Regenerative medicine has ushered in a new era in healthcare, shifting from merely managing symptoms to facilitating the body’s innate ability to heal itself. This innovative branch of medicine focuses on repairing and regenerating damaged tissues and organs, offering promising solutions for previously considered untreatable conditions.
At the forefront of this revolution is Woz Wellness, a renowned clinic led by Dr. David Woznica, a specialist in spine physiatry and dual board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation as well as Sports Medicine. Plasma Gel Machine Prp
According to Dr. Woznica, “It wasn’t until my eighth year of medical training before I heard of Prolotherapy. An Associate Professor at Columbia University agreed to try Prolotherapy when a patient asked to receive it for their rib pain. I did not hear of it again during my residency or fellowship training. Treatments such as PRP (platelet-rich plasma) or bone marrow concentrate (BMAC) were just starting to be studied and used at that time, and even those were used sparingly at top medical institutions. Prolotherapy was not top-of-mind.”
During his time as the head spine physiatrist at the Yale Spine Center, he noticed a pattern: Pain occurs, physical therapy is done, injections or interventions are done if the treatment doesn’t work, and repeat. When the injections and procedures fail to work, surgery is done. When you have pain after surgery, repeat the above.
Dr. Woznica found regenerative medicine techniques intriguing and full of potential for musculoskeletal, spine, and pain conditions. Still, medical practice in sports medicine and pain treatment has focused on physical therapy, steroid injections, nerve ablations, neuromodulation, and surgeries. These all have their place for specific patients and conditions but are used almost exclusively. Familiar to them all (outside of physical therapy) is a shared goal of masking pain or removing tissue causing it. As time passed, Dr. Woznica began to appreciate some downstream effects of treatments, such as steroid injections relating to accelerated joint decay and arthritis progression, and meniscus tear removal surgeries being associated with an increased 10-year incidence of knee replacement, and wanted to offer patients better options.
A pivotal moment occurred when he was looking to relocate to Chicago. An opportunity emerged to work with Dr. Ross Hauser. Dr. Hauser was trained under one of the founders of Prolotherapy, Dr. Gustav Hemwall, and had devoted over 25 years of his life to its practice. Repetition is essential to excellence in any field, especially in standardizing medical procedures. Prolotherapy and other regenerative medicine treatments are used infrequently in most medical practices, but together, Dr. Hauser and Dr. Woznica performed thousands of Prolotherapy treatments yearly. This allowed Dr. Woznica to learn the techniques that he would then build upon and, most importantly, master understanding the conceptual framework that causes tissue and joint dysfunctions, which is joint and ligament instability.
Many of Dr. Woznica’s patients presented with pain associated with hypermobility in their joints, including some with a clinical diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Over time, if left untreated, the abnormal mechanics of the joint may put undue stress on the nerves, tendons, or cartilage, leading to pain and injury. “Suddenly, the treatment of one of my most challenging patient types at Yale (women with neck instability leading to migraines and vertigo-like symptoms) was clear and easy to understand. It’s like a light bulb went off!” he says. “I was shocked at the lack of knowledge of this simple approach to treating pain within the larger medical industry.”
“When people ask what Prolotherapy and regenerative treatments such as PRP or BMAC do, the simple answer is that they start a healing cascade within the tissue,” states Dr. Woznica. “Historically, Prolotherapy is performed using hyperosmolar dextrose, which causes tissue stress and results in short-term inflammation. Platelet-rich plasma, BMAC, and adipose (fat) stem cell treatments also cause an inflammatory response, but with the additional benefit of delivering reparative cells to the area. While inflammation is often considered negative, it is a crucial first step to healing. A best practice we promote at Woz Wellness is limiting the use of anti-inflammatory medicines before and after each Prolotherapy treatment.”
One of the most challenging concepts to grasp in Prolotherapy and regenerative medicine treatments is determining the areas that need to be treated. While the painful areas are almost always treated directly, realizing that the pain may be referred from a different area is essential. This can be seen, for example, in sciatica or foot and ankle pains, which often involve the lower back if examination of the foot and ankle is largely normal. Comprehensiveness of the treatment is also important; it is rare for a single area of a joint to be the only area of weakness. It is important to treat the area comprehensively to obtain stability for long-lasting improvements. Prolotherapy treatments are typically performed at four-to-six-week intervals to allow inflammatory healing to pass and let the proliferation and remodeling stages begin.
Professional athletes often use prolotherapy treatments to heal sports injuries and maintain overall peak performance conditions. The minimally invasive technique allows athletes to return to their sport faster and carries less risk than surgery.
At Woz Wellness, they advise doing three to six treatments for optimum long-term results, but this may vary depending on the area being treated and the degree of instability, arthritis, or tissue damage. Healing from a single treatment occurs roughly over a year, though results may be noticeable after the first few treatments. Often, Dr. Woznica sees patients treated elsewhere unsuccessfully with either too few treatments or, more frequently, treatments that are too limited. A single-site injection of Prolotherapy, PRP, or other regenerative medicine substance is likely insufficient.
One of the largest barriers for access to Prolotherapy treatments is the lack of insurance coverage for the procedure. Insurance companies cite a lack of scientifically controlled studies as the reason for not covering the procedure. To help move this forward, Dr. Woznica recently founded The Prolotherapy Project, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Using the techniques he developed at Woz Wellness, he aims to perform comprehensive double-blind, placebo-controlled trials for various conditions using Prolotherapy and regenerative medicine.
Every doctor who takes the Hippocratic oath commits to “...avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.” This is at the heart of Dr. Woznica’s mission as he aims to inspire more doctors to consider Prolotherapy, PRP, stem cell treatments, and physical therapy as the first steps in musculoskeletal care.
Prp Kit For Facial This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. Consult a medical professional or healthcare provider for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment."