The Truth About Arthritis Treatments
February 10, 2010
You know, I just saw an ad the other day, writen by a chiropractor, who is promoting the use of a cold laser for arthritis pain relief. He cited a two year old study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and then, MISREPRESENTED THE RESULTS, to better sell his modality.
Now, this is no slam against chiropractors. A number of them are my friends and colleagues and there’s no doubt that they help people, which is the name of the game. It IS, however, a criticism of dishonesty in advertising. Here’s what I mean.
The published study cited compared WOMAC scores (a standard statistical device for comparing clinical results of arthritis treatments) between two comparable groups. One group was treated with arthroscopic surgery (ie., debridement, or “housecleaning”), followed by medication and physical therapy.
The other group was treated only with medication and Physical Therapy. It was found after two years that there was no appreciable difference between the two groups (based on their comparative WOMAC scores). The conclusion was that there was no demonstrable clinical benefit from the arthroscopic knee surgery, when done for arthritis.
So this was the study referenced by the good doctor. But, after correctly summarizing the study’s conclusion, this doc then went further, to say this: “Once again, this study proves what conservative doctors have known all along. Non-invasive treatments are the solution to osteoarthritis knee pain.”
No. Sorry. First, that is NOT what the study proved. Second, that statement is patently absurd.
Invasive treatments, meaning ALL forms of surgery, but ALSO, strictly speaking, even injections into or around the affected arthritic joint, each have their place. You just can’t make a blanket statement that ALL non-invasive treatments alone are THE solution. It’s simply not true.
Every case is an individual situation. And no single treatment is applicable, or effective in all cases.
Look, even when I was doing joint surgery nearly every day, I encouraged people who DIDN’T need surgery to wait, try some of the many conservative treatments, from all across the medical spectrum, conventional, alternative, or some combination of the two (complementary).
Nonoperative treatments CAN be helpful and ARE effective for many cases of mild, moderate and even some severe cases of osteoarthritis.
But in other cases– where there is bone-on-bone, meaning that the underlying subchondral bone is completely exposed, by erosion of the protective cartilage layer, or even worse, cases where the bone itself has begun to wear away from friction, resulting in progressive deformities– surgery is the ONLY solution.
In these latter cases, surgery IS necessary. And frankly, treating these advanced cases with only non-invasive treatments is like pi$$ing in the wind–the results are likely to be… unfortunate. In some instances, this would be frank malpractice.
What you want is to avoid the UNNECESSARY SURGERY.
That’s why I put all the very best treatments, including the cold laser, into my newest healing program for knee pain, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY:
http://www.drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
And now, as a perfect complement to that course, I’ve released my newest healing compound, DR. BILL’S JOINT HEALTH FORMULA:
http://www.favoriteformulas.com/jointhealth
This is a wonderful amalgam of the best ingredients available for the relief of the pain of arthritis, including a secret oil from New Zealand, that dramatically reduces symptoms of pain and stiffness. Taken in conjunction with my ultra pure, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA
http://www.favoriteformulas.com
and you have a powerful combination for arthritis pain relief, that may well delay, or even eliminate any potential joint surgery. The point, though, is that you must be wary of any claims you read on the internet. Just because it’s written doesn’t mean it’s true.
Well, any time now, you’ll be getting the instructions for the big switch to another provider for this newsletter. Remember, if you want to keep receiving this daily email, you MUST re-subscribe. Otherwise, they will simply stop. I’m hoping that you find some value in this and that you’ll follow me to the new service. But, as always, the choice is yours.
Til next time, my friend, be well. Talk to you soon.
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and optimal health,
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, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved
Tags: arthritis, avoiding surgery, osteoarthritis, surgery