75-Year-Old Runner With Knee Pain Keeps Logging the Miles With Dr. Lox
Runner with Knee Pain from Knee Arthritis Opts for Regenerative Medicine with Dr. Lox
A 75-year old-runner consulted Dennis M. Lox M.D. for moderate knee degenerative arthritis 3 years ago. He proceeded to receive Regenerative Medicine Stem Cell application treatment to both knees.
He noted excellent improvement. His nagging knee pain and swelling resolved. He began running steadily short distances at 3 months and by 6 months he was running as much as he wanted.
Although, this runner with knee pain had a routine that was not your usual 75-year-old’s. Not by a long mile.
His weekly routine of running consisted of runs of 8-10 miles twice a week, and the other 5 days a week he would run 4-5 miles.
That’s up to 45 miles a week. Not the norm for a 75-year-old with moderate knee degenerative arthritis. His only complaint was occasional mild swelling when he ran aggressively the entire week.
Why Some Patients Run or Continue with Highly Intense Sports and Others Do Not
Dr. Lox refers to this as a genetically gifted individual. The patient’s goals and outcomes were tremendously successful for a Regenerative Medicine patient.
Runners typically have the goal of continued running without knee pain. They are often dissatisfied if they can’t run after a Regenerative Medicine treatment or stem cell application techniques if they can’t return to running.
This is even if all other measurement yardsticks, such as knee pain relief, no knee swelling, no pain with walking or difficulty with climbing stairs is completely gone.
A runner with knee pain is great to treat, but runners want to run. Sometimes running must end for some people.
Just like Michael Jordan’s career, Kobe Bryant’s, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, and someday soon Tom Brady’s. Degenerative arthritis can end a professional athletes career and recreational runners.
Remember Joe Namath? Many knee surgeries dramatically altered his football career. This is just the world of being a Sports and Regenerative Medicine specialist.
A lot of patients can run like the wind when they were younger, myself included. However, age, genetics, weight gain, prior knee injuries, knee surgeries all take a toll on the knee. That is why most 75-year-old patients are not logging high running miles like this patient.
It is not just the level of knee arthritis or osteoarthritis that determines the final running outcome. It is actually very complicated.
Why Dr. Lox Has A Different Sports and Regenerative Medicine Approach
Dennis M. Lox M.D. is an expert in Sports and Regenerative Medicine. He understands the science behind the field intricately.
Dr. Lox has lectured both Nationally and Internationally on various Sports and Regenerative Medicine topics for years.
His extensive experience with elite and professional athletes from a variety of sports, in addition to the weekend warriors has allowed him to gain a unique perspective on their goals, needs and aspirations.
This has led to a profound understanding of personalized medicine in Sports and Regenerative Medicine.
Not all patients are created equal. Thus most 75-year-old knee pain and osteoarthritis patients will not be capable of running to the extend this patient has done. A very important point to understand.
Most patients have only a little understanding of sports medicine, aging, degenerative arthritis progression, much less the science of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell science.
Therefore, often they ask, “why can’t I be normal after a Regenerative Medicine treatment?”
Or another common question is, “someone I know or heard about did this or said they were perfect after their Regenerative Medicine treatment, so why am not?”
All great commonly asked questions. That inherently assumes that all patients are the same and should have the same outcome. Nothing is further form the truth.
Humans are a very diverse set of people. A 42-year-old 5’2” female weighing 300 pounds is not the same person as a 75-year-old 5’11” male weighing 165 with great genes.
Joe Namath
He was in 1969 the NFL MVP won the NY Jets only Super Bowl. However, his first knee surgery was in college at Alabama playing for the great Bear Bryant. Bryant later stated he was his most gifted pure athlete. Repetitive trauma and multiple surgeries, however can change that for knees.
Namath had so many knee surgeries his mobility was severely limited, his career statistics was subpar, his career shortened, and he eventually had both knees replaced.
Many such superior gifted athletes can have their chosen sport derailed by injuries. Think Bo Jackson’s hip, and his development of avascular necrosis (AVN). Patients and athletes cannot have the same outcome with Regenerative Medicine treatment even with good genes with multiple surgeries, and advanced degenerative arthritis.
They cannot also be expected to have the same standardized one Regenerative Medicine treatment protocol for everyone as some clinics or inexperienced individuals claim to do.
Additionally, I already stated not every 75-year-old who undergoes Knee Regenerative Medicine treatment will respond the same. There are different height weight variables, degrees of knee arthritis, prior knee surgeries, and good genes all interplay.
Diet is another important variable. Just like cardiac disease, an inflammatory diet can affect knee arthritis, and the outcome of a Regenerative Medicine or stem cell procedure.
Science is not understanding dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease may also have an additional inflammatory subtype which exacerbates the condition.
Dr. Lox is well versed in all these factors, and patients are counseled according to their individual needs, as it should be.
