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How PRP and biologics therapy Helped William get back on his Mountain Bike
William Shockley has had a lot going on during the past decade: births of two children, transition out of the U.S. Navy, and a lot of back pain.
An operations technician at an Arizona Public Service Electric Company power plant, Shockley, 33, first injured three Lumbar discs, the lowest discs, in his back sometime during his Navy service aboard a submarine a decade ago. “Initially, I hurt it a long time ago,” Shockley says. “And I didn’t have too many problems unless I was bending.”
Moving to Arizona in 2012 after completing his Navy service, Shockley and his wife welcomed a son in June 2013, to go along with a daughter born four years before. And young kids meant Shockley couldn’t escape the need to bend; at least some of the time. “I went to the store with my daughter,” Shockley recalls, “and I felt a sharp pain.”
A trip to the doctor and some pain meds made things bearable, but still not fixed. Since Shockley’s work doesn’t allow him to be on pain medication for an extended period, he used Ibuprofen regularly. “I could walk around at work,” Shockley explains, “but if my back got tight and stiff, I had to stretch.”
Something had to give. Shockley researched treatments such as Biologics therapy and found his way to Southwest Spine & Sports in June 2016, for a diagnosis. That was followed by an injection of Discography fluid around his discs, which gave the doctors better contrast when viewing images of his back. Because of his work schedule – and the fact work doesn’t allow him to stay on pain medication indefinitely – Shockley delayed the necessary procedures for about a year.
With tears in the three Lumbar discs, Shockley had his first treatment the week after Thanksgiving 2017. Dr. Michael Wolff gave him a Platelet Rich Plasma injection with Fibrin to promote the generation of collagen and scar tissue. Such a treatment requires several weeks to heal, Shockley notes. By mid-February 2018, Dr. Wolff and the staff at SWSS harvested bone marrow from Shockley’s hip, taking adult biologics therapy from the marrow and injected them into his hip.
A fan of hiking and mountain-biking, Shockley says he looks forward to trying both again now that he’s back is sound. First, he has a follow up appoint with Dr. Wolff soon to see how he’s doing.
“I felt significantly better after the PRP and Biologics Therapy,” Shockley explains. “I felt better and better after the first treatment.”
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