Surgery is never a necessity if it is elective! So, you can and should always try to avoid elective Orthopedic surgery. There are so many risks involved with surgery and many involve cutting things out which leads to more long term damage. For instance, by removing a knee meniscus, the biomechanics of the knee changes and this can lead to premature arthritis.
Some other surgeries that can be avoided are joint replacement surgeries where orthopedic surgeons go in and amputate your joint in order to replace it. Again, this is not such a smart thing for several reasons. First, it you are elderly, you may not have the recuperative powers to overcome the surgery and the prolonged convalescence following surgery. Second, the chance of getting an infection or a blood clot (which could kill you) are fairly significant. Third and possibly most importantly, joint replacement surgeries aren’t all they’re cracked up to be and sometimes continue to cause pain in the replaced joint region, and may cause pain in other areas of your body from altered biomechanics. Furthermore, joint replacements can just fail prematurely, necessitating a second or third replaced joint.
Many back surgeries should be similarly avoided. For example, a lumbar spinal fusion eliminates one or several vertebral segments. These vertebral segments are designed to move and when you eliminate this movement adjacent vertebral segments can fail prematurely leading to more back surgery with a more extensive fusion. This is sort of like a “domino affect”; by knocking down one domino others will follow.
So what is an alternative to invasive surgery? The Regenexx® Process of musculoskeletal Stem Cell and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) regenerative treatments, which enable you to avoid surgery by using your own stem cells and platelets to heal the injured or degenerated joint, ligament or tendon. As an example of an alternative to lumbar spinal fusion, the Regenexx® process can safely and effective target these injured discs, ligaments, tendons and nerves through the use of injections to treat bulging or herniated discs, stabilize ligaments and quiet pinched nerves.
Why not choose to avoid unnecessary surgery? Your body has the capacity to heal and regenerate injured tissue. Why not harness that capacity and find a physician trained in the Regenexx® Process. Call Regenerative and Performance Specialists today at 412-963-6480 to learn more about how we can help you! Your body will thank you in so many different ways.
– Dr. Paul Lieber
