I’m always excited to watch pro athletes in action. Watching their power, agility, and speed amazes me. So when I saw Kawhi Leonard tear his meniscus in Game 1 of the playoffs but continue to play through his injury in Game 2 – scoring an incredible 31 points in 39 minutes – I was impressed. But it was disheartening to hear so many people suggest that the 31-year-old – who has been called one of the best offensive and defensive players in the world – should retire because of his injury. And that his only option for a full recovery is surgery.
As a regenerative medicine doctor, this bothers me. I see this type of injury a lot in my older patients. Sometimes it’s from a sports injury. But more often, a sudden turn, lifting something too heavy, or squatting has caused the damage.
My patients are frustrated. And they’re in pain. They want to get back to the sports they love, usually golf or tennis, and, nowadays, pickleball.
Sometimes, they’ll go to see an orthopedic surgeon before coming to see me. They’ve been conditioned to think surgery is their only option. And those surgeons almost always say the same thing... That they NEED surgery. I view any surgery as a last resort. But this surgery comes with a special set of problems.
First of all, this operation doesn’t repair ripped cartilage. It just removes the torn pieces. Second, this operation leaves you with an 80-100% risk of developing osteoarthritis.
Third, it increases your odds of needing a total knee replacement three-fold. Fourth, new research found that fewer than 15% of patients who had the surgery felt better immediately after the operation. Finally, less than 2.4% said they felt any pain relief after six months.
I help my patients get back on the golf course or tennis court using regenerative treatments that harness the healing power of their bodies...like stem cell therapy. By now, you’re probably familiar with stem cells. They’re your body’s stockpile of immature cells that have the ability to develop into almost any type of cell within our body — whether it’s a heart cell, a blood cell, or a cartilage cell.
At Advance Regenerative Therapy, we introduce stem cells into a damaged area. This stimulates the production of new cells, reduces inflammation, and kick-starts the healing process