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How Ed Got Back to Loving Retirement with Platelet Rich Plasma
Ed’s retirement, and accompanying occasional rounds of golf, were threatened by a bad shoulder. A combination of bursitis and a small tear in the rotator cuff of his right shoulder made golf impossible. Lifting weights about 20 years ago caused what he called “Popeye Muscle” in his right bicep, a tendon torn from the shoulder.
“If you make a fist and pull it back toward your shoulder, the bicep elongates,” Ed said. “With Popeye muscle, the muscle pops up like a mountain (like Popeye’s). It doesn’t elongate.”
Because he didn’t get proper care a couple of decades ago, Ed thought he’d have to live with the Popeye Muscle, but he still needed help with the shoulder problems. He knew just who to see. Dr. Michael Wolff treated Ed for back ailments in 2004-05, shortly after he retired. Now 72, Ed said he felt comfortable with Dr. Wolff from the start. “From day one, he said I reminded him of his dad, and he was going to treat me like his dad.”
The staff at Southwest Spine & Sports treated Ed with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP). But he knew injecting PRP into his shoulder might not bring immediate relief. “I had to wait for 6 to 8 weeks to see if it would repair it,” Ed said of his shoulder treatment. “But it didn’t work. Sometimes, it takes two treatments.”
When the second PRP treatment didn’t seem to work, he sought a second opinion. Visiting a surgeon suggested by the SWSS staff. The surgeon viewed the MRI and told Ed there wasn’t enough damage in the rotator cuff to fix. The surgeon advised Ed to wait a little longer to see if the PRP treatment would work.
“In another 6-8 weeks, the pain was gone,” he said. “The bursitis was gone. The rotator cuff pain was gone.”
Even better, as Ed returned to lifting weights, lightly, he still had a little pain, but while doing curls, he found he again had elongation in his right bicep, meaning the Popeye Muscle condition was fixed, too.
“When I’m done lifting now, I’m pretty close to the same,” Ed said. “I pump them up, relax a little, and I have elongation I didn’t have prior to those injections. “I’m thrilled. It took longer than 6 weeks, but I’m a firm believer.”
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