January 12, 2010

One of the most frequent questions I get is whether or not surgery is indicated for knee pain. Usually this applies to chronic, aching, long term knee pain, typically seen with osteoarthritis. But once in a while, it applies to a sudden onset, or an acute exacerbation of low grade, pre-existing knee pain.
 
Especially among those who lean toward the natural, often holistic treatments available in the realm of Alternative Medicine, the very idea of knee surgery is anathema. Even when they’ve been seen by a qualified orthopaedist, or other licensed health care practitioner, and been told that they do need surgery, suspicion remains.
 
Part of this is due to the Medical Profession itself, those practitioners who are overly aggressive in their promotion of the surgical approach. But part of it is unwarranted, based on a knee-jerk (sorry) assumption that a surgeon will always want to operate. That’s simply not true. 
 
The best surgeons DON’T operate on anyone who comes in the door. They only offer surgery when it’s appropriate, as the only, or the best alternative treatment, from the available options. I don’t even ask you to rely on the altruism of the surgeon. No. You can always depend on self-interest.
 
Just think about it. Were that NOT the case, if surgery was done frequently, without just cause, there would be a very high number of complications from unindicated procedures, poor results, very dissatisfied patients, and very, very unhappy referring physicians (because that would reflect badly on THEM). 
 
Result? The referrals would simply dry up and the surgeon would have no practice, in very short order. 
 
Surgeons survive and prosper by referrals from primary care physicians and other (HAPPY) patients. And the best way to enjoy an excellent reputation is to do the right thing, for the right patient, at the right time, consistently. That means to do surgery ONLY when it’s necessary and avoid unnecessary procedures.
 
Ironically enough, this approach is not only more honest and more in the interests of all concerned, patient, surgeon and referring doctor, but it results in the surgeon doing MORE surgery, that’s really needed.
 
Still, there is that suspicion, that little voice of doubt….
 
Let me give you a current example. One of my subscribers sent me the following email to ask for my opinion.
 
“Dear Dr. Bill,
 
I have arthroscopic surgery scheduled for tomorrow for a “potential” meniscus tear in my left knee (interior). I just stumbled onto your website and am having second thoughts about having surgery. I am 39 and in good health. 
 
The pain in my knee started after overindulging in three days of soccer, running and biking. It started about four months ago. It initially swelled and was painful to walk on, but is now just occasionally sore (mainly before storm events and after heavy use). 
 
My knee is tender on the inside, lower area. I have full range of motion and do not want to risk losing this due to surgery complications. Your insight would be greatly appreciated.”
 
I advised him to proceed with the surgery, which was arthroscopic, after all, and likely to cause little disability. He just sent me copies of his intraoperative photographs, taken by his surgeon as documentation of pathology, a standard practice today. He did indeed have a degenerative tear of his posterior horn of the medial meniscus. And the surfaces of his knee were otherwise in good shape. All this was consistent with his symptoms and his diagnosis of a torn medial meniscus.
 
That means that if surgery were NOT done, he would certainly have developed irreparable cartilage changes and ultimately, arthritis. In other words, this was a NECESSARY surgery. However, the same tear in someone who already had severe arthritis may, or may NOT be necessary, depending on his symptoms.
 
So, in this instance I was right. His surgeon was right. And, ultimately, the patient himself chose correctly.
 
So what can you do to choose correctly for your own knee pain? First, and I’ve said this over and over, get a real evaluation by an orthopaedist, or at the very least, a licensed health care practitioner. 
 
It’s what you DON’T know that can hurt you. No one can make you have surgery. But you need information to make a rational decision. And this is the best way to get complete information, so you can explore your options, based on what your problem actually IS.
 
By all means TRY conservative, non-operative measures, from the entire spectrum of treatments, alternative as well as conventional, like those I teach in my newest healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY
 
  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
For example, inflammation is usually part of the reason for pain. Reducing inflammation will almost certainly reduce pain. One natural way to do that is to take a pharmaceutical grade fish oil, like my ultra pure, enteric coated, POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA    http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
 
Local heat and strategic exercise also play a role, as do braces and ambulatory aids, at times. In many cases, pain can be resolved and function restored, using these nonsurgical therapies. 
 
