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Is There a Miracle Cure for Rotator Cuff and Other Joint Injuries?

By |2024-04-30T21:38:36-04:00June 15th, 2023|Categories: Peptides|Tags: , |6 Comments

If you think you’ve tried every treatment in the books for your rotator cuff injury or any other joint injury, think again. I’ve experienced rotator cuff injuries — including frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) in both shoulders.

 

Visual graphic showing Rotator Cuff

 

My injuries didn’t require surgery but over the course of 24 months I tried the following conventional and alternative treatments:

  • Physical therapy: Eight weeks. I was in too much pain for anything good to happen. The ice felt good — that always provides some relief.
  • Acupuncture: Four weeks. No relief.
  • Massage: Once or twice a week for more than a year. Sometimes it helped; other times it amplified the pain.
  • Chiropractic: Multiple adjustments to my neck. Alleviated some pain, but relief was only temporary.
  • Stretching: Stretching plays a critical role in healing, but it did not resolve the problem.
  • Vitamins and anti-inflammatory herbs: May have helped, but I took them over the course of two years and continued to experience pain and stiffness.
  • Prolotherapy injections: Short for “proliferation therapy,” this process jumpstarts the body’s regenerative mechanisms to promote healing. The injections may have helped with healing, but the pain and stiffness remained.
  • Platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections: These injections, which have the potential to promote healing, delivered little, if any, relief.
  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): Two to three days max to avoid any liver damage. Didn’t do much for me.
  • Cortisone injection: I suffered one of these injections so I could go on vacation and not be miserable. It worked for a good four or five days, but then the pain returned to its baseline level.

That’s everything I tried that didn’t work. Later in this post, I reveal what did work for me, but first I want to go into a little background about what the rotator cuff is, the telltale signs of a rotator cuff injury, and the conventional treatment options, which may or may not provide relief and promote healing depending on the nature and severity of the injury.

Understanding What the Rotator Cuff Is

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint and stabilize the arm during complex motions, such as swinging a pickle ball paddle or throwing a ball. When these muscles or tendons become inflamed or are strained or torn, they can Continue reading…

Enhancing the Body’s Self-Healing Properties with BPC-157

Imagine a car that maintains and repairs itself. All you need to do is fuel it up, change the oil and other fluids occasionally, and it remains in tip-top condition for decades. As parts wear down, they are rejuvenated within hours. If there’s an accident, it might take a couple of weeks for the dents to pop out, leaving your car looking like new.

That’s pretty much how a healthy human body reacts to proper care, and it’s amazing. Cut your finger, and within days, the tissue repairs itself. Properly set a broken bone, and within six to 12 weeks, it’s almost like new. Plagued by stomach ulcers? Identify and address the cause, and those ulcers heal in a matter of two to eight weeks. 

Given the right supports, the body may even be able to heal itself of certain cancers. And thanks to neuroplasticity, the brain can regrow neurons and build new neural networks.

reducing inflammation with peptides

Unfortunately, there are a number of factors that can impair and undermine the body’s self-healing mechanisms. These include age, nutritional deficiencies, toxins, stress, poor sleep, and insufficient physical activity. Some medications can also impede healing, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), immunosuppressants, anticoagulants, and corticosteroids. 

In contrast, chemical compounds called peptides show promise of enhancing the body’s natural ability to heal itself. They can trigger responses at the cellular level that kick the body’s healing mechanisms into high gear. I’m especially excited about one peptide in particular — Body Protection Compound 157 or BPC-157 for short — which is the focus of this post.

Dr. Lewis Recommends: For a detailed overview of peptides, please read The Healing and Rejuvenating Power of Therapeutic Peptides here on my blog. If you are already familiar with that post, feel free to skip the next section and jump directly down to What Is Body Protection Compound 157?

What Are Peptides?

Peptides are naturally occurring chemical compounds — short chains of fewer than 50 amino acids — that serve as Continue reading…