Regenerative Medicine: A Game-Changer for Joint Pain Relief

JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
Washington state transplants James (left), Leahlyn and George are enjoying life in Florida even more since undergoing the regenerative medicine protocol at Coastal Integrative Healthcare.

For years, the idea of living in Florida seemed almost abhorrent to Leahlyn Callaham. Content with her surroundings in Vancouver, Washington, she wanted no part of the hurricanes that ravage the Sunshine State or the alligators that roam it. But then her oldest son bought a vacation home here. That changed everything. Within a couple of months, Leahlyn, 76; her husband, George, 74; and their younger son, James, 38, and his family had all packed their bags and moved to Florida as well. “And we’re loving it here,” Leahlyn exclaims. “I never thought I’d say that, but we haven’t had any problems with storms or alligators, so I’m very happy here. And the truth is, once James and his family decided they were moving here, I didn’t hesitate at all.” The same can be said for George. For more than 70 years, he put up with the persistent rain that pellets the Pacific Northwest, so he was on board with the idea of moving to Florida from the start. “I really hated the weather in the Vancouver-Portland area,” George says. “So, two years ago, we sold our family business and moved here. My sons actually made the decision for me. Once they were ready to go, I was ready to follow.” George and Leahlyn recently followed James on another excursion. This one was a medical journey in which they all sought help from Coastal Integrative Healthcare for pain from damaged or arthritic joints. “My wife is the one who actually went to them first,” James says of Coastal Integrative Healthcare. “She went for a routine checkup because she needed to get (a chiropractic) adjustment and found out that they also do regenerative medicine. “That’s what I went there for because four years ago, while playing baseball, I didn’t warm up properly and overthrew a ball and hurt my right shoulder. I thought at first that it might heal on its own, and I even did some rehab on it, but it was never right. “For four years, if I did anything with that shoulder, whether it was throw a baseball or play around with my kids in the pool, I’d pay for it later and be in agony. I was told I’d eventually need surgery to fix it, but I wanted nothing to do with that.” George was dealing with a damaged left shoulder, in particular a torn rotator cuff, which is a group of muscles and tendons that help lift and move the arm away from the body. The injury limited his use of the arm and became the source of intermittent but excruciating pain. “I never knew when that pain was going to strike, but when it did, it was like a knife was being stuck in me,” George relates. “If I was doing something like trying to take my shirt off or put a shirt on, that stopped right then and there. “Another thing I couldn’t do because of that shoulder was sleep on my left side. It was just too painful. Even if I just rolled over on it in the middle of the night, the pain would wake me up, and then it was a nightmare to try to get back to sleep again. “I was willing to do anything to get rid of that pain. Anything except surgery. I’ve had two knees replaced and I had surgery on my other shoulder, but I won’t do that again. That’s why I was really happy to hear about Coastal Integrative Healthcare.”

Body’s Building Blocks

Coastal Integrative Healthcare is a medical center dedicated to providing pain relief for a variety of ailments using advanced chiropractic equipment, advanced technology and regenerative medicine. The latter uses the foundation cells that grow tissue throughout the body. When those cellular products are injected into damaged tissue, they support the natural healing process by regenerating that tissue and stimulating the body’s repair mechanisms. Because of this regenerative nature, many in the medical community, including those at the National Institutes of Health and the Institute of Medicine, consider regenerative medicine to be the future of medicine. Timothy Steflik, DC, clinic director and president of Coastal Integrative Healthcare, is right there with them. “Regenerative medicine is definitely on the leading edge of medical technology,” Dr. Steflik affirms. “It’s a great alternative to surgery because it regenerates the body instead of trying to fix it or cover up a problem with surgery. The real beauty of it is that it’s a one-and-done, in-office procedure that takes about 15 minutes and needs no anesthesia. It’s a simple injection of the cells that are cryopreserved in our office. “For some patients, we administer the injections using color ultrasound to help guide us. We do that because we need to be very specific where the cells are placed. Once the cells are injected, patients can return to normal activities right away.” Regenerative medicine can be used to treat peripheral neuropathy, arthritis, and muscle or tendon tears almost anywhere in the body, including the knees and shoulders, ankles and wrists, hips, back and neck, Dr. Steflik details. Not all patients are candidates for regenerative medicine. Someone with a complete tear of the rotator cuff, for example, would be encouraged to try other options first. But in the wake of his examination, George learned he was a good candidate. James received similar news.

JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
Leahlyn states, “We really could not be happier with the results of our treatments.”

Worth a Shot

“I was originally told that my shoulder problem was an internal impingement,” James says. “But when Coastal Integrative looked at the (imaging), they saw immediately that it was cartilage damage and that there was enough left to build on.” Though George’s rotator cuff was torn, it was not torn so badly that it could not be repaired through regenerative medicine. Within days of hearing the diagnoses, father and son received their injections on March 7. “Then, a couple of days later, my mother started talking about how her knees were bothering her,” James remembers. “She was struggling to walk up a flight of stairs and struggled to get in and out of the car, so we took her to Coastal Integrative Healthcare and had them check her out.” Leahlyn’s battle with knee pain had been going on for a couple of years, she says. It worsened considerably during the winter holidays last year, so she gladly accepted the invitation to see if the staff at Coastal Integrative Healthcare could offer some relief. “They did the x-rays and everything and said I was a good candidate for regenerative medicine, too,” Leahlyn offers. “They said that if I kept on going the way I was, that I would eventually need to have both knees replaced. I wasn’t at that point yet, but I was getting there, so I agreed to get the injections as well.” Leahlyn received her injection about a week after James and George received theirs. “I was a little nervous, but the injection wasn’t painful at all,” she says. “And this may seem kind of weird, but when I got in the car to go home that day, my knee didn’t hurt one bit. I don’t know if this treatment usually works that fast, but I felt no pain. I thought, This is amazing.” Since then, Leahlyn says she has had no recurrence of her aggravating knee pain. “I’m not young anymore, but my knees feel great,” Leahlyn enthuses. “This treatment has been fantastic. I’m very happy with it.” George responded in much the same way. He has not had a recurrence of his shoulder pain and is “quite happy and amazed” with the outcome. “Improvement for me took a little longer,” James concedes. “I felt a little improvement in the first week or two, but nothing major. Then, about a month and a half later, something clicked and those sharp pains and throbbing that I used to have in my shoulder were gone.” In the months since they received their regenerative medicine treatments, James, George and Leahlyn say they have all become more active than they were previously. For that, they say they owe a debt of gratitude to the staff at Coastal Integrative Healthcare. “We feel so good about what we’ve done that my brother, my sister and a friend of mine from back in Washington are all sending their x-rays out here to have them looked at to see if they’re candidates for regenerative medicine, too,” George says. “That’s how strong we feel about the treatment we received and how pleased we are with Coastal Integrative Healthcare.” “And I want to add that they don’t make you feel like a number there,” Leahlyn concludes. “Everyone there is very personable, and they make you feel like you’re part of their family. “We really could not be happier with the results of our treatments.”