But at other times, an operation IS the conservative thing to do. So don’t suffer needlessly, wondering should I, or shouldn’t I?
 
It’s a matter of judgment, based on the facts. So get your doctor involved early. And though you SHOULD be sure you are kept informed and fully understand ALL your options, don’t automatically assume that the doctor is there to screw you, or give you a surgery you didn’t really need. Most of us are pretty decent guys, if you give us a fair chance.
 
Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
“The Wellness Warrior” TM
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 17, 2009

Recently, I was part of a marketing seminar, where I go periodically, to learn to present my information and products to the widest possible audience. As part of that training, we all participate in an early exercise session. I mean EARLY, as in 5:30 AM. 
 
The instructor put us through a series of gentle exercises, which are designed to generate internal power and flexibility. Then, we moved to a series of stretches, designed to promote greater range of joint motion and flexibility.
 
Oh my…I realized as I struggled to straighten my knee, while holding my foot, that my strength is still pretty good, but my flexibility needs some work.
 
And I’m not alone.
 
You know, in Nature, anything you don’t use on a regular basis, is lost. This is always true, but you see it on an accelerated basis after surgery.
 
I saw this phenomenon many times in my patients, after surgeries that I had done to replace their arthritic joints. I noticed that it was easier to regain motion, after a hip replacement, than it was after a knee replacement. Same thing, if I had done an extensive open knee surgery, to realign the kneecap, or reconstruct ruptured ligaments.
 
Why is that? Well, if you think about it, you eventually HAVE to go to the bathroom, and sit on a toilet, to answer Nature’s call, man or woman. This is even truer for women, who sit to urinate, as well. And every time you sit, you’re stretching your hip joint into flexion.
 
But you can sit without deeply flexing your knees, especially if the surgery only involved one knee. So, it’s not uncommon for patients with a relatively low pain threshhold (those who are more sensitive to pain) to resist bending the operative knee. In a very short time, adhesions form, which subsequently tighten and make motion even more restricted and painful.
 
Then, there’s the opposite problem–knee extension, or stretching straight out. This results in the inability to full straighten the knee joint, what we call a fixed flexion contracture, or deformity. This is even worse than lacking full flexion. Why?
 
Well, you can walk with a fully straight, but stiff knee. But a knee fixed in flexion functions shorter and lacks the strength and stability of a fully extended knee.
 
Here’s a very simple, but very effective way to achieve full extension. You simply have to sit on the floor, or some other firm surface, with a pillow under your heel. Then press down on your thigh, above the knee. You’ll feel the tightness in the back of the joint. Deep breathing, with consistent pressure, will gradually stretch out the capsule of the knee and all the hamstring tendons, until it is fully straight.
 
Naturally, there are many other, more sophisticated stretches that you can do, to achieve this end. For that matter, there are a number of gentle, but effective stretches for knee flexion, as well. I teach them all in detail in my new, completely revamped and expanded PAIN-FREE PROGRAM, which you can order here:  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
Stretching is as important as strengthening for relieving knee pain, realigning the kneecap, and restoring full function. I can see I have to start doing more stretching myself, if I want to keep up with the youngsters in the group.
 
One way to help is to increase my intake of omega 3 fatty acids, like those in my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA http://www.favoriteformulas.com   The natural anti-inflammatory properties of this ultra pure, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil are proven to reduce or eliminate joint pain of arthritis, or other inflammatory conditions, in addition to a long list of proven heart and brain healthy benefits, including reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes, cardiac arrhythmias, blood pressure, some cancers, and platelet adhesiveness, resulting in a lower risk of clots. It’s the best, simplest thing you can do for your health.
 
The combination of fish oil and the stretching and strengthening exercises I teach is a good way to resolve that nagging knee pain, once and for all. Try it yourself and see. 
 
Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill

P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

Last Friday about nine AM, I was sitting in the Grand Ballroom of a hotel, listening with rapt attention to the speakers at an internet marketing seminar, with a number of high profile entrepreneurs. To my surprise, a number of the particpants were martial artists, and pretty well-known champions, at that. One guy, from Canada, actually did two pushups ON TWO FINGERS, just to demonstrate that it could be done. That’s TWO FINGERS of just ONE HAND, by the way. And he did it not two feet from my seat, so I can tell you, it was no trick. Wow! I couldn’t do that on my best day…and I have very strong fingers, from years of crushing bones in the OR .  This young man and his father are among the most successful martial artists in their country.
 
Another one of the speakers was a champion karateka in Tae Kwon Do and is now the President of NAPMA, National Association of Professional Martial Artists and a successful informational marketer. Man, how things have changed from the old days, when I studied Goju-Ryu karate in New York.
 
I remember entering the rickety elevator in the five story commercial building on 17th Street, just North of Union Square, in the summer of1967. The dojo was a large loft, with a polished wooden floor, on the third floor. On the fifth floor were the offices of Al Goldstein’s Screw magazine (but, of course, I never went up there). The sensei was a medium tall, very broad shouldered Hispanic guy (though no one had thought up that term, at that time) named Joe Lopez, a fourth dan (4th degree black belt) in Goju. 
 
With all the 7th, 8th, and 9th dans floating around today, 4th dan doesn’t sound like much, but I can tell you, Goju was a Japanese style, and pretty conservative about promoting people. Joe had come out of the old Peter Urban dojo in New york and he was widely respected by all the martial artists, of all schools, for his unbelievable strength and tremendous punching power. Even the Chinese respected him and actually taught him Gung Fu. Today, that’s no big deal, but in those days, they wouldn’t teach “white guys.” So he was the real deal. Solid and traditional–Nothing inflated, or puffed up about him.
 
Goju only had four belt ranks, too: white, green, brown and black. None of the multicolor constellation you often see with the Korean styles. Pretty conservative, all around. And our sensei absolutely idolized the Grand Master of the style, Gogan “The Cat” Yamaguchi.
 
“Cat” Yamaguchi was a really impressive guy, too: Short man, with long flowing black hair past his shoulders, who wore traditional black Japanese robes all the time. By the time I got involved in Goju, he had become a Shinto priest, with great emphasis on the “internal” or meditative aspects of the art. But when he was young, by all accounts, he was a real street fighter. He was one of the original students of Chojun Miyagi, the Okinawan founder of Goju, and he represented a direct lineage to the roots of modern karate. So everyone in the dojo, from the sensei on down, was greatly honored to follow in the footsteps of the “Cat.”
 
One of the things I admired most about the style was its Chinese influence and its emphasis on flowing, circular motions, very unlike the linear forms seen in Shotokan style, another Japanese form. But, some of these circular movements, especially round house kicks, if not done correctly, would result in knee pain, and occasionally, torn menisci, or injured ligaments, that could result in knee surgery–and they didn’t have arthroscopy in those days.
 
Of course at that time, I didn’t know what I know today. I knew barely enough anatomy to be dangerous. And as for exercises, I was into weights, like everyone else and the basic exercises taught at the dojo, some of which could actually cause knee injuries. But who knew? Had I known then what I know now, I could have helped a number of my fellow students avoid pain and disability, with the exercises I teach today in my new healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, which you can see at  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
Whether you’re a fledgling karate student like I was in 1967, or a champion mixed martial arts fighter, an aging Boomer, or an aspiring young athlete, if you have knee pain, or would like to be sure you avoid it, try the measures I reveal in HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html   I thnk you’ll be glad you did. Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

September 19, 2008

Well, this week, I’m off to a seminar on internet marketing in Tampa and, while I’m there, the lease on my Mercedes E320 wagon expires. So, I was forced to surrender my car a few days earlier than I had originally intended. To prepare, I took all my crap out of the car. You know, all the little stuff that accumulates in rear seat pockets, the trunk, the glove box, over the years, like barnacles on a ship. Then, I had it washed and polished. And finally, I drove it to the dealership for inspection and surrender. Sayanora.
 
