Physical Medicine/Regenerative Medicine
Physical medicine is a branch of medicine focused on diagnosing and treating disabling diseases, disorders, and injuries, as well as preventing symptoms from recurring once we have restored your health. We use time-tested and cutting-edge treatments to maximize function.
Regenerative medicine focuses on repairing or “regenerating” human cells, tissues or organs to restore function lost due to injury, disease, aging, and other causes. We may include several of these treatments in your integrative care plan.
Joint Injections
Joint pain can make it hard to move around like you need to, let alone lead an active life. As part of a comprehensive plan of care, your team may recommend one or more joint injections to provide you with pain relief. These injections are one part of an integrative plan of care to help you achieve better mobility and pain relief.
Joint injections can include:
Steroid Injections
Known as corticosteroid injections, steroid injections, or cortisone shots, can provide immediate pain relief of joint pain. They are approved for use in all of your joints – shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles. Even your hands and feet can benefit. You will be limited to a certain number of steroid injections each year because of potential side effects. And of course, our goal is to help you find pain relief through other modalities, including physical therapy, weight loss, and more.
Visco Supplementation/ Hyaluronic Acid Injections
We may recommend hyaluronic acid (HA) injections if you don’t respond to corticosteroid injections. They are usually approved only for use in the knee. HA is also a better treatment if you have diabetes, because steroid injections can raise your blood sugar levels.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy is another treatment where we help your body heal itself. Using your own plasma, we can help your body heal tissue, tendons, and muscles faster. Keep reading to learn more about this treatment.
What is plasma, and what are platelets?
Plasma is the liquid part of your blood, made up mostly of water and protein. It’s what keeps your blood flowing throughout your body. Platelets are small fragments of blood cells that help your blood clot, and promote healing.
What is platelet-rich plasma?
Platelet-rich plasma then is your plasma that we get through a routine blood draw, and then run through a machine to concentrate the platelets. We then inject the PRP directly into the area of your body where we need to generate healing or growth.
Do platelet-rich plasma injections hurt?
PRP injections don’t hurt any more than any other shot. You may feel a pinprick and tingling sensation. You may also have a small amount of soreness or bruising at the injection site. PRP therapy does involve drawing your blood and separating the platelet-rich plasma from the rest of the blood.
What conditions do PRP injections help?
Platelet-rich plasma injections help patients in a number of ways. You may have heard of pro athletes getting PRP injections to help them heal an injury faster. But you don’t have to be an athlete to get this treatment. According to our records and Johns Hopkins University and other medical authorities, PRP therapy can help you with the following:
- Muscle injury
- Tendon injury
- Joint injury
- Recovery after surgery
- Osteoarthritis
- Hair loss
- Anti-aging
- Men & women’s sexual health
- Stress incontinence
Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cell therapy is another area of regenerative medicine that harnesses the power and versatility of the human body to alleviate pain, accelerate healing, regenerate damaged skin, and support a healthy immune system.
What are stem cells?
Stem cells are neutral cells that can make more neutral cells just like itself or other types of cells for what your body needs to grow, repair, or maintain itself. They are your body’s natural repair mechanism.
Where do stem cells come from?
Currently, there are 2 different ways that people are getting stem cells in the U.S.
- Autologous, which means that it comes directly from the patient being treated.
- Adipose derived tissue (belly fat)
- Bone marrow aspiration (most commonly from the hip bone)
- Allogeneic, which means the tissue product is donated from a donor of the same species (in this case, another human.)
We only want the best for our patients, so we get our stem cells from allogenic umbilical tissue.
These products are donated by healthy, carefully screened mothers, at the time of a scheduled Cesarean section. The consent is obtained at approximately the eighth month of pregnancy following the criteria for donation is established by the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and the American Association of Tissue Banks.
The criteria include a thorough medical and social screening and a complete panel of serological testing to ensure the donor is free from transmissible diseases. At the time of birth, a trained technician will be present and will collect the amniotic fluid, placenta, and umbilical cord which are then sent to the processing facility; where they will be cultured, processed, and retested prior to release for clinical use.
Human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells (HUC-MSCs) are obtained from Wharton’s Jelly which is a gelatinous substance found inside the umbilical cord.
Why is this the best source of stem cells?
What most people do not know is that every second, 10s of millions of cells in our bodies die. Every second in our body 10s of millions of new cells form. Our bodies from birth are in a constant state of dying and the parts that die get replaced.
But as we age, we end up using and losing stem cells. The ones that remain also slow down and cannot make as many cells as they did before. For example:
- A cell from a 60 y/o doubles every 60 hours. It becomes 200 cells after 30 days
- A cell from a newborn doubles every 20-24 hours. It becomes 1 billion cells after 30 days.
You can see then that using umbilical stem cells in stem cell therapy will help your body repair itself and restore function much faster than it would with autologous stem cells.
Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cell therapy with umbilical mesenchymal stem cells can do the following:
- Reduce inflammation
- Modulate the immune system
- Stimulate regeneration & repair of damaged body tissues/parts
- Reduce/eliminate scar tissue.
- Reduce or eliminate pain
In addition, mesenchymal stem cells have the following properties:
- Multipotent cells (they stimulate production of cartilage, tendon, muscle, etc. – whatever your body needs.)
- Non-tumorigenic (they won’t cause cancer).
- Immuno-privileged (your body won’t reject the tissue).
Stem cell therapy is a safe and proven treatment that can help your body heal itself without medications or surgery.
