Joint and Arthritis Pain Relief in Battle Ground has taken an all natural route to help patients who are struggling with joint discomfort.
The health care clinic, which is focused on regenerative medicine, is unique from similar clinics in the area, according to co-founder Kolton Opdahl.
“We focus on helping patients that have shoulder, knee, ankle, and other joint problems,” Opdahl said. “We only do all-natural services like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections and regenerative medicine. The thing that makes us unique is that we use all-natural, non-surgical procedures with the utilization of nurse practitioners and orthopedic specialists.”
During PRP, a patient’s drawn blood is put into a centrifuge that separates the platelets, which are then injected into areas that take longer to heal and commonly form arthritis, like a partially torn rotator cuff, Opdahl explained. The procedure does not work on fully torn joints or tendons, but Opdahl said the platelets, which are full of “growth factors,” accelerate the healing process in the affected area.
According to Opdahl, only about 10% of the blood is composed of platelets.
The clinic also offers rehabilitation services for patients following the procedure, although it is not required, since Opdahl said some patients get better from the PRP injections alone. The success rate of the PRP injections is around 80-90%, he said.
Patients who seek the injections are primarily older. Opdahl said the regenerative medicine works well with older patients who developed severe arthritis. Some of the people were injured when they were younger and arthritis formed as they aged, Opdahl said.
Opdahl said the clinic also treats patients who are in high school or beyond if they have a sports-related injury, but it’s not that common because “they’re so young that their bodies heal really, really well.” Some of the younger patients who could benefit from the clinic include athletes, who for example, injured their shoulder while spiking the ball in college volleyball. In that instance, Opdahl said a PRP injection would help and could prevent the development of arthritis in the future.
“A lot of times, you’ll have patients who come to us that are interested in regenerative medicine, as it’s an alternative to surgery a lot of times,” Opdahl said. “Hypothetically, it’s really good at delaying a knee or hip replacement, for example.”
The procedure wouldn’t help someone who is a month out from getting a knee replacement, but Opdahl said patients who need one in two or three years can try regenerative medicine and PRP to help delay the need for a replacement.
He added that if someone between 40 and 50 years old gets a knee replacement, that will only be effective for around 10 years.
“Getting (one) knee replacement is OK, but getting a second knee replacement … you don’t get good results from that,” Opdahl said. “If we can help delay them getting a knee replacement so that they only have to have one in their lifetime, it will improve their quality of life a great deal.”
Joint and Arthritis Pain Relief is located at 105 N. Parkway Ave., Suite 102, Battle Ground. They can be reached at 360-667-8870.