Just in time, too. Despite the steady fall in price of a barrel of crude to $92, the first time in a while that it’s been under $100, the recent Hurricane Ike and the anticipated damage to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico (which did NOT materialize) did not allow gas prices at the pump to decrease to the same extent as crude prices. And it’s pretty obvious to me that any little glitch in the supply pipeline, whether it’s from natural causes or an uptick in terrorism in the Middle East, will shoot gas prices right back up again. And, frankly, I’m getting damned tired of dropping nearly $70 to fill up my car with premium gasoline (MB cars don’t take Regular).
 
With China and India coming “on-line” for their share of the precious resource, more and more, the days of cheap oil are OVER. And that’s without the determined efforts of Congress to prevent ANY more supply from being drilled, or refined. No, those geniuses know better…they’re happy with this opportunity to “encourage” the benighted masses to “alternative” fuels: Wind, solar, geothermal, that’s the ticket… never mind that we’ve been spending beaucoup bucks since the eighties on just such sources and we’re no closer to a real solution than before. So the ideal car would be one that moves by a giant sail, but only when the wind’s blowing .
 
Look, it’s just like knee surgery. I believe that Medicine, which is to say, non-surgical treatment, is inherently superior to surgery, because it allows the body to heal itself. That’s why I wrote my new healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html   But until Medicine has evolved so it can cure all diseases, there are times when surgery is going to be needed. In the same way, until the alternatives are well developed, cheap and practical, there will still be a need for oil. So let’s do it all.
 
Like I’ve mentioned before, if you’ve ever visited a city or country with NO air polution controls, like Bangkok in Thailand, and your eyes start to water as soon as you’re off the plane, you develop a whole new appreciation of those emission regulations. There’s no question that they’ve improved the general health of the population, especially regarding respiratory diseases. But, “global warming?” Not so much. 
 
I’m a skeptic when it comes to that particular article of faith of the Left. And it’s worth noting that there IS evidence of prior cyclical warming, over centuries before the invention of the internal combustion engine. And then, there’s that business of the shrinking polar ice caps…on Mars! The whole thing is based on projections of computer models!
 
It’s hard to refute the charge that the whole “Man-Made Global Warming” religion has a lot less to do with the environment but instead, is actually a leftist, anti-capitalist movement, designed to slow our economy.  Don’t think so? Observe that it’s not enough that you believe in global warming; you must believe that it’s all the fault of Man’s activities on the planet. And by the way, lately it’s all “Climate Change,” so they’re covered, as it becomes more apparent that in that we’re not actually warming all that much…and in fact, has been cooling for the last seven years. There’s now evidence by the Norweigian Meteorological Society that there is MORE ice in the polar caps than normal. Oh, where have you gone, Al Gore?
 
Sorry. I just don’t buy it. I think that if there’s any warming, it’s from sun activity. And it’s most likely a normal, cyclical phenomenon. And there is a growing body of evidence, much of it from former global warming scientists, that this is so. Of course, this is heresy to the True Believers. But, eventually, the truth will out, as it usually does. I believe in what IS.
 
Despite my conviction that the environmental crisis business is a scam, for reasons of self-interest, I’m all for developing any and all alternative sources of energy. And in my day to day life, that means abandoning my love affair with Mercedes, since 1984, and getting a hybrid. Actually, I’d get a fuel cell car, if you could find some places to fill the damn things. Dependence on a finite and diminishing resource just makes no sense, anymore. And I DON’T like being dependent on our enemies for fuel–that’s just crazy.
 
So, finally, the skeptic goes green. I picked up my Prius yesterday. And you know, it’s remarkably good. 48 miles to the gallon, in the city and regular gas, too. Okay, it doesn’t have the pickup of an SL500. But I’m at least 20 years away from having to “peal out,” or project an image. And, now, every time the price of gas goes up, I’m just gonna smile….
 
Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

 I just read the transcript of a conference call interview of Tiger Woods with CBS Sports Sunday. The reporter asked Tiger a few questions about his recent surgery of only two weeks ago, done on June 24th. As I’m sure you’re aware, Tiger underwent Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction by the surgical team in Park City, Utah, under the direction of Dr. Thomas Rosenberg. I’ve written about Tiger’s ACL injury and Dr. Rosenberg in the recent past. But what caught my interest about this interview was Tiger’s responses to questions about his current status and his future in golf. 

Asked about the degree of discomfort he is experiencing now, Tiger replied, “I’m not liking it very much. Probably peaked about two days ago at its worst, but I think I’m on the good side now, and actually doing better.”
 
The actual surgery was reportedly a hamstring tendon reconstruction, with the tendons harvested from his right thigh, for use in his left knee. This is one of the two major methods of ACL reconstruction. The other uses a graft harvested from the kneecap with part of its attached patella tendon. Each method has its good and bad points, but both are highly effective methods of duplicating the function of the ACL.
 
But both methods require drilling tunnels into the bones of the knee, the femur and tibia. These tunnels are technically fractures, and you may recall, stress fractures were the source of his pain during the US OPEN; the ACL rupture was chronic, by that time, and pretty much painless. 

It’s the drilling and the resultant bone pain that makes recuperation after this surgery a challenging experience. My friend, it DOES hurt–a lot, especially  in this early, subacute postoperative period. At this point, his knee is trying to clear any residual blood and fluid within the joint, and resolve soft tissue swelling and inflammation.
 
Asked about his plans to return to golf, Tiger said, “…I just hope I can get up out of bed and go to the bathroom; little things like that are a challenge….”
 
“So for me to think about playing golf, that’s so far away. I’m just looking forward to walking again and putting weight on this leg for the first time. That’s actually a ways off.”
 
“As far as golf is concerned, I really don’t know. I don’t know how my body is going to heal from this…”
 
“It wasn’t very fun, but I’m on the good side now and can start sleeping more than an hour at times and can get a little more rest, which is good. I’ve been laid up pretty much every day all day, moving from the bedroom to the couch and back to the bedroom again, with maybe a few bathroom stops along the way, but that’s pretty much how my day goes.”
 
Now, Tiger sounds a bit down about his current status, but, having experienced some semblance of his pain myself, without the additional bone pain from drilling, I can empathize. It’s tough to see the end result, when you’re at this stage of recovery.
 
But Tiger Woods is a champion. He will get past this stage and he’ll work hard at his therapy. And in the end, he’ll be back–and better than ever. Hell, he just won the OPEN with a torn ACL and two stress fractures. Just imagine what he’ll do without those handicaps! My money’s on him. 

Once he’s able to tolerate some weight bearing stresses on the operative knee, he will probably start formal physical therapy. In my own ACL cases, I tried to restore motion rapidly. The faster you can get the knee moving, the faster you can get the swelling to resolve. Then, comes the gradual strengthening of the muscles around the knee, as well as progression of the extremes of motion (maximal flexion and maximal extension). The trick is to achieve these goals without overstressing the new graft or its fixation, until it is fully healed. It’s a balancing act–not too much, but just enough.
 
Now Tiger is a world class athlete, who makes tremendous demands on his body and his “bad” knee. So in his case, the surgery to reconstruct his cruciate ligament was definitely necessary. But there are times, if you’re a normal person, without instability in daily activities and in the absence of a need for high demand performance, when it isn’t. 

And it’s for THOSE times, when knee surgery might NOT be necessary, that wrote my newest book, the aptly named HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY   http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html

If you’re a regular guy or gal, you might respond to specific exercises and/or bracing as an alternative approach to a chronic ACL injury. And degenerative changes, like those Tiger had in addition, might be helped by certain nutriceuticals, dietary changes and alternative methods. All this and more is in my new book, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY. Go see at
 http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
Follow some or all of the recommendations in this book, or listen to the full length audio CD, while you’re stuck in traffic, to relieve your knee pain FAST and do it WITHOUT a trip to the operating room. Or, try the same exercise program I sent to Tiger, to help him fully recover, AFTER his own doctors and physical therapists have cleared him to return to his sport: DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM   http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
Try one of these great programs and see for yourself… 

Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill 
 

P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE, please go to   
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html

P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

I just got off of the phone with my printer to OK the last few corrections and fine tunings of my newest program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, and the good news is, the first print run will be available for shipping in only 3-5 days. The website page for this new product should be up in just a few days. I just have to keep nudging my ace webmaster and get him to do it.
 
