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Why has your doctor never heard of
Prolotherapy!
Robert
Filice, M.D.
"Operations are what I do," Believe it or not, one of my recent new
Prolotherapy patients was given
the above quoted statement as an explanation for why the surgeon he was
consulting did not offer any alternative treatments for his back pain.
Unfortunately, as the present case illustrates, many physicians just "do what
they do" and never research any of the alternatives that are available to the
patients.
Patients often ask me why other doctors are not familiar with Prolotherapy,
and especially why orthopedists do not perform it.
Why has your doctor never heard of Prolotherapy!
1. The other doctor has not been exposed to Prolotherapy because his/her
specialty does not expose him/her to it. If a physician is a surgeon, he/she
does surgery to eliminate pain. If the physician is rheumatologist, he/she will
look for rheumatologic causes for your pain. Our physicians at
Caring Medical took the time to
explore alternative options for treating pain other than the traditional
NSAIDS, physical therapy, icing, and eventual surgery.
2. Another is this. Doctors do like helping people. But most doctors only use
the tools they learned during their residencies, and will not stray beyond those
standard tools for fear of being labeled an alternative healer. This reminds me
of a meeting of cardiologists I read about a number of years back. Someone asked
the group of doctors how many of them were taking vitamin E themselves. A large
proportion of the group raised their hands. Then when asked how many of the
doctors were recommending vitamin E for their patients, almost nobody raised
their hands.
In reality, in today's disease care system, a specialist cannot incorporate
non-standard therapies into his practice because indeed, his referrals from
other doctors will in fact dry up sooner rather than later if he does. To be a
"respected" member of today's medical establishment requires a mind numbing lack
of imagination and intellect in the rote application of only standard therapies.
Some doctors are unwilling or unable to take these risks.
3. Finally, it is generally true that if the only tool you have is a hammer,
then every problem you see is going to start looking like a nail. Applying
inappropriate or even dangerous therapies that don't work is accepted in our
health care system. Physicians are judged by the "standard of care" rule. In
essence, as long as a doctor is using the same therapies other doctors are
using, then it doesn't matter that results are mediocre at best, or even that
some patients are being damaged, because everyone else is getting those same
results. This is not fair, it is not right, but it's just the way it is. At
Caring Medical, we try to find treatments that are best for our patients - ones
that are the most effective with the least amount of potential side effects.
I discuss this topic with you, my readers, because I want you to understand how
it is in medicine today. The moral to be gleaned from this article is that not
all physicians practice by the Hippocratic oath; that it is not just scientific
validity or documented results from an operative procedure that guide the
surgeon's hands, and that it is always wise to get second opinions for serious
conditions, especially if the recommendation is for surgery.
In our practice at Caring Medical, we too are not free from all bias. We
admittedly are inclined first to use the most natural, safest, and least
invasive approach for the treatment of all human diseases. However, we utilize
an exceptionally broad range of procedures and therapies, and we freely make
referrals in those few cases when surgery becomes the only option, or when
non-surgical specialists need to be involved in the case. In patients with
musculoskeletal problems, Prolotherapy is such an awesomely effective treatment
that we have no hesitation recommending it as a first line therapy.
The practice of medicine presents the bewildered patient with an amazing
"marketplace of ideas" offering various approaches to their health problems.
Seek out trustworthy guidance when you need to negotiate the high tech, highly
dangerous health care maze - and a good place to do it is here!
Introduction to Prolotherapy
Why Get Prolotherapy? Donna Alderman, D.O.
What is Prolotherapy?
Alvin
Stein, M.D.
Introduction to Prolotherapy
Ross
Hauser, M.D.
How
Safe Is Prolotherapy? Ross
Hauser, M.D.
The
Importance of an Experienced Prolotherapist Ross
Hauser, M.D.
Non-Surgical
Tendon, Ligament and Joint Reconstruction William J. Faber, D.O.
How Does Prolotherapy Work? Marc
Darrow, M.D.
When Prolotherapy May Not Work David Harris, M.D.
Twenty
Common Questions About Prolotherapy
David
Harris, M.D.
The History of Prolotherapy Ross
Hauser, M.D.
Curing Chronic Pain with Prolotherapy Scott
Greenberg, M.D.
Why So Many Turn To Prolotherapy
David Harris, M.D.
Prolotherapy
and Chronic Pain Ross Hauser, M.D.
Peripheral Joints
& Prolotherapy
Jay W. Nielsen, M.D.
Orthopedic Medicine: A
Non-Surgical Approach to Chronic Pain Lawrence
Cohen, M.D.
The Difference
Between Prolotherapy, Trigger Points, and Acupuncture Marc Darrow,
M.D.J.D.
Prolotherapy: Creating
Inflammation in an Area that is Already Inflamed Marc Darrow,
M.D.J.D.
Growth Factor Basis of
Prolotherapy
David Harris, M.D.
What
Does It Take To Heal Connective Tissue?
Dave
Harris, M.D.
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