Article by Peter Roos
Visit Regenexx Tampa Bay online now at https://regentampabay.com/.
There is an epidemic of chronic pain in this country. Over 126 million people suffered from some sort of pain in the last three months: 40 million of those have pain everyday and 20 million have pain severe enough to limit their activities and/or ability to work.
Until recently, standard treatments for musculoskeletal injuries to joints, tendons, ligaments, muscle, bone, and spine have been focused on opioid narcotics, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), cortisone injections, ablation (burning) of nerves, and over-used surgeries. Regrettably, these mainstay strategies are fraught with potentially serious adverse effects, generally have mediocre results, and in many cases, can even worsen the problem.
For example:
- Narcotics are addictive and drug overdose deaths have been increasing at an alarming rate
- Both cortisone and NSAIDS can accelerate cartilage loss in a joint
- NSAIDS also increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney failure, heart attack, and stroke
- Cortisone elevates sugar levels, increases risk of infection, and is quite potent at further degenerating already weakened tissue
- Common surgeries for knee meniscus tears increase degeneration and the likelihood of a joint replacement in the future
- Surgeries to repair torn knee ACLs can result in more severe arthritis in the future
- Joint replacements carry serious risks such as heart attack, stroke, clotting, and infection
- Lumbar fusions for low back pain are often ineffective according to the most recent research and create new problems above and below the fused segments
There is a desperate need for new, better, and safer strategies. This is where interventional non-surgical regenerative orthopedics comes into play.
When my wife, Renee LaFountain, and I met 50 years ago at St. Petersburg Junior College, she was a star in the Florida Ballet Theater and a professional acrobatic dancer. She routinely ended her shows with a falling split from a handstand on top of a 5-foot table, to the stage or dance floor 8 feet below. Fifty years later, the damage to her hip resulted in severe osteoarthritis. A hip replacement was strongly recommended. After getting authorization from her insurance for the $50,000+ operation, we met with a surgeon, and Renee asked him to describe the procedure.
He showed her a model of an artificial joint and described its installation. She immediately decided to seek an alternative. Three years ago there were few places that had success with FDA compliant stem cell treatments on hip or other joints. Regenexx physicians, founded in Denver, were the first to administer bone marrow derived stem cell treatments (taken from the same patient on the same day) for orthopedic conditions via highly skilled, precise image-guided injections in 2005. They were the only ones with extensive published research, the largest database registry in the world tracking safety and outcomes, and a plethora of real-life, non-scripted testimonials from patients. A note of caution, many other providers are using illegal fake “stem cells” sourced from a stranger’s birth tissue and making false claims about higher stem cell counts, such as “your stem cells are too old to use,” and that precise injections aren’t needed since the cells “know where to go.” These are tactics used by an organized crime syndicate across the nation that the FDA is slowly going after.
We were thrilled to find that Regenexx had a Sarasota office. Dr. James Leiber, D.O., founder of Regenexx Tampa Bay has an impressive resume’. An air force officer and physician for 11 years including several as a personal physician to the President and Vice President, his passion for change toward interventional non-surgical regenerative orthopedics and skill-set made him a natural choice for a Regenexx Florida partner nine years ago.
Since the procedures are usually considered “investigational” there isn’t insurance coverage through Medicare or most commercial companies (though consultations are typically covered). It is important to note that because of Regenexx’s research, strict standards, and reputation that there are now hundreds of self-insured corporations across the country that do cover Regenexx procedures for their employees including many in Florida (e.g. Dillards, Marine Max, HCR, Manorcare nursing homes, ABC Liquors, and many others). Companies have experienced impressive cost-savings for employees with orthopedic problems and much earlier return to work.
If you’ve been hurt in an accident, personal injury insurance is another way that some patients are getting coverage. Now, more than three years after her stem cells were harvested from her bone marrow and implanted in her hip joint the same day, Renee’s hip is virtually pain free. Meanwhile, over the last three years, they opened a Tampa facility and added two highly skilled and compassionate physicians, Drs. Torrance and Papas, to help cover both locations. Earlier in 2020, they opened a North Miami location and are proud to have added Dr. Musman to the team at Regenexx at Gold Coast Orthopedics.
This month, Regenexx Tampa Bay is opening a facility for consultations and procedures at 100 2nd Ave. S, Suite 904S, in downtown St. Petersburg. Renee is planning to have Dr. Leiber treat her neck, which has been causing her a lot of grief lately. She is really looking forward to having this procedure done 10 minutes from home. If you are dealing with chronic pain from an injury and you want to avoid unnecessary and potentially dangerous medications, steroid shots, and surgeries, you should visit their website www.regentampabay.com for more info and call 727-317-6642 for a consultation.
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