Now, I’m really excited about this product, and you should be, too. This was the topic that YOU asked for. And based on my nearly quarter century of experience in the Operating Room, as well as my personal experience as a knee surgery patient, it will reveal all the secrets to staying OUT of the OR. Having undergone surgery myself, I can tell you that there are times when it’s really necessary. But there are times when it isn’t, and times when it’s only one option of many.
 
My goal in writing this is to give you the best, most up to date methods for avoiding that unnecessary surgical procedure, from across the entire medical spectrum–mainstream, conventional, alternative, nutritional, nutriceutical, pharmaceutical, orthotic, therapeutic and a variety of healing programs that will relieve your pain, without surgery. 

I know these methods work, because I use them myself to keep my opposite knee from progressing to surgery.

In the years before my back injury, a good friend of ours, a very busy guy who is the founder and CEO of his own nationwide security company was told by many surgeons that he needed a knee replacement. And, based on his x-rays, he DID. The only problem was, he was very busy, travelling from office to office around the country, the business depended on him to keep new business flowing in. And, more important, he was a very nervous guy, who absolutely dreaded the very idea of surgery. He’d heard all the horror stories, and saw himself in every one. But he was also in constant pain, made worse by the fact that he was on his feet every day for long hours.
 
So, understanding his feelings and his desire to delay the inevitable as long as possible, I started him on the very measures and healing programs that I knew would help him. I taught him what to eat and what NOT to eat, what nutrients to take and how much, what muscles to develop and how, how to modify his activities to minimize pain and joint damage. 

Did they work? Well, he just recently had a total knee replacement, but this was TEN YEARS after I started him on these methods. That’s right–over a DECADE of relief, in a guy with known, end stage, surgical disease. How much better would they work for you, if your condition is not so dire?
 
Now, my other products have all revealed a number of complementary treatments to relieve knee pain, but this time, I’ve pulled out all the stops to help you AVOID KNEE SURGERY. As many of you have reason to know, I often proffer advice to those subscribers who email me with their orthopaedic problems. I can’t answer every question personally, there are just too many of you. But I try to help, when I can. And this was one of the most frequent questions and comments that I’ve seen: “I don’t want surgery–How can I avoid it?” 

Then, some few months ago, I polled a number of fitness buffs, martial artists, gymnasts, yogins, physical therapists and trainers, athletic and personal, with an age spread from the early 20′s to 74. I wanted to know what THEY wanted to know, about my field of expertise. If they could pick my brain, sample my accumulated experience, and ask me just one question about their problem knees, what would it be? 
 
Well, as devoted to natural methods as this group is, what most of them feared the most was “going under the knife.” Many people volunteered this spontaneously, before I could even ask them. And then, of course, as in every group, were those people who had HAD surgery, with less than hoped-for, optimal results. So in response to this, I wrote this program. 

This is a program about SOLUTIONS. The causes of knee pain and the anatomy of the joint are briefly touched on, just enough to orient you. But mainly, this course will TEACH YOU WHAT TO DO, in every aspect of your life, EASY methods to relieve your pain and restore optimal function, and do it WITHOUT SURGERY. It’s a menu of effective alternatives, from which you can choose. 

And, you can also get the program on an audio CD, if you’d like to hear the dulcet tones of my own voice, narrating the program. Of course, you can’t see the illustrations, then, but you can listen to the concepts while you’re stuck in traffic. It’s a great complement to and a reinforcement of the written course. It’s EASY and a great way to really learn this stuff, so it becomes a part of you, for when you really need it.
 
So, forgive me for going on about this, but I think it’s the best thing I’ve done so far, and I think you’re going to LOVE it! So keep a look out for it–it’s coming soon, maybe next week. Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html

P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION

Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved