If my beloved Flamenco teacher had not passed away suddenly last summer, I may still be clapping my hands and stamping my feet, and unfortunately, injuring my hip joints and knees. Usually I feel stiffness and aches in rainy weather. That’s normal, I thought. With humid weather, barometric pressure drops and joints and bones swell. Over several years the movement of my left hip became limited: It was harder to reach my left foot, impossible to lift my leg to my chest. My chiropractor told me my hip joint was “bone on bone” and someday, when I could no longer stand the pain, it would require hip replacement surgery. Who has money for that? Twenty thousand or so? I did not want to know, as a recent MRI showed, that I had acute arthritis in the left hip joint and the right one was going too.  BOOOOH!

Most women develop some form of arthritis or bone thinning after menopause due to a reduction in estrogen. Estrogen helps us absorb calcium to make stronger bones. Men are catching up with us even without estrogen. Coffee, cigarettes, stress, lack of sunshine (vitamin D) and dairy allergies are among the factors that weaken bones for men and women. Women have thinner, smaller bones, therefore more likelihood for breakage. Weak bones easily shatter, which requires emergency hip replacement surgery. Lots of youngsters, athletes, dancers, and others develop damaged hip and knee joints. If you live north of the equator where the winter is long, are blond, Swedish (some researchers believe osteoporosis may be hereditary) or are over age forty, protect your bones and joints. Living longer, eating poorly, smoking, and steroid medications wreck bone health.

I considered PRP injections for several reasons, as I mentioned in my previous article “My PRP Injections #1.” PRP injections use my own blood products (plasma, bone marrow) and fat. They are safer than any sort of fake device that the body may reject. PRP injections, though more costly than herbs and natural remedies, cost a fraction of the expense and trouble of joint-replacement surgery. Such surgeries may have to be repeated or corrected because of infection or because your body rejects it.

Pre- and Post Op. Program for PRP

Necessary diagnosis: Usually Xrays and often an MRI will help your doctor determine whether or not you are a candidate for PRP treatments. An MRI can show the extent of bone and joint damage.  PRP injections can work to stimulate the growth of cartilage and repair ligaments, unlike hyaluronic acid injections, even if you have no cartilage of your own to cushion joints.

Find a Health Professional Trained to Perform PRP

I found Dr. Alan Lazar MD, FACS, in Plantation, Florida by googling “PRP injections Florida.” He has practiced orthopedic medicine for over 25 years and since 1992 has been Assistant Professor at Nova SE University. He does stem cell injection treatments for extreme cases, using a patient’s bone marrow, and has been giving PRP injections for the last couple of years.

My criteria for choosing a health expert is idiosyncratic. You may use other standards, but this is what is important for me:

If his/her office does not return your calls or emails, forget it. They are out to lunch. Unprofessional. They lose money and waste your time.

Try to talk to one or more of his/her patients about their results. In Dr. Lazar’s office waiting room, I met Josh, a plumber. He had injured his knees and was unable to work because of severe pain for two years. He had tried knee surgery with no help. His previous doctors used up his $50,000 deductable within a year for what should have been simple knee surgery, and according to Josh, “wrecked his knee.” He, a young man, lived on pain-killers and he could put no weight on his painful leg. He lost muscle: The supporting leg became two inches larger than the other. Then he heard about PRP injections.

When Josh met Dr. Lazar, he thought the doctor was kidding when he told Josh he could fix his knee pain. Josh told me, “ Then I woke up one morning several weeks after the injections and felt NO pain.” Josh went back to work. He came back for a third injection 1 ½ year after the second because he had been working very hard and felt some pain during our recent very cold weather.

There are as many bedside manners as there are doctors. Choose someone who suits your emotional as well as medical needs. Confidence counts. Dr. Lazar, an ex-New Yorker, is funny, upbeat, and obviously optimistic–great for someone who deals with people in pain. He was straight forward with me when he said, “Hip joints are the hardest to fix. But you can have less pain, more mobility.” He told me that, in his experience, people have used these injections in place of hip replacement surgery. That is what I wanted to hear.

Pre-Operation: Foods, herbs, supplements

Build bones and bone marrow with nourishing foods and supplements, including homeopathic minerals. They are available in health food stores and online: Schuessler Tissue Salts, or the 12 essential mineral “salts” at a 6x strength (AKA Bioplasma) are needed to promote healthy cellular activity. They include several forms of calcium, sodium, plus magnesium, potassium, silica to strengthen bones, and iron. Take the recommended dose between meals. Take homeopathic remedies after, not before coffee, which eliminates minerals from the body.

Stop taking vitamin C and blood-thinning aspirin products several days before surgery and start taking them again when the doctor advises. Aspirin and over the counter painkillers, except for Tylenol, stop the healing action of PRP injections.

Get sun, light exercise, nourishing meals, and rest to ready yourself for stress. Massage improves circulation, which enhances healing.

Dr. Lazar sells his own line of nutritional supplements in his office. I arrived too close to surgery time to take them. Besides, I cannot tolerate glucosamine and chondroitin products. They give me heartburn no matter what form I try to use.

For a year, I have been taking large doses of hyaluronic acid capsules – as many as 200 mgs daily. It helps stimulate cartilage if you have some. I noticed a difference if I stopped. It helped somewhat.

A must before and after treatments are vitamin D3 – 2,000mgs daily along with 2,000mgs food-source calcium. I use Rainbow Light brand calcium. Take vitamin D and calcium supplements with tea, orange or other acidic beverage, not with a meal. They need to get quickly into the colon where they are absorbed, not slowed by a big meal.

If you are going to have liposuction to harvest fat for an injection, get yourself a girdle (for women) or a waist-slimming strap (for men.) It feels comfortable after liposuction and insures better healing, less rippling from internal adhesions. Wear it for a few days, at least, after lipo except at night. You might even cut a hole in the bottom so you don’t have to remove it.

The Day of Surgery/Injection

PRP injections are done in the office. No hospital stay is necessary. The whole thing takes about 30 minutes. There is minimal pain because a local painkiller is used. The injection is guided by ultra-sound in order to put the blood material exactly where needed. Since I got PRP (using my blood platelets) along with fat and bone marrow in the same injection, a brief hospital outpatient stay and anesthesia to knock me out were necessary. You cannot harvest bone marrow in the doctor’s office because conditions have to be hospital sterile.

I swallowed one tiny red pill of Yunnan Paiyao during the time nurses were preparing me for surgery. This Chinese patent remedy, used by the Chinese People’s Army for healing gunshot and other wounds, reduces pain, excess bleeding and bruising, and speeds healing. I used it to reduce discomfort of liposuction. I devote an entire chapter on its use in Asian Health Secrets: The Complete Guide to Asian Herbal Medicine. I myself have used it for surgery and have witnessed miraculous healing results for my clients and friends who have been mugged, stabbed or otherwise severely injured

Yunnan Paiyao is recommended for internal bleeding (ulcers, flooding menstrual periods) as well as for external wounds. See my articles and many positive reader comments about this remedy at this website. Its main ingredients are tienchi ginseng, a tonic to increase circulation; myrrh to increase healing; and dragon’s blood an astringent herb. It protects and heals damaged blood vessels as it reduces bruises.

After Surgery

I awoke thankful it was over and feeling no pain. For 3 days I avoided a shower in order to keep the injection sites dry. Dr. Lazar “plugged up” the injection sites with blood prothrombin (thickening factor) like making a small natural scab. What a great idea, nicer than stitches.

I continued taking Yunnan Paiyao. I took another red pill the second day and 6 – 8 capsules daily for a couple of days. I controlled pain with Yunnan Paiyao and extra-strength Tylenol for the first day. Then I quit the Tylenol. You will probably be given a prescription painkiller, but most of them are constipating. You decide how long to use Tylenol. Never mix Tylenol with alcohol, a combo that shuts down the liver. I had no infection or oozing wounds, but when the tape came off, I put Yunnan Paiyao powder from the capsule on to the little injection holes at my groin.

Once I had a health client who had oozing leg wounds for a year. She took antibiotics with no help. I recommended internal and external use of Yunnan Paiyao and the problem went away in a week. Good stuff and no complications if used with and after surgery.

For external application you may also enjoy using an arnica ointment or cream to increase circulation. Yunnan Paiyao also makes an alcohol based herbal spray to reduce pain and bruising. Do not use the spray on open wounds.

Long Term Nutritional Follow-Up for Joints/Bones

Shark Cartilage. Take at least 2,000 mg daily. I have used it for cancer prevention. It retards blood flow to tumors therefore reducing their size. It also helps build cartilage because it is cartilage. Take a dose when eating a fish meal, fruits and vegetables. Avoid it with dairy products

Boswellia serrata pills. Take 500mg – 1,000 mgs daily. This increases circulation and is anti-inflammatory for joints.

Probiotics. Take extra acidophilus and a combination of digestive fruit enzymes daily. It helps eliminate inflammation and toxins that retard healing. In Florida, I found Sunshine Naturals Super Digestivas Sales Biliares Carbon Activado – enzymes, charcoal and ox bile.

If you can tolerate it, take a nutritional supplement with glucosamine and chondroitin, MSM a form of sulphur, and SAMe, which work well for arthritis.

Keep digestion toned and the colon clean with a daily dose of Trifala, an Ayurvedic combination herbal pill made of 3 fruits, a laxative, blood cleanser and antimucus remedy. Amla, one of the fruits, is rich in rejuvenating tannins.

Guggul is recommended for overweight, mucus congestion leading to poor absorption of nutrients, including calcium, fibroids, and asthma. Guggul is an Ayurvedic remedy, a tree sap similar to myrrh though more slimming. These Ayurvedic remedies are available in many healthfood stores and online.

If you are prone to get yeast infections, have a sweet tooth or vaginal discharge because of stress, surgery, medications, add some anti-yeast remedies. Yeast-Gard makes handy pills and an ointment for application to itchy vaginal area. Avoid sweets, alcohol, breads. Add a drop of Tea Tree Oil to hot water as tea or brush your teeth with it. It kills germs and fungus.

My second injection is scheduled in 3 weeks, mid February. I will let you know how I am progressing. Things to avoid after PRP injections are extreme exercise, sports, and heavy lifting for a period of time recommended by the doctor.  That prevents the PRP injection material from wandering. Avoid over the counter painkillers except for Tylenol. Others like Motrin etc. interfere with the action of stem cells.

The time necessary for improvement varies, but most people feel the effects of PRP injections within 10 weeks. Costs also vary with doctors. Some charge for a consultation, others don’t. I have seen quoted $500 – $900 per PRP injection. If fat, which requires liposuction, is required, that increases the price. If bone marrow is included, that involves an outpatient hospital visit, which increases the price. You should shop around. Hopefully this therapy will soon become more widely available. I will look into PRP training for health professionals and let you know where they are doing it.

To be continued . . .