A Regenerative Treatment So Effective, You’ll Come Back For More!

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JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
James Nemmers

It’s hard to test the latest line of riding mowers with snow on the ground, so for the last six winters of his career, James Nemmers packed up his belongings and flew south from his home base in Wisconsin to Florida.

“I worked in the experimental division of the John Deere company,” James relates. “Every year, they’d put out 12 new mowers and make updates on the old ones, and I was part of the crew that had to take the mowers out to the field and test them.

“We’d run those mowers for 10, 12 hours at a time, and afterward it was my job to take the mowers into the shop, tear them down, diagnose any problems that were found with them and suggest ways to make them better so they’d last longer.”

An avid snowmobiler and skier, James didn’t dislike the Wisconsin cold. But after wintering in Florida for six years, he became a bit spoiled by the region’s warmer weather, which is why he moved here permanently after retiring in 2006.

“I retired because of my back,” says James, 71. “I had a couple of discs in my lower back that kept slipping out of place, and when they did, the pain was just horrible. It was so horrible that the only way I could get any relief was to lie down on the floor.

“It only got that bad two or three times, but when it did, I’d be on that floor for a week or two. It was after the third time, in 2008, that I finally went to a doctor, and he was talking surgery, of course, but he also said, If you wait 10 years, we’ll build you a new back.”

The doctor’s statement was about regenerative medicine, a treatment protocol that naturally promotes new growth in tissue ravaged by injury, arthritis or degeneration but was still awaiting FDA approval at the time.

“The doctor said there was only a 50 percent chance that the surgery he was suggesting would work, so I decided to do what he said and wait,” James says. “I waited for seven years until 2015, and then my back went out again.

“After that incident, I went to a back specialist, and while I was in the waiting room waiting for my appointment, my wife picked up a copy of Florida Health Care News, read an article about Dr. Grana and said, This is what we’ve been waiting for.”

Avoiding Surgery

Erick A. Grana, MD, is the founder of Regenerative Orthopedic Institute, a Tampa-based practice, where he specializes in regenerative medicine, a protocol that treats disease and injuries by harnessing the body’s natural healing power.

“The healing process occurs by combining patients’ stem cells with platelet rich plasma (PRP), which is a concentration of platelets from their own blood,” the doctor explains. “Regenerative medicine therapy requires only injections into the damaged joint. Unlike surgery, which can result in blood loss, scarring and long, painful recovery periods, the regenerative medicine process results in a safe, effective treatment.”
-Dr. Grana

Stem cells are the most basic building blocks of tissues and organs, and they can be collected from the bone marrow or fat of the patient. There are no side effects or rejection.

The collection process is similar to a blood draw. Once the tissue is harvested, the stem cells and PRP are isolated and injected into the affected areas to spark the regeneration of damaged tissue.

Regenerative medicine can be used to treat damage in the knees, shoulders, ankles, wrists, hips, back and neck. It can also be used to treat arthritis and peripheral neuropathy as well as muscle and tendon tears.

At Regenerative Orthopedic Institute, Dr. Grana developed a system for delivering restorative tissue and PRP into the spine called RegenaSpine™ and a similar system for joints called RegenaJoint™.

“RegenaJoint and RegenaSpine are both minimally invasive procedures that are performed right in my office using a local anesthetic,” Dr. Grana points out. “Patients typically resume normal activities immediately following the procedures.”

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James was so pleased with the results of the regenerative medicine treatments on his back that he received the same treatment on his neck.

“No Pain at All”

James first visited Dr. Grana nine years ago, and he can still remember the day – Nov. 15 – that he learned he was a candidate for regenerative medicine, received his first treatment and began to feel its impact.

“The bottom line is, I have had no trouble with my back since then,” James reveals. “It’s been perfect. And that’s why, earlier this year, after I started having a lot of pain in my neck, I eventually went back to Dr. Grana for help with that as well.”

James says his neck pain, which radiated down the left side of his neck and flared almost any time he tried to turn his head left or right, was a result of nerves pinched by degenerating discs.

“It was an awful pain because I literally could not move my head without feeling it, and I’m a pretty active guy,” James says. “I like to work out in the shop, and we’d just bought an RV, and I was working on that, but the pain kept me from doing almost everything.”

James first sought help for his neck pain from his primary care physician, who recommended physical therapy.

A month of that provided some relief, but it didn’t last, so James next visited a specialist, who suggested surgery.

“He wanted to put two plates in my neck to freeze my neck up so the bones wouldn’t move around,” James says. “I told him right away, I want to go a different route if I can, and that’s when I called Dr. Grana again.”

James returned to Dr. Grana in mid-January and soon received the initial regenerative medicine treatment for his neck. The effects were almost immediate, he says.

“I haven’t had pain my neck since I received the first treatment,” James raves. “I recently received what I refer to as a booster shot, but even before that my neck was feeling good again, so I could not be happier with the regenerative medicine treatments.

“There are probably cases that don’t work as well, but the regenerative medicine treatment sure worked for me, so I would definitely recommend them. And I’d absolutely recommend Dr. Grana. He’s done an awesome job with me.”