Many of the problems that we see at our clinic involve musculoskeletal issues that can be treated in some situations with cortisone injections. Examples include plantar fasciitis and other inflammatory conditions. Some of our patients have other musculoskeletal problems and one of our patients recently told me that he wanted a cortisone injection but was concerned because he can only have a limited number of cortisone injections per unit of time.

In general we recommend no more than 3 cortisone injections at any one anatomical location over the course of approximately 12 months. However this same patient may also have to have a cortisone injection in their back, or in their elbow or shoulder. Then there becomes the concern of having too much extra cortisone any given time frame. There are alternatives to cortisone. We can do injections of sterile injectable Traumeel which is a non-cortisone-based anti-inflammatory. We generally do up to 3 of these injections approximately every 1–2 weeks. It's not quite as strong as cortisone but there is not the risk of potential tendon damage or cortisone overuse. 

Another alternative is PRP, platelet rich plasma injections.  We also do injections of Supartz, this is a synthetic joint lubricant. Supartz is not an anti-inflammatory but it hasn't excellent joint protection of fact and is very effective at treating intra-articular damage and arthritis.  It has a protective effect on the existing cartilage.

If you have a condition and are worried about having too many cortisone injections and would like to consider alternatives please let us know. Either myself, Dr. Timothy Young or my partner, Dr. Brandon Nelson would be happy to review treatment options. Give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online today.

One of the most common questions I hear from patients is “do I need bunion surgery?”. The question I ask back is, “do you have pain on a daily basis, does the bunion limit your activities and are you having a hard time fitting in shoe gear?” Bunions are a progressive deformity that increase in size and can begin to affect the other toes. Bunions cannot be reversed with any amount of stretching or splinting and can only be fixed surgically.

The surgical procedures depends on multiple factors including; the size of the bunion, activity levels, bone quality and overall foot structure. With proper procedure selection bunion surgery is highly successful and patients are extremely satisfied. The average procedure can take between 45 minutes to about 2 hours, sometimes a little longer if other toes are involved or other soft tissue structures need work.

One of the best parts of our practice is we typically perform 2-3 bunions every Monday and have an onsite surgery center. We have intravenous sedation that we provide to make the overall experience comfortable and stress free. Our protocols for recovery decrease down time and speed recovery.

Give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online for a consultation.

Platelet Rich Plasma and Stem Cell Therapies continue to provide significant improvements in medical conditions, specifically tendinopathies and arthropathies. Tendonitis and arthritis can both be extremely challenging and painful conditions. Quite a few patients require surgical intervention for both and that is why we are excited by these new medical procedures that show great promise. Example, I recently saw a patient that had osteoarthritis of the ankle. She had seen numerous other providers and her options presented were fusion of the ankle or joint replacement, both of which are painful and have a long period of recovery. I recommend stem cell therapy and she is currently more than 1 year post procedure and pain free.

Both Dr. Young and I (Dr. Brandon Nelson) are excited to be able to offer this procedure for patients with arthritis and have seen promising results. We also see our cost is significantly lower as compared to hospital based physicians or medical groups that advertise or promote these procedures. PRP and stem cell can be a great alternative to surgery and can work for common foot and ankle conditions.

If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to give us a call at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online.