In our practice, we provide comprehensive care to our patients with various forms of Rheumatologic and Endocrine conditions.
We are here to help you live your best life and to provide the services to help you achieve that.
Arthritis & Diabetes Center
Infusion
There are some medications that your provider may prescribe that are administered by infusion rather than medications you take orally or self-inject at home. This is where the medication is introduced into the body through a needle placed in a vein. This is performed in our office by our experienced Infusion Nurse staff in our infusion suite.
Ultrasound Guided Injections
Some medications are administered via injections directly into the joints. This is performed by a medical doctor in our office using ultrasound guidance for optimal results.
An example would be knee injections for Osteoarthritis using medications such as hyaluronic acid, corticosteroids, or other medications to provide pain relief as well as better joint movement.
At times when fluid has filled around a joint causing swelling, pain, and difficulty moving, the knee needs to be aspirated from the swollen joint, and this can also be done here in our office.
Platelet-Rich Plasma – PRP
The Arthritis & Diabetes Center is pleased to offer Platelet-Rich Plasma treatments to our patients. Known as “PRP” for short, this therapy has been utilized for many years to treat various musculoskeletal conditions, such as osteoarthritis, tendonitis, and bursitis. The treatment is done here in our office.
What is Platelet-Rich Plasma?
Platelet-rich plasma comes from your own blood. Platelets are important in blood clotting and healing, as they contain factors that contribute to the healing process after an injury. As interest grows in the field of Regenerative Medicine, clinicians are exploring ways to use the body’s own cells to assist in healing damaged or diseased tissue. Platelets contain growth factors that assist in increasing cell recruitment and proliferation necessary for tissue repair and healing.
What kind of conditions can be treated with PRP?
- Shoulder pain due to rotator cuff tendonitis.
- Arm pain caused by biceps tendonitis, elbow tendonitis (tennis elbow) or wrist tendonitis.
- Hip pain related to trochanteric bursitis, hamstring tendonitis or quadriceps tendonitis.
- Knee pain resulted from ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or patella tendonitis.
- Arthritis in the Shoulder, Hip, Knee and Spine.
- Ankle pain due to problems with the Achilles tendon.
How is PRP given?
We draw a sample of blood and process it in a centrifuge, which, by spinning the blood at high speed, results in the separation of the blood cells (white cells, red cells, platelets) from the serum. The cells are spun again to further separate the platelets, which are now in a concentrated Platelet-Rich Plasma, also known as “gold” that can be sterilely injected back into your injury site, which triggers your system to being repairing and rebuilding tissue. This is all done in office by a medical doctor using a ultrasound to accurately place the injection into the joint. Using your own platelets eliminates the risk of rejection. The overall procedure takes about 45 minutes after which we recommend you rest for the remainder of the day. You can generally resume light activities the next day. Additional modalities, such as physical therapy, may be recommended on a case by case basis.
Is PRP Safe?
PRP Therapy has been used for decades by surgeons and other health care professionals to promote soft tissue repair and regeneration. In many cases this can postpone or even eliminate the need of surgery.
The Platelets used in PRP therapy are retrieved from a small sample of your own blood, eliminating the risk of rejection or disease transmission, that can sometimes be a factor when using donor materials.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) Stimulation Test
Our office is now one of very few in our area that is providing endocrine related dynamic testing on site. Dynamic tests are often considered as the backbone of Endocrinology. These tests involve the use of an exogenous agent to manipulate the body’s hormonal milieu for the diagnosis and characterization of an endocrine disorder.
At this time, we are solely providing the Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) stimulation test which measures how well the adrenal glands respond to ACTH. This is a hormone produced in the pituitary gland that stimulates the adrenal glands to release a hormone called cortisol.
This test can help determine whether your adrenal and pituitary glands are functioning normally. It is most often used when your health care provider thinks you have an adrenal gland problem, such as Addison disease or pituitary insufficiency. It can also be used as a tool to see if your pituitary and adrenal glands have recovered from prolonged use of glucocorticoid medicines, such as prednisone.
We will be adding more Dynamic testing in the future.
Telemedicine
We are currently offering Telemedicine for established patients. Telemedicine consist of using and Ipad, Iphone or Android device to be physically visible to the practitioner during your appointment time, therefore not having to leave your home. Please contact our office if you are interested in this option.
