Non-Surgical Solutions for Pain

[BamaCrazy]

Has anyone here explored and tried the below non-surgical therapies for pain management and injury recovery? I have an appointment Wednesday to discuss treatment options for shoulder pain. It’s likely covered by insurance so I figured what do I have to lose by looking into them. I want to be able to continue lifting and training for several more years but want to avoid the setbacks and lost time surgery would cause.

1. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) - concentrated platelets from your own blood to promote and/or accelerate healing
2. Cell Based Therapy (stem cell therapy) - growth factors and stem cells from your bone marrow used to treat damaged joints, tendons and ligaments
3. Platelet Lysate - the release of anti-inflammatory growth factors from your platelets to reduce inflammation from herniated discs and irritated nerves.
4. Prolotherapy - injecting irritants to jump start your bodies natural healing processes

#4 has the least amount of scientifically proven benefits. But the others sound promising.

I’d appreciate your feedback on your experiences.

 

[skubysnacks]

There has been forms of Prolotherapy around for over 100 years.I knew a guy that had it done in his shoulders. He had torn ligaments or tendons. I can't remember which. The tears reduced significantly in size. He was in a lot of pain for for a few days.

From what I understand, PRP therapy is Prolotherapy that uses your platelets instead of whatever solution is normally used. I think a dextrose solution is normally used.

 

[HeatherSwanson]

PRP 100% worked for my brother in law. He had fucked tendons / ligs in his knee and it was night and day after a few treatments at a private clinic in Canada. BPC157 isn't called the wolverine peptide for no reason. Its pretty cheap too.

 

[BamaCrazy]

My appointment was at a clinic that specializes in PRP and stem cell therapy. They quoted me $800 to prepare my blood for injection. And $400 more each shoulder to inject the blood. So $1,200 minimum. During the Doc’s pitch he made a mistake by telling me orthopedic surgeons charge less for PRP. He was trying to illustrate how his method was better than theirs. But what he really did was make me curious how much cheaper.

So I called 2 orthopedic surgeon’s clinics and got quotes. $700 per shoulder. A lot cheaper if I’m only treating one shoulder. Almost the same price if treating both.

I also ask about stem cell therapy cost. He told me around $3K. Pretty expensive for something that may or may not help.

I’m thinking of doing one shoulder first to see if it helps or not. Then maybe doing the other.