Spokane Regenerative Medicine
Spokane regenerative medicine helps all of the following conditions and more
- Neck
- Spine
- Shoulders
- Hips
- Elbows
- Wrists / Hands
- Knees
- Ankles / Feet
Regenerative medicine helps with many of the conditions shown in the image and reduces inflammation, thus relieving pain.
At our practice here in Medical Lake, a stone’s throw from Spokane, we use the power of regenerative medicines and PRP to reduce pain.
Our treatments and techniques are so successful that our Spokane regenerative medicine doctor, Dr Wellwood even sells courses and presents seminars to other doctors on best practice methods using these medicines.
Learn More About Spokane Regenerative Medicine & How it Can Help Your Pain.
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What is Spokane Regenerative Medicine?
To quote Chris Mason and Peter Dunnill’s paper “A brief definition of regenerative medicine” from 2008, regenerative medicine deals with the “process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function”.
In other words, we are looking to help improve and speed up the healing process by directly injecting the medicine in the area of the body that needs healing and repairing.
The body is fantastic at healing itself, it contains many building blocks to restore itself to normal function, but as we age, those building blocks lose their efficiency and it takes longer for the body to heal itself.
And that’s where Spokane regenerative medicine comes in and helps.
What our Spokane regenerative medicine does is to introduce a human cell and tissue product which helps replace dysfunctional tissue and restore normal function. The product is applied directly to the area of pain.
I am Dr. Christopher Wellwood, NP-C, DC, MSN and we at Natural Health Center in Medical Lake have been 
helping patients through our regenerative medicine treatments for several years now.
In fact, I am the only dual licensed provider who has undergone extensive training in all major Regenerative Injection Techniques (RIT) including Prolotherapy, Ozone, Perinural and Stem Cell.
All techniques have successfully been implemented in my practice and used in combination treatments for patients to improve their healing rates and lower their pain.
Moreover, I have instructed other doctors in the field to educate them on regenerative techniques and approaches for them to help their patients reduce pain and get back to their normal life.
If you are suffering, call us right now (509) 299-6900
We would be delighted to help you using our Spokane Regenerative Medicine.
How Does Regenerative Medicine Work?
As time goes by, healthy tissue can become dysfunctional and deteriorate. Reasons for this include age and injuries.
A younger person would typically heal quicker than a more mature person, and so regenerative medicine is mostly aimed at that demographic. Having said that, it is exceptionally good for helping younger athletes overcome injury and get back to track or field quicker, so its application is very much for everyone.
How Spokane regenerative medicine works is by a human cell and tissue product (HCT/P) being administered by injection to the problem area. It targets those tissues that have degenerated and then helps to build them back, to restore, to regenerate back into a normal state.
In effect, your damaged cells are being regenerated and made whole again.
This will relieve pain and improve your function.
Are you in pain and other treatments have failed?
Call us right now (509) 299-6900
We can help reduce pain and restore function.
Announcing two new injection techniques developed by Dr. Wellwood:
-
Ozonated Dextrose
uses ozone for healing. It is Dr Wellwood’s own technique which combines ozone with perineural injections. Instead of Prolozone which uses saline, lidocaine, b-complex as a carrier, then followed with ozone; he uses B complex and 5% glucose solution with ozone.
-
Ozonated Platelets
a new technique developed by Dr. Wellwood over the course of his career. It combines the benefits of Platelet Rich Plasma with Ozone Infusions. The benefit, is that the patient has potential increase in healing capacity by utilizing an increase in growth factors as well as direct oxygenation which helps stimulate stem cells.
There are generally considered 3 to 4 recognized types of regenerative injections, depending on which provider you are talking with. While each has its validity, and it is not my task to argue either way, at the RMI, we have decided to focus our efforts on those we feel are best suited for the general public. Our current offering for regenerative injections include:
- Prolozone, otherwise known as medical ozone injections. Prolozone works by stimulating the body’s own stem cells, which are the cells that actually repair damaged tissues. It does this by saturating the area in oxygen, which acts as an anti-inflammatory by stimulating something called “Nrf2”. When Nrf2 is activated, it reduces the oxidizer and pro-inflammatory protein called NF-κB. These are how prolozone regenerates tissues: by anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and pro-stem cell regeneration.
- PRP, or platelet rich plasma, is similar to prolozone in the end results, being regeneration of damaged tissues, but creates repair of those tissues which then stimulate stem cell repair. The plasma is created by taking your own blood, spinning it down, and then injecting the buffy coat layer (between your red blood cells and the clear yellow stuff on top) into the area we are treating. It can be used for facial aesthetics to create collagen, or for tendons/muscles/ligaments to stimulate repair.
- Neural Prolotherapy, or Perineural Injections, is a technique that uses dextrose (sugar water) or other substances. The substance is injected along the peripheral nerves which have been over-stimulated at times, causing chronic pain syndromes such as neuropathies. The addition of the substances basically shuts down a substance called “substance-p”, which is pro-pain. The end result is a reduction of pain, and repair of the damaged nerve areas.
Some have asked “why don’t we use prolotherapy or stem cells?”
Quite simply, while it has been have demonstrated that prolotherapy (sugar water added to ligaments to repair damaged tissues) is effective in many instances, it can often be painful or require the addition of lidocaine to do the injections.
Furthermore, multiple areas must be injected to get similar results as prolozone. Furthermore, the most recent studies on prolozone and prolotherapy show similar results in many instances, and better results with prolozone.
Stem cell injections are the use of your own stem cells spun down from fat or from marrow harvested from your hip or knee. While we feel it is a valuable tool, we have only seen results that shown around 60% improvement overall.
In addition, when you consider the cost of the stem cells ($2500-5000 per injection area), it becomes cost prohibitive for the majority of our clients. We are always reviewing the literature and when it becomes a good option for cost and efficacy, we may offer it at that time.
FAQS
1. Where do the products come from?
Our human cell and tissue materials come from the umbilical cords of healthy, full-term deliveries. Our products do not contain any fetal or embryonic tissue.
2. Is it safe?
The products are rigorously tested to FDA guidelines in a CLIA certified lab. Thousands of patients have used these tissue allografts with no adverse effects.
3. How long does the procedure take?
Depending upon the area being treated, the procedure can be completed in an office visit. We will be able to provide specific details when you come in for a consultation and when we propose your treatment plan.
4. Does the procedure hurt?
The use of the products do not require any invasive procedures, resulting in less pain and a shorter procedure time.
5. When will I feel the benefits?
Learn More About Spokane Regenerative Medicine & How it Can Help Your Pain
Prolozone therapy involves injecting ozone gas or O3 into an area of pain, so, how does this “heal”?
Response to treatment
The response to Spokane regenerative medicine treatment varies from person to person depending on their underlying health and healing abilities. Generally speaking, the more a person has pain and the more areas of pain, then the longer the treatments. A “new injury” will often be helped within 1 treatment. Whereas, if you have arthritis which is bone-on-bone, it may take more than 6.
Furthermore, if the patient has had pain for a long period of time, often times their ability to “heal properly” is lowered. When this happens, it will take more time for the patient to recover. This goes the same for pain after the injection has been made. If you have an abnormal inflammatory response, then you will be sore for more than the normal “48 hours”. If this occurs, we may need to discuss an adrenal condition to co-treat.
So, what does the science tell us? Is there any proof? How do you “I” know if it will help me?
Here are just a few of the hundreds of studies that show the benefits of ozone injections, WITH complete references, in case you wanted to share this with your doctors. Pay particular attention: these are very recent…and most will show you that Prolozone / Ozone injections work anywhere between 61% and 96% of the time.
The average amount of injections for this is 4. Not bad, considering you can still work, play, and live your life without extensive rehab.
