CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – If your enjoyment of life is limited because you are suffering with shoulder pain, Spine & Extremities can develop a program to help you get back to your normal daily activities.

The program goals would be to increase your range of motion, improve shoulder mobility, decrease pain, and help regenerate and repair the damaged tissues to help reduce recurrences so that you can enjoy the activities that your shoulder pain and decreased function has cost you.

The treatments at Spine & Extremities can be targeted at several shoulder disorders, the most common type being rotator cuff tendinopathy, which is disorganized, diseased tissue of the superior rotator cuff tendons.

The treatments are intended to help break up scar tissue, stimulate healing, strengthen fibers, and rebuild collagen to restore the rotator cuff to a more durable, organized structure using non-invasive technology. Impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tears, calcific tendonitis, bicipital tenosynovitis, posterior capsular contracture, shoulder arthritis, and frozen shoulder are also common causes of shoulder pain. These result in similar limitations in your life from the pain and decreased mobility of your shoulder and can drastically limit your enjoyment of activities. Many people have trouble with their work from one or more of these conditions.

Several treatments can be of benefit. Physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, and steroid injections can reduce pain and inflammation in these conditions but are not reparative or regenerative. Many of our patients have tried these therapies without long-term success.

An emerging form of nonsurgical regenerative treatment is Shockwave Therapy.

Shockwave therapy uses a specialized medical device to generate and focus mechanical pulses on the abnormal and pain-generating tissues. The impulses help break up scar tissue, adhesions, inflammatory tissue and/or calcium deposits and the mechanical impulse stimulates a regenerative response from the body to speed healing and repair tissues, while reducing pain and irritation. We have two Shockwave sources in our office including both focused (ESWT) and non-focused (RPW, Radial Pulse wave).

We offer a treatment package that incorporates Shockwave Therapy with High Energy Inductive Therapy (HEIT) which is used for regional neuromuscular rehabilitation as patients with shoulder pain often have weaker shoulder girdle muscles from lack of use and have unbalanced shoulder girdle strength from chronic pain. It is also used to increase the active range of motion which is typically limited in these patients.

Spine & Extremities Class IV Medical Laser is another of the four modalities we often use, and it has a healing effect on the bursa and lining of the shoulder joint called the synovium and helps heal this tissue to produce more lubricating fluid. Increased fluid helps to decrease the pain during movement. Class IV Medical Laser has an analgesic effect, stimulates new blood vessels to form, and increases blood flow and oxygen delivery to the tissues to aid and accelerate recovery.

Spine & Extremities Center is the only facility in Western Pennsylvania to offer all four of these modalities.

Patients often want to have their first treatment during the consultation after the history and physical exam are complete. We therefore have restructured our new patient evaluation. The fee is $200 and this will go towards the shoulder pain program if the patient chooses to continue the full program. This allows the patient to experience the treatment modalities and the provider can use the feedback from the treatment to help in identifying pain-generating tissues and begin to custom-tailor the treatment.

Some patients desire Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injections for their shoulder pain. This can be added on to the non-invasive program or can be performed as a stand-alone procedure. If a patient is considering PRP injections, we ask that you schedule a “Regenerative Medicine Consult” with Dr. Barrett.

This consultation is $200.00 and would include the evaluation, one complete treatment session with our modalities, and a discussion of the use of PRP in their specific condition. The PRP injections are performed by Dr. Barrett who is registered in interventional and diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound (R-MSK) and has extensive training in interventional image-guided regenerative medicine and prolotherapy. The PRP injections would be on a separate visit typically 7-10 days after the consultation.

The modality program is six sessions of combined Shockwave, Radial Pulse Shockwave, HEIT, and Class IV Medical Laser over 6-8 weeks. This is performed by one of our staff members trained in these advanced modalities. Treatments are usually weekly and as you progress these treatments may be spaced further apart as the tissue repairs and the regenerative process occurs.

Patients report decreased pain very early on in the program, and they have reported continued improvement even months after our therapy is completed as the regenerative process continues for many months. Almost all our shoulder pain patients report a very significant increase in pain-free range of motion from the very first treatment.

Spine & Extremities had overwhelming patient responses to the program. So many patients have regained significant pain-free range of motion almost immediately. The patients say they can sleep again without waking up with pain. They can do their yard work, gardening, or play more with their kids or grandkids.

Many, however, do this treatment so they can keep performing their demanding jobs and had to find a way to keep moving forward to support their loved ones and way of life.

It is a comprehensive, multimodality customized program offered at $795 for one shoulder for all six sessions.

PRP injections are $695 as a stand-alone treatment or $595 if added into the modality program. These are not covered by insurance.

The $200 consultation fee would be applied and reduce the above fees, i.e., $595 for the remaining five sessions.

If you decide to pursue care Spine & Extremities, please indicate your interest in this program when you call or make a comment “shoulder program” if you schedule on our app.

Download the Spine & Extremities app or call the office at 814-227-5855.

Office Hours:

Monday: 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Thursday: 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spine-extremities-center/id1590117359?ign-itsct=apps_box_link&ign-itscg=30200

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fitnessmobileapps.spineandextremetiescenter&hl=en

More information can be found at www.spineandextremitiescenter.com.