich plasma injections (PRP) directly into the rotator cuff tendons, it is possible to restore the rotator cuff to normal function. Growth factors in these regenerative injections facilitate the non-operative removal and repair of damaged tissue which allows the rotator cuff muscles to strengthen. As a result, you can often return to the normal range of motion and flexibility experienced before the rotator cuff tear occurred. These are same-day procedures done in as little as an hour causing minimal discomfort and virtually no down time.  Often patients experience decreased symptoms within one week but the full effect takes 2-3 months.

Drive the Body’s Power, Return to ‘Body Strong’

To get help for shoulder pain, restore should strength and range of motion or learn more about Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine treatments including stem cells and platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections for rotator cuff tears, schedule a consultation with Daniel Southern, M.D. by calling 203-702-6629 or visiting www.regenerativeorthopedicmedicinect.com, Google+,  www.facebook.com/DanielSouthernMD.

Plantar Fasciitis Help with Regenerative Orthopedic Treatments

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

When you get out of bed in the morning do you ever feel a sharp stab in your heel? Do you experience a deep ache in the middle of the heel or along the arch? You might have plantar fasciitis! If you are a runner, dancer, basketball player or just physically active you might find that the stabbing heel pain and ache fades as you move and are active-but then it recurs after you sit for a while. This is the common daily experience of those with plantar fasciitis. Basically plantar fasciitis is an overuse injury that has caused inflammation of the tough, fibrous band that connects your heel bone to the base of your toes. Patients often try some combination of immobilization, stretching, oral anti-inflammatory medications and steroid injections, often with limited success. For most athletes or for those whose work activities have created the problem, these are not effective options.

After careful diagnosis, with regenerative orthopedic treatment injections of stem cells and/or platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections it is possible to quickly and effectively reduce plantar fasciitis inflammation, reduce the pain and promote tissue healing to help you return to the daily activities you want and need!

Drive the Body’s Power, Return to ‘Body Strong’

To get help for plantar fasciitis pain or learn more about Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine treatments including stem cells and platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections for plantar fasciitis, schedule a consultation with Daniel Southern, M.D. by calling 203-702-6629 or visiting www.regenerativeorthopedicmedicinect.com, Google+, www.facebook.com/DanielSouthernMD.

Arthritis Help with Alpha-2 Macroglobulin (A2M)

Can Alpha-2 Macroglobulin (A2M) Treatment Help My Arthritis?

If you suffer from the pain, stiffness, swelling and restricted range of motion caused by osteoarthritis, Alpha-2 Macroglobulin (A2M) injections might be a type of Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine treatment that can help you return to the active lifestyle, sports and athletic activities you enjoy. If osteoarthritis has limited or even prevented you from being able to work productively A2M injections might just be able to help. While sometimes you can get temporary symptomatic relief with traditional non surgical treatment options, oral medications, physical therapy and sports rubs & crèmes, they are pretty limited in any long term effect because the root cause and side effects of osteoarthritis will still remain. A2M injections can slow and even reverse the progression of the degenerative joint disease process. Alpha-2 Macroglobulin (A2M) injections work by binding to the substances produced in your joints that cause cartilage to degrade over time. A2M for arthritis can help us stop the breakdown of cartilage and prevent further cartilage loss, reduce the pain, promote tissue growth, restore, regenerate and support overall joint function. This can go a long way to helping you return to the daily activities you want and need!

Drive the Body’s Power, Return to ‘Body Strong’

To get help for arthritis or to learn more about Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine treatments including A2M injections for arthritis, schedule a consultation with Daniel Southern, M.D. by calling 203-702-6629 or visiting www.regenerativeorthopedicmedicinect.com, Google+,  www.facebook.com/DanielSouthernMD.