IV Hydration Therapy
We also offer IV hydration therapy for dehydration and detoxification. This therapy works faster than drinking large quantiles of water or sports drinks. As the name implies, IV hydration therapy involves the doctor inserting an IV line into a vein in one of your arms. They then start an “IV push” to administer the fluid full of electrolytes. The exact combination of electrolytes and how much fluid you receive will depend on several factors including:
- The severity of your dehydration
- Your height
- Your weight
- Your gender
- Your medical history
- Any existing medical conditions
You might benefit from IV hydration therapy if you have had a lot of vomiting and diarrhea which made you dehydrated, if you became dehydrated while participating in sports, or any other intense activity where you sweat a lot. Some people seek out hydration therapy to help with migraines.
Male Hormone Replacement Therapy
A man’s testosterone levels naturally decrease with age. In fact, according to the Mayo Clinic, as you get older, your testosterone level declines about 1% a year after age 30 or 40. For some men, the effects can be distressing. After a review of your medical history and symptoms, and running some blood tests, we may advise male hormone replacement therapy, known as testosterone replacement therapy, or TRT.
Men are also more likely to have low testosterone levels if they:
- Are obese
- Have poorly managed Type 2 diabetes
- Have obstructive sleep apnea
What Are Some Low Testosterone Symptoms?
You might be a candidate for hormone treatment if you have several of the following symptoms, and testing reveals you have a hormone imbalance.
- Low sex drive
- Erectile dysfunction
- Shrinking testicles
- Loss of armpit and pubic hair
- Night sweats
- Mood swings
- Insomnia
- Hot flashes
What Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy?
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), treats low testosterone in men. Low testosterone, also known as male hypogonadism, is a condition caused by a man’s testicles not producing enough testosterone.
TRT can help reverse the symptoms of low testosterone, including:
- Reduced sex drive
- Erectile dysfunction (ED)
- Shrinking testicles
- Loss of pubic and armpit hair
- Hot flashes
- Low sperm count
Does Testosterone Therapy Have Side Effects?
Treatment for low-T does come with the remote possibility of some side effects. These can include:
- Acne
- Disturbed breathing while sleeping
- Breast tenderness or swelling
- Swelling in the ankles
- Increased red blood cell count
You may need regular blood testing to check your testosterone levels, as well as to monitor for red blood cell counts.
If you choose TRT, you can reduce your risk by:
- Minimizing the dosage
- Getting regular follow-up care
- Losing weight
- Leading a healthy lifestyle
For most men, the increased energy and libido that come with TRT outweigh the risks.
These symptoms of low testosterone can be caused by many things, so we will need to rule out other conditions and issues before beginning any treatment. Based on the findings, we will come up with an integrative treatment plan that may involve several providers, to offer you the best care.
Assessment for Physical Therapy
If you see Dr. Shaw for joint injections or evaluation of other physical or musculoskeletal issues, she may very well perform an assessment to see if you could benefit from physical therapy. And don’t worry – if you need physical therapy, you can get that right here at Cima Health. No need to go across town.
Dr. Shaw will already be familiar with your health history and the symptoms or condition that brought you here to see us. The assessment for physical therapy will include evaluating your:
- Strength
- Muscle function
- Range of motion
- Mobility
- Posture
- Balance and coordination
- Neurological factors
- Flexibility
- Skin integrity
If you show signs of weakness, decreased range of motion, mobility, poor balance and coordination, poor flexibility or other issues, the doctor will likely recommend you for physical therapy.
Auto Accident Injury Care
Dr. Shaw is part of the multidisciplinary team that helps our patients who are suffering from auto accident injuries. You may see one of our chiropractors for whiplash, our massage therapist for muscle aches and pains, and get PRP therapy all in one visit.
We can assist you in a personal injury claim or insurance claim by keeping detailed records of your injuries, treatment, and progress., and providing those records as necessary.
Aesthetics
We also provide two aesthetics treatments for our patients. These include Botox® and PRP hair restoration.
Botox ®
We provide Botox® for facial aesthetics, to help with reducing crow’s feet, forehead lines, and frown lines, as well as to reduce Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorders symptoms including:
- Jaw tension
- Headaches due to teeth grinding
- Lockjaw in cases of severe stress
Is Botox® Safe?
Yes, as long as you receive injections from a trained doctor.
Can You Get Botox® While Pregnant?
Because there aren’t any studies on the safety of using Botox® while pregnant or breastfeeding, the FDA does not recommend it. If you want to pamper yourself during pregnancy, consider utilizing some of our aesthetic services.
Does Botox ® Hurt?
When the doctor applies a topical anesthetic beforehand, Botox ® injections are relatively painless. Even without the anesthetic, you may feel just a pinch.
PRP Hair Restoration
Earlier, we explained what platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is. While many times we use this therapy to help people heal from surgery or an injury, we also use it to restore hair growth.
Some forms of hair loss, such as male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness can be helped with PRP hair restoration treatment. PRP treatment can also help encourage the growth of hair transplants. Lastly, if you have suffered from COVID-19 hair loss where you lose clumps of hair, PRP hair restoration treatment can help your hair grow back faster.
Before treatment, we may recommend some testing to pinpoint the reason for your hair loss. Hormonal imbalance, stress, and illness can all result in hair loss, and you may require other treatments.
Veterans Affairs Disability Exams
We also provide Palm Beach Gardens-area veterans with Veterans Affairs Disability Exams, commonly known as a claim exam, or compensation and pension (C&P) exam. At this exam, you won’t receive any treatment, but you will be evaluated for your claimed disability that the VA decided warranted an exam.Book an Appointment Today
Are you ready to move forward on the path to whole-body wellness? Book your appointment at Cima Health today.
