Joint pain and injuries are one of the leading causes of reduced quality of life AND accelerated aging for most people.
Sadly, ‘Modern Medicine’ has completely failed to understand and properly address this important area. The simple proof of this is the existence of various alternatives including Chiropractic, Massage, and Acupuncture. Osteopathic medicine was the first alternative healing system in the US. Its whole purpose was to reexamine how the body works and how to help prevent disease and help it to heal when needed. The founder, A.T. Still, MD, began by studying the bones and working up from there to better understand the intelligent design and function of the body from the foundation on up. Still’s work attracted the attention of D.D. Palmer, the founder of Chiropractic, visited the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine several years before ‘discovering’ Chiropractic.
All of these were once relatively small subsets of the alternative medical landscape and now they are everywhere. The reason is simple, conventional medicine has not been able to help most patients suffering from chronic pain related to joint injuries and the chronic degeneration that results.
Almost as sad, those professions also fail to address the underlying cause of most joint injuries and pain. The following is a greatly simplified explanation, a more detailed write up is available on our resources page.
- Almost all joint injuries involve damage to either ligaments or tendons.
- The same is true whether it is a single trauma, repetitive motion injuries, overuse injuries, or simple wear and tear.
- The primary damage is at the junctions where the ligaments or tendons connect to the bones, this is called the enthesis.
- Due to the density of these structures, their blood supply is limited, thereby limiting their abilities to heal completely.
- They typically only heal back to 50-75% of their original strength and are a bit longer and looser than preinjury. Anyone that has ever sprained an ankle can attest to this.
- The result is a somewhat looser joint than it was previously; therefore, it is not as stable as before the injury.
- There is an extensive network of nerve sensors associated with our joints and muscles that provide information to the brain about the structural integrity of our joints; joints obviously play a vital role in our survival.
- When the brain receives information that the joint is not stable, it sets off an alarm signal of sorts, and then sends messages to the surrounding muscles to partially contract to help stabilize it. Although this can be very beneficial in the short term, it can be a big problem over time.
- When a muscle is in a state of partial contraction beyond normal muscle tone, the microcirculation becomes compressed thereby reducing the delivery of nutrients including oxygen to those muscle fibers and any other tissues downstream. It also restricts the free flow of fluids (including waste products) from that area.
- This leads to a shift in a certain percentage of those muscle fibers from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism which is very inefficient and dirty. The muscle cells are deprived of sufficient ATP (energy) to function properly and there will be a buildup of metabolic waste (lactate).
- This sets up a longer-term vicious cycle of pain, inflammation, and degeneration.
Unfortunately, very few doctors know anything about this, that includes orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and massage therapists. You can’t fix what you don’t know about!
There is a safe, effective solution that has been known about since 1937 when the first study was published. Since then, over 150 additional studies have confirmed that original study and the technique’s effectiveness. It is called Prolotherapy, it was the original Regenerative Injection Therapy, and it still works great with a 90+% success rate.
As with anything, there have been some wonderful advancements and breakthroughs over the past several decades. Dr. MacCloud has been doing Regenerative Injection Therapies for 30 years years and has treated thousands of patients successfully. In fact, this technique has helped him to fix several of his own chronic injuries, helping to keep him functioning as well or better than he did 50 years ago.
This technique is no joke, it works but it has to be done properly. Doc Max first brought this technique to Sarasota almost 25 years ago and introduced it to some of the other local docs that now claim to have ‘pioneered’ it. Whatever…just thought we’d set the record straight.
Another important consideration involves the proper placement of the injections. To do it properly a process of Precise Placement Prolotherapy must be used. That is the part that so many practitioners miss. They try to jump right to doing things like PRP and Stem cells without ever studying musculoskeletal medicine (especially osteopathic medicine) or learning Precise Placement Prolotherapy. Granted, some of these solutions are quite powerful so a practitioner can be a bit sloppier with their placement, but treating all of the key sites is still vital to maximize success. You can’t just slap the PRP and Stems in the joint and expect it to strengthen all of the attachment sites, it just isn’t going to happen.
The limitations of this approach have to do with the degree of damage, the types of tissue that are damaged, and a person’s healing capacity. To overcome those challenges, Dr. MacCloud has developed the Wolverine Healing Protocol to unlock a person’s healing superpowers.
Stem cells and PRP are wonderful additions to the Regenerative Injection Therapy process, however, they cannot work properly without paying attention to proper nutrition and the 4Ms (Microcirculation, Mitochondria function, Metabolism, and Metabolic reserves (muscle)).
If you are suffering from a chronic painful joint condition, you owe it to yourself to be evaluated by someone that has been properly trained to understand the musculoskeletal system and the above information. That is what we do at the Age Reversal Technology Center.
Many people fail to realize that the very heart of Anti-Aging / Age Reversal is the restoration of musculoskeletal health. If a person has chronic pain and is limited by a damaged joint, this will lead to a steady decline in overall health and functioning. That’s why dealing with and correcting chronic joint pain and degeneration is at the very heart of what we do at ARTC.