It has been over 4 years since I posted to the blog! I am hoping to share more frequent posts including about general wellness and things we can all do to stay healthy and enjoy life! 
The hydrogel above is new to Canada but not to Europe where it has seen extensive, safe and effective use for osteoarthritis of the knee. It is an exciting product with some promising research studies, and can be considered a knee implant which can last 5 years. Please see the new webpage on Arthrosamid (found under the more...tab) and also the FAQ page on Arthrosamid for more details. It is a Danish product, and is not currently funded by MSP or by extended medical plans.

Prolotherapy is such a wonderful treatment. It can make a big difference to pain reduction and to correcting instability in the body. It is a privilege to be on the teaching team heading to Calgary in September, Covid-precautions permitting, to train 20 physicians from across Canada. We hope this will lead to easier access to prolotherapy for more people, as more physicians become proficient in the treatment :-)

Please see our updated handout answering many of your commonly asked questions, under the FAQ page, and then the PRP page. Note that this can also be used following prolotherapy for optimal recovery. There are detailed instructions on what exercises should be done when, along with other tips and instructions. Thanks to Dr Annette Zaharoff for a lot of the information included in the handout. She is a colleague in Texas, who also used to be a professional tennis player, so she knows a thing or two! She has an avid interest in "prehab", ie. getting you prepared for PRP, as well as optimal "rehab" afterwards, and is very knowledgeable in these areas. Please spend time reading this handout before your PRP appointment for best results! A copy is attached here. 

A study has been published, showing a significant rise in your platelet count (and thus also the number of platelets you will have when we draw your blood) in response to exercise. Specifically this was after 4 minutes of high intensity training (HIT), tested on a stationary bike. We can probably assume if you do this within 30 mins or less of your blood draw, ie. stop for a quick sprint/jog/aerobic activity (raising your heart rate) to the best of your ability, we will get better platelet counts. If you don't have a heart condition, consider doing this at the Interurban Rail Trail (on the Prospect Lake Rd side of the West Saanich/Prospect Lake intersection) or at the Whitehead park which is minutes from our clinic. Make sure you tell the receptionist as soon as you arrive, so that we can take your blood sample as quickly as possible, for the best result!

It's that time again, when we are renewing our Advanced Cardiac Life Support. This is a standardized and well-taught training which needs refreshing from time to time!
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 Hot off the press is the article I co-wrote with colleagues Drs. Harrison and Levins, on comparing platelet yields using 6 different preparation methods. While this is more of a basic science and technical paper, the bottom line is there is a lot one can do to produce high quality, effective platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to facilitate healing from many chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions. This paper can be found on our research page, under the PRP section. We have already started work on a second paper! 

Our colleague from Kelowna, Dr. Francois Louw, has just published a well put-together study on prolotherapy for TMJ (jaw) pain. It is yet another excellent randomised controlled trial (the best kind of study) showing how effective this simple treatment can be. Well done, Dr. Louw! (You can see the details under our Research tab, in the prolotherapy section).

CBC news has a story entitled "Every bit of exercise counts in reducing risk of early death". You can find a link to here. The study authors compared bouts of exercise to regular (eg. taking the stairs instead of the elevator) as well as total moderate to vigourous daily activity. The more the better, but any exercise counts!