Letâs be honest. If youâre doing great after one injection, why push for two more? I hear this too often, where patients are told they need the full three-shot package even when theyâve had a dramatic improvement. Sometimes less is more. The goal is to get you better, not sell you a treatment plan that doesnât match your progress.
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Misdiagnosis can lead you down a frustrating and ineffective path, where treatments might temporarily reduce symptoms but fail to resolve the true cause of your pain. This not only delays your healing but can also allow the underlying issue to worsen, making it harder to treat over time. Getting an accurate diagnosis is the foundation of any successful treatment plan because it ensures your care is focused on the actual source of your discomfort. Working with a provider who takes the time for a thorough evaluation that includes a detailed history, physical examination, and appropriate imaging is essential to help you achieve meaningful and lasting relief.
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Now, I understand that itâs hard to know these answers if youâre not a physician. But these two issues, diagnosis and dosing, account for the majority of PRP failures.
So if youâve failed a PRP injection, itâs likely one of these two things.
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Before PRP, the pain-generating diagnosis is everything. Iâve seen countless patients come in with failed PRP procedures because the previous clinic relied solely on imaging for their diagnosis. True orthopedic diagnostics involve time, physical examination, and a deep understanding of how pain presents in the body. Never settle for a provider who skips this step, because your outcome depends on it.
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Imaging techniques like MRIs, X-rays and diagnostic ultrasound are insanely valuable tools, but they rarely ever capture the full picture when it comes to diagnosing chronic pain. Many patients have normal imaging results despite experiencing significant pain. This discrepancy highlights the importance of a comprehensive physical examination.
During a physical exam, we (and other great providers who do this well) can assess the body in motion, specifically load tissues with special tests, and identify specific areas of tenderness or dysfunction. A skilled clinician can perform various orthopedic and neurodynamic tests to pinpoint the exact source of pain, whether it's a joint, muscle, nerve, or other tissue. This hands-on approach allows for a nuanced understanding of the pain's origin, which is essential for developing an effective treatment plan.
For instance, a patient presenting with lower back pain might have normal MRI results. However, a detailed physical exam might reveal pain with facet loading and relief with facet unloading that imaging alone could miss. By identifying these underlying issues, we can then provided a detailed and comprehensive plan for calming down inflammation in the facet joints to address the root cause of pain.
While imaging provides valuable insights, it is the thorough physical examination that truly connects symptoms to their source, enabling precise and effective treatment of chronic pain.
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Cortisone injections are given out like toothbrushes after you go to the dentist.
But does that make them the right approach for your chronic pain?
Even more and more evidence is finally starting to pile in on what naturopathic docs have been saying for a lonnnggggg time - cortisone injections donât address the root cause of your pain, and they make things worse over time.
If youâve had a cortisone injection and the pain keeps coming back, itâs time to ask: whatâs actually causing it? And how can we treat that directly? Most of the time, this leads us down the route of nutritional changes, sleep hygiene, lifestyle changes, and regenerative medicine.
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If your initial reaction was â6-12 months? Thatâs too long!â it may be time for a reality check.
True health transformation isnât something that happens overnight; it requires dedication and time.
Focus on building these core habits as the foundation of your health journey, especially if youâre dealing with chronic pain. Devote 90% of your efforts to these principles instead of quick fixes like supplements, medications, injections, surgeries, or trendy therapies.
Want to do everything possible to resolve your pain? It starts with these steps and staying consistent for 6-12 months.
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I say this with the utmost love for all of you:
Youâre not out of options. Youâre just out of awareness. The next step isnât giving up. Itâs getting curious.
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When you start telling yourself that nothing works, that belief doesnât just reflect your experience, it starts shaping it. It builds a mental wall around you, where every new idea gets dismissed before itâs even explored.
You stop searching.
You stop asking questions.
You stop being open to possibilities.
And thatâs exactly when healing slows down, not because your body canât change, but because your mindset wonât let it.
The people who make progress in their healing arenât the ones who have it all figured out. Theyâre the ones who stay curious. Who remain open to being surprised. Who are willing to admit there might be something they havenât learned yet.
If youâve been stuck for a long time, this is the moment to pause and ask yourself, have I really exhausted all options, or have I just hit the edge of what I know?
Staying open doesnât guarantee immediate answers. But closing off guarantees that youâll miss the next one when it shows up.
Your mindset is not separate from your treatment. Itâs part of it.
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More isnât always better, especially when that is predetermined before you even have your first injection.
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Dr. Drew Timmermans is a naturopathic doctor with a passion for connecting with his patients and helping them overcome their chronic injuries and pain to reclaim their life. This passion is what drives him to think outside the box when working with patients to identify and treat the root cause of pain.