Interventional Orthopedics of Atlanta

Hi all. As an Infectious Disease doctor I've gotten a lot of questions from friends and family in the last 48 hours about social distancing as it relates to th...e COVID-19 pandemic. I think this concept is very confusing so I wanted to briefly explain a few key points: 1. Slowing down spread - The main goal of "social distancing" is to SLOW down the rapid pace of the pandemic. The goal is NOT to end all spread or end the epidemic. In fact, social distancing might end up prolonging the overall course of the epidemic - but hopefully without OVERWHELMING our already strapped healthcare system and with LESS DEATHS. 2. Healthcare capacity - The US healthcare system already operates near or at capacity most of the time. If everyone gets sick with this virus at the same time, we are at VERY REAL and serious risk of overwhelming the system and running out of resources such as hospital beds, ventilators and, most importantly, HEALTHY doctors, nurses and other health professionals. This has already happened in Italy! 3. Prevention - this is about preventing spread. It does NOT matter if you have confirmed cases in your area yet. You will. Believe me. And taking action NOW is critical. 4. Schools/Children - closing down schools is NOT related to severe illness in children. Children, very fortunately, do not seem to be severely affected by the COVID-19 virus. But, as with most viruses, they are likely super-spreaders of the virus to others. Closing schools prevents children from rapidly spreading the virus among classrooms and then bringing the virus home to grandma and grandpa or other immunocompromised family members. 5. People over 60 and with chronic medical conditions - Case fatality rates rise dramatically by decade starting after age 60 (see attached graph). This is who we must protect. We are in this for the long haul and don't expect this pandemic to resolve overnight. But this also is not the end of the world. We will get through this if we work together to protect our most vulnerable. So please be patient and follow the advice of scientists, epidemiologists and health professionals. And of course, wash your hands! #COVID19 #Flatteningthecurve

Ibuprofen and other Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs - Motrin, aleve, Advil, meloxicam, diclofenac, Advil) work by blocking the immune system and m...ay make symptoms from the virus worse. Take Tylenol or acetaminophen instead if you have a fever, but no more than 3,000 mg a day! Also, stay at home unless necessary because cases in the US continue to grow at a fast rate, mirroring how cases started in Italy a couple of weeks ago. Stay safe!!! #keepup #corona #coronavirus @ Interventional Orthopedics of Atlanta

I'll be doing regular updates on my take on the latest coronavirus developments. FURTHER UPDATE (after I shot this vid): a Stanford medical faculty member has n...ow tested positive for COVID-19, highlighting the disproportionate risk to healthcare workers (source: email just sent by the Dean). See more

It’s hard to believe that I have personally written 3,000 blog posts. When I started this project I had dark brown hair and now it’s firmly grey. So this morning, let’s celebrate the Regenexx blog! READ MORE Below...

If you read this blog you know that I often write about what I experience each day. This week I saw a patient with an L5-S1 disc bulge/herniation who seemed to ...be a mystery to his physicians but in fact, just had a slightly atypical problem that presented typically. Meaning he seemed to be a mystery in need of a rare diagnosis, but in fact, everything easily lined up if you knew what to look for. Let’s use that story to teach you about the L5-S1 disc. READ MORE Below...

This hangs on the wall in my basement. LEGEND!!!! Prayers to all of those touched by the sudden loss. Forgive, appreciate, and love daily! #keepup

Great video discussing how ridiculous our healthcare system is!

I consulted Dr. Google this morning to find out what it said about knee replacement results. What I found was interesting and disturbing. So what’s the truth ab...out knee replacement surgery? Most people believe that it’s like just going to your mechanic and getting a worn-out part replaced in your car. Is that true? Not so much. Let’s review, below... See more

I had a recent clinical research meeting with our fellows and one of the topics brought up was PRP dosing. They thought that this was a simple matter of countin...g the platelets. However, once I explained how complex PRP dosing really was, their minds had exploded. Hence, I told them that I would blog on it, below... See more

New Year, new research study! Interesting study looking at how effective single versus multiple PRP injections for knee arthritis. They compared 5 studies done ...on 301 patients showing that single injections was just as effective as multiple injections (2 or 3) for pain reduction at 6 months. However, 3 injections were more effective at improving function of the knee! None of the studies were done exactly the same and used different versions of PRP, so definitely more research needs to be done on this topic. For now I will likely stick to single PRP injections for knee arthritis. #keepup #orthopedics #prp #regenerativemedicine #kneearthritis #kneepain @drugochi @otonosilvamd @stemcelldrpatel @socalstemcelldoc @lovehealthdoc @dr.markle @dr.akhan @njregenerativeinstitute @flregendoc @ Interventional Orthopedics of Atlanta

This is a great letter to the editor as a response to a recent study that was published. The letter is written by Gerald Malanga and several other leaders in th...e field of Orthobiologics. The study discussed was a Level I (highest quality for research) randomized trial comparing PRP to saline for shoulder rotator cuff tears. At 7 months they didn’t find a significant difference between the two groups in pain and size of the tears, meaning that those who got saline injections did just well as the those who got PRP injections. However, as mentioned in the letter, the researchers failed to mention what type of PRP was used (concentration, presence of leukocytes and red blood cells). The system they used is known to concentrate PRP to only 1.7 times the normal blood platelet level! Saying that dilute PRP works no better than saline is similar to saying that a mustang is not faster than a corolla! What year is the mustang and corolla? What’s the engine size? Etc...details matter! But what do I know??? I’m just a doctor from the south...lol #keepup #orthopedics #prp #rotatorcuff #orthopedics #regenerativemedicine @njregenerativeinstitute @dr.markle @drugochi @dr_loch @dr.akhan @otonosilvamd @stemcelldrpatel @socalstemcelldoc @lovehealthdoc