While over 60% of Americans are overweight by definition, perhaps we can make good on that fact. Our own adipose or fat tissue is known to contain a rich reservoir of natural cells with the potential to regenerate and heal.  Plastic surgeons have been harvesting fat & have been using it for years. However technology has advanced and we are seeing increased applications. This is currently being used in wound healing, breast augmentation, and other applications.

We are beginning research in looking at isolating adipose cells for fat graft injections for arthritis as an alternative to surgery. A plastic surgeon performs a liposuction & afterwards the fat is centrifuged to isolate pure fat cells which contain a rich environment for healing.  We hope to conduct research for hip and knee arthritis soon.

 dBusiness news announced that an Atlanta clinic is now beginning to offer PRP injections. Dr Steven Sampson was referenced in the article describing the science behind PRP.

More & more clinics in the US & Abroad are offering biologic based treatments to naturally accelerate the healing process. We have been performing PRP injections for nearly 4 years now, with encouraging results. However hopefully many of these clinics performing PRP procedures will publish literature so that we can all learn together which particular injuries may respond best. Currently many organizations are working on a clinical guidlineson PRP in efforts of creating a standard to adhere by. Unfortunately there is great variability with platelet concentrations, injection technique with & without guidance of ultrasound or x-ray and frequency of treatment & combination with other therapies synvisc/supartz, Traumeel etc.

We are now offering a training seminar to encourage research & proper training in platelet Rich Plasma therapy.

Vitamin D has taken the media & health care community by storm. We’ll maybe that’s a bit dramatic but it may do so in the near future. It is rumored that the current recommendation for daily Vit D consumption is a pre-historic underestimated level that does not apply to our current society. Vitamin D, or more properly defined as D3, is primarily obtained from absorption from the sun. I”m not sure about most, but when it comes to sun exposure I can be overly neurotic when applying gobs of high level spf 15+. However, now some doctors & scientists are sending a mixed message that we are in an epidemic of Vit D deficiency?

Gwyenth Paltrow has shed light on this issue after she was diagnosed with osteopenia (thinning of bone) after a knee bone fracture. Her Vitamin D levels were found to be dramatically low.

Fortunately other than loading up on sun overexposure, Vit D supplementation is readily available & affordable. Even more exciting is that the Vit D levels can be obtained from a simple blood test. Some literature suggests that over 50% of patients who present to a doctors office with complaints of pain are in fact Vit D deficient. Now Vit D is by no means a panacea, but it certainly has been linked to muscle & joint pain, fatigue & decreased mood.

After meeting with the UK olympic team physician here I could not ignore the grwoing patient inquiries about nutrition. Thsu we are putting a great deal of our time & research efforts into understanding teh role of Vit D as well as other notably talked about supplements including Omega 3 from plant extracts & glucosamine & MSM.

Dr Sampson & Dr Aufiero have been travelling around the country to study these supplements which are not regulated by the FDA.

More to follow.

Dr Steven Sampson was accepted as a guest speaker at the 3rd Annual World Congress of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cells 2010. The event is Dec5-7, 2010 & will feature speakers from all over the world. We expect more & more of these regenerative summits to gain momentum in participation & frequency. The Chinese have been very progressive in promoting the growth of regenerative medicine & this conference will feature some of the most innovative physicians and scientists.

Dr. ElAttrache has authored 32 textbooks and 60 journal publications, filmed 10 orthopedic instructional videos, and has been a facilitator for over 240 lectures.

Dr ElAttrache emphasizes that younger patients have a better success rate using their own tendon Vs cadaver graft (allograft). Afterwards I saw a rotator cuff repair which was very impressive. Dr ElAttrache pioneered a technique which has revolutionized rotator cuff repair around the world with a more durable suturing protocol.

We hope to visit other pioneering & leading physicians around the world to enhance our comprehensive care.

The Orthohealing Center

Doctors from around the world are attending this exciting event to advance the field of orthobiologics. Hopefully the physicians and scientists that attend will establish universal protocols and collaborate together in research to learn more about PRP in a scientific manner..

• There is a new phenemonon where kids are just playing one sport all year round rather than participating in tennis, football, baseball, & basketball over different seasons. This has created many repitive overuse injuries & is leading more childern to surgery & long term musculoskeletal injuries.
• When I asked the room, how many people have heard of PRP, almost everyone raised their hand. Stark contrast to 4 yrs ago when I had to explain it to everyone, now patients come asking for an ultrasound or PRP injection.
• Many cases of knee pain when there is a negative work up, the Hips must be evaluated further. I have seen where patients complain of lateral knee pain (from the ilio-tibial band) & we order a hip radiograph and discover severe hip arthritis.