St George Health and Wellness

Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy is used for tendon, ligament and nerve injuries. PRP is a well studied treatment that utilizes the body's own healing mechanisms to recover. When the body fails to heal repetitively, inadequate blood flow and trauma that prevents rehabilitation may cause further medical conditions such as arthritis, tendinosis, and chronic pain. PRP can stimulate a more localized and powerful healing response to the patient's injury. For this treatment to work, the PRP must be expertly placed at the injured tissue with ultrasound guidance. Treatment of injured joints, tendons, ligaments and nerves all have positive research outcomes showing very low risk of negative side affects. PRP is not immediate, patients typically experience results in as little as 12 weeks post injection. This does make it hard to know if a second treatment will be required. Number of treatments needed are dependent on the severity of the injury.

Prolotherapy is the "Great Grandfather" of all other regenerative Injection therapies. It uses a very concentrated sugar called dextrose that is placed into the injured tissue. The dextrose forces the body to dilute the sugar thereby causing signals from the local cells to awaken a new healing response. The affect only lasts a week or two, usually prolotherapy will need to be repeated every 2-4 weeks for a total 3 to 5 treatments. Many patients fully recover using prolotherapy. We recommend 3-5 treatments initially, if after the 3rd session the benefit is still not at least 50% better, PRP treatments may be used which are more powerful and work great with the prolotherapy. ​ The dextrose in prolotherapy also blocks substance p, an inflammatory signal between nerves. With prolotherapy, a lower concentration of dextrose can be used to treat a nerve and a higher concentration can be used to treat a tendon, ligament, or cartilage. Prior to ultrasound, physicians had to rely on palpation (touch) to figure out where to put the treatment. At St George Health and Wellness, ultrasound is used to specifically place the prolotherapy in the damaged tissue. Ultrasound makes the treatment less aggressive and more precise. Prolotherapy works for many problems and is usually added to other treatments such as PRP or Ozone because it can stimulate healing in a different way. We offer Regenerative services for individuals suffering from: knee pain, shoulder pain, TMJ pain, back pain, neck pain and more. At St. George Health and wellness, we are your road back to health.

Bio-identical Hormone Therapy has been very important to our patients in the past. When certain hormone levels are not optimal, it becomes very difficult to heal injured tissue. Chronic pain is rarely "in our head". It is often an injury that our body can't recover from. A potential cause is something called sub-clinical hormone deficiencies. Once Physical Therapy and treatments like PRP and Prolotherapy are used, the damage can finally recover. After the tissue has been healed, some patients prefer to continue with hormone replacement to maximize weight loss and energy levels. The primary hormone that has been found to affect the tendons in both men and women is Thyroid. Many people having traditional thyroid replacement do not benefit as much as those treated with bio-identical hormones. We are able to evaluate the patient to determine if this treatment is appropriate. Testosterone is also important for healing and weight management. Other hormones such as DHEA, Progesterone, Estrogen, and Pregnenolone is also considered during treatments but have been slightly less important for tissue healing.

Entrapped nerve hydrodissection is a minimally invasive non-surgical procedure that uses ultrasound technology to alleviate symptoms of compressed nerve disorders. Compressed nerve disorders result when direct pressure is placed on a single nerve, producing numbness, pain, weakness or a tingling sensation. Compressed nerve disorders may be caused by a variety of factors, including health conditions such as diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, injury, pregnancy or obesity. Entrapped nerve hydrodissection is generally recommended as a treatment for compressed nerve disorders after conservative treatments have been unsuccessful at relieving painful symptoms. ​ Entrapped nerve hydrodissection is a non-invasive procedure and no incisions are made. Instead, entrapped nerve hydrodissection implements the use of ultrasound technology to treat the condition. The procedure is typically performed in a doctor's office and lidocaine may be administered as an anesthetic. During the procedure, a needle is placed, guided by an ultrasound device, to the precise site of the nerve entrapment. A saline solution, containing salt and water, is injected between the affected nerve and the ligaments that are placing pressure on it. This infusion of fluid helps to separate the ligament from the nerve, reducing the direct pressure and relieving symptoms.

This is a treatment originally created by Nikola Tesla, using hyper-oxygen created by special medical equipment using a pure oxygen source. Ozone Therapy is used to treat localized inflammation (swelling), systemic inflammation (the whole body being inflamed). Treatments can be localized in an area, (ie. knee, hip, neck, shoulder, etc), or for the whole body using the blood to carry the anti-inflammatory benefits throughout the body's system. This treatment has been used as an adjunct (add on) treatment for many diseases that are poorly treated without it. Research has shown that patients going through chemotherapy experience less nausea and an improved quality of life while utilizing Ozone Therapy during their traditional treatments. Patients with multiple sclerosis have been shown to have decreased relapsing episodes. Crones disease and Ulcerative Colitis have also been shown to have less flare ups while using ozone. I do not encourage patients to use this treatment exclusively, but it can provide extra benefits to issues that are poorly controlled for many people when combined with other therapies. Ozone Therapy is helpful for those with limited time. An example is someone planning a trip who cannot wait 12 weeks for PRP. If an Achilles tendon, knee arthritis, or even shin splints flare up and require quick pain relief, ozone is one of the best treatments. Cortisone and other other steroids are frequently used to treat the aforementioned problems. Unfortunately, there is greater side effects and risks with this treatment. Steroids can weaken and damage healthy tissue, especially if utilized repeatedly in the same area. This decreases the immune system's ability to fight infections. Overall, Ozone is a safer and better treatment.