“Ozone Shot as Effective as Surgery for Herniated Disc.”
A Toronto team examined the results of 12 previous studies involving over 8,000 patients of ozone treatment of herniated discs. The studies showed ozone therapy to be just as effective as surgery but with a shorter recovery time and a much lower risk of complications.
“We conclude that intra-articular ozone is an effective therapy in the treatment of grade III knee osteoarthritis resistant to treatment with NSAIDS.”
Fifth International Symposium on the Applications of Ozone, April 2007, Havana, Cuba
Ozone vs placebo – 61% vs. 33% pain free
“Intramuscular Oxygen-Ozone Therapy in the Treatment of Acute Back Pain with Lumbar Disc Herniation-a Multi-Center, Randomized, Double-Blind, Clinical Trial of Active and Simulated Lumbar Paravertebral Injection.” Marco Paoloni, MD, Luca Di Sante, MD, Angelo Cacchio, MD, et al., SPINE Volume 34, Number 13, pp 1337-1344, 2009.
“CONCLUSION: This study validates the pain killing effect
of ozone-oxygen injection on osteoarthritis of the joints and spine. Its long-term effect on pain advocates the likelihood of some histological changes as mechanism of its action.” “Painkilling Effect of Ozone-Oxygen Injection on Spine and Joint Osteoarthritis.” Al-Jaziri AA, Mahmoodi SM, Saudi Med J. 2008 April;29(4):553-7. Departments of Surgery, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“CONCLUSION: Oxygen-ozone treatment was highly effective
in relieving acute and chronic lower back pain and sciatica. The gas mixture can be administered as a first treatment to replace epidural steroids.” “Intraforaminal O(2)-O(3) Versus Periradicular Steroidal Infiltrations in Lower Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Study.” Bonetti M, Fontana A, Cotticelli B, Volta GD, Guindani M, Leonardi M.. Am J Neuroradiol. 2005 May; 26(5):996-1000.
“Ozone nucleolysis provides excellent pain relief in
most herniated disc patients who failed to respond to conservative therapy… we suggest the administration of the O3 mixture as a first-choice treatment before recourse to surgery.” Treatment of the lumbar disc herniation with intradiscal and intraforaminal injection of oxygen-ozone. Zhang Y, Ma Y, Jiang J, Ding T, Wang J. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2013 Jan 1;26(3):317-22. doi: 10.3233/BMR-130386.
“O3 can effectively suppress the joint swelling caused by RA.”
The effect of intra-articular injection of different concentrations of ozone on the level of TNF-α, TNF-R1, and TNF-R2 in rats with rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatol Int. 2013 May;33(5):1223-7. doi: 10.1007/s00296-012-2529-7. Epub 2012 Oct 2.
“We found a reduction of pain and discomfort soon after
one week with oxygen-ozone injections compared with pharmacological treatment, but this difference of response became statistically significant after two weeks (50 percent vs 16.6 percent) and is confirmed after 3 and 6 months, when 80 percent of patients treated with injections turned out pain free compared with half of the patients treated pharmacologically.” Treatment of radiculopathies: a study of efficacy and tollerability of paravertebral oxygen-ozone injectionscompared with pharmacological anti-inflammatory treatment. J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2012 Jul-Sep;26(3):467-74.
"96.1% success rate in reducing volume of herniated disks
when injected with ozone”. Analysis of disc volume beeore and after CT-guided intradiscal and periganglionic ozone-oxygen injection for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Journal of Vascular Interventional Radiology: 2012 November: 23(11): 1430-6. So, is that enough proof? The injection of ozone has literally helped hundreds of people at the North Idaho Pain Clinic. Some of them have been life-changing, and others have been quality of life sustaining. If you want a true alternative, that actually “fixes” the problem. Then maybe you should consider this as part of your treatment plan.
If you are suffering, call us right now (509) 299-6900
We would be delighted to help you using our Spokane Regenerative Medicine.