Non-Surgical Treatment
After a comprehensive evaluation, your doctor will recommend a treatment plan that is based on your medical history, the extent of your injury, and your tolerance for medications, procedures, and therapies. In many cases, more than one treatment option will be recommended. Options include:
Relative Rest
We work on a relative rest model. We will work to find activities that you can do while your injury heals. Some injuries require more rest than others.
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Medications
A variety of anti-inflammatory medications are available to reduce swelling, pain, or stiffness. Some are taken by mouth, while others are used topically on injured tissue.
Supplements
We do not sell supplements, but we do use medicinal food products that are available over-the-counter or by prescription to help in the healing process. Examples include avocado soybean unsaponifiables (ASU), Limbrel, and glucosamine.
Prescription Pain Medications
We often avoid pain-blocking medication outside of post-surgical situations, because we use pain as a guide to our treatment.
Injections
Steroid injections can be used to reduce swelling, pain, or stiffness. Platelet-rich plasma and bone marrow concentrate therapies are newer treatments with promising results for tendons and arthritis, however, they are not always covered by insurance. Like platelet-rich plasma, whole blood can be used to treat tendon injuries. Percutaneous tenotomy is a method to treat tendon injuries using ultrasound to find an area of injury and break up scar tissue.
Physical Therapy & Mechanical Therapy
Our trained therapists use specific and targeted exercises to stimulate healing and restore strength and range of motion to an injured joint. Eccentric exercises, sometimes called negatives, are specialized exercises proven to stimulate tendon cells to initiate repair of an injury.
Immobilization
With immobilization, we restrict motion to allow an injured area to heal. Casts, splints, and braces are used to support and protect broken bones or torn ligaments to allow healing. Unloader braces are used to help unload an injured side of a knee or other joint and are often used for arthritis.