Regenerative Pain Clinic
Pain: A term that describes uncomfortable sensations in the body. It is caused by activation of the nervous system and can range from annoying to debilitating. It may feel like a sharp stab or dull ache. It may also be described as throbbing, pinching, stinging, burning, or sore.
Regenerative Modalities:
- Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
- Prolotherapy
- Trigger Point Therapy (TPT), traumeel Injections, Steroid injections, etc.
- Physical Therapy
- Acupuncture
Why Choose the Akasha Center for Integrative Pain Management?
Personalized; The cause of your pain is as unique as you are. An individualized treatment plan is created for you by a diverse team of health professionals, helping you get the most out of your health.
Integrative: The Akasha Center provides you access to a team of certified professionals in conventional and natural therapies, yielding better long-term- results and improvement in your quality of life.
Root-cause: That’s our goal. Without knowing what lies beneath the surface, a long-term resolution of your pain is hard to find
Is pain stopping you from living a full life? Have conventional pain management modalities stopped working? WE CAN HELP YOU!
Traditional medicine may provide a temporary resolution of your pain but treating the symptom, not the cause, is not long-lasting. The best treatment approaches involve integrating the ever-growing technological advances of traditional medicine with personalized integrative approaches, such as acupuncture, physical therapy, mediation, nutrients, etc., to help you regain control of your health.
At Akasha Center, we start by conducting a comprehensive and integrative assessment of the root cause of your pain. The first consultation begins with an in-depth history, an investigation of what has and has not worked, plus a physical and psychological examination. A personalized treatment plan is designed by our team of experts with years of experience in pain management, including our expert Physiatrist (bone and joint specialist, pain-injections specialists, Physical therapist, acupuncture, bodyworker, psychologists specializing in pain, and more.
The result is a better understanding of the root cause of your pain, improved pain levels with fewer flare-ups, and better overall health.
Modalities:
1. Prolotherapy
What is Prolotherapy?
Prolotherapy is a form of regenerative injection therapy stimulating the healing, growth, and stability of damaged tissues. It is a safe and effective non-surgical approach for treating joint and spine pain caused by weakened and damaged ligaments and tendons. Ligaments are tough bands of tissue that connect bone to bone. They are found along all joints and along the spine of your back. Tendons are tough bands of tissue that attach muscles to bone. Weakened tendons and ligaments irritate surrounding nerve fibers signaling the brain. This often stimulates the surrounding muscles to overcompensate by tightening. The area may feel tight, achy, numb, fatigue, weak, sore, and painful.
What is Prolotherapy Used for?
- Acute, chronic or recurrent pain, without long lasting relief by rest, strengthening exercises, or physical therapy.
- Weak or damaged ligaments and tendons causing instability
- Pain associated with joints, spine, neck, back, shoulder, knee, elbow, wrist, ankle, foot, hip, sciatica, arthritis, sports injuries, bursitis, tendonitis, ACL injury, headaches, TMJ disorder, fibromyalgia, and overuse.
- Alternative to corticosteroid injections, which long-term studies have demonstrated an increased risk of weakening tissue.
Click here to watch a video about Prolotherapy
History
Although forms of prolotherapy have been around for hundreds of years, in the 1950’s Drs. George Hackett and Gus Hemwall made it much more accessible and easier. They performed prolotherapy with mixture of dextrose, lidocaine and normal saline, which is today’s the most commonly used solution. Former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop during the Reagan administration endorsed prolotherapy by stating “I was very impressed with what what prolotherapy could do for musculoskeletal disease and a treatment for ligament laxity.” He disclosed that he had been diagnosed by two separate neurological clinics as having intractable pain and obtained complete relief from prolotherapy. He further stated that prolotherapy posed no harm, that the benefits were extraordinary and that such in his case, changed many lives.
Why do ligaments and tendons need assistance in healing?
Bones and muscles have a very effective blood supply that recruit necessary healing factors. This is why broken bones and torn muscles commonly heal well with time. Conversely ligaments and tendons have a poor blood supply, which limits the available amount of nutrients and necessary healing factors for repair. By injecting the proper concentration of proliferant solution (prolotherapy) at these weakened areas, the body is able to locally stimulate the proper response for repair and re-strengthening.
What is in the Prolotherapy solutions?
The most commonly used medicines include dextrose (sugar water), sodium morrhuate (a fish oil product), saline, and lidocaine (short acting numbing medicine).
Prolotherapy injection treatments
Based on your physical exam, tender and dysfunctional areas are injected with the proliferant solution. A local anesthetic is added for minimal discomfort with the injections. The number of treatment appointments needed varies from patient to patient. A standard course of prolotherapy is 5-8 sessions spaced 2-4 weeks apart. If no benefit or change is noticed after 4 visits, we will reevaluate our plan and treatment options. If you feel benefit after 1 visit, it is highly suggested to return for 1-2 more visits to optimize strengthening of tissues for long term benefit.
Your initial consultation
The initial consultation will include a review of your history, symptoms, activities and methods of injury. Your physician will perform a physical exam gathering information on where you hurt and why. Findings and suggested treatment plans will be reviewed.
To schedule an initial consultation call 310 451-8880.
2. Integrative Physical Therapy
What Can Integrative Physical Therapy Do?
- Optimize rehabilitation from surgery and injury
- Restore the balance of your internal structure
- Help you regain function from injury
- Enhance circulation for optimal healing
- Stop scar tissue in its tracks
- Provide a whole body approach
- Introduce a path out of injury and pain
- Heal through a blend of Western science fused with innovative Eastern holistic treatments
The philosophy of Integrative Physical Therapy is firmly built on the belief that
Your Body Should Work In Perfect Unison…
with all its inner systems working as a whole. These systems are interwoven by fascial networks surrounding and connecting structures like muscles, joints, nerves, arteries, and viscera (organs).
Residual scar tissue build-up from old injuries, surgeries, trauma and repetitive motions (i.e., work, driving, sports) disrupt the balance of your body’s inner networks and can have a destructive effect on different parts of the body. As a result the scar tissue, whether large or small, affects your overall function and health, magnifying pain and injury.
When a new injury occurs or an old injury resurfaces if not properly treated, it can cause an interruption of smooth function in that structure, which may create an unhealthy domino effect on the other structures of our body. Thus, for the most effective healing treatments it is important to assess any injury from a “Whole Body” point of view. This Whole Body workflow allows us to discover and treat the involved systems necessary to help the body heal and restore its inner equilibrium.
Treatment: What to Expect
- A thorough intake and physical evaluation
- Whole-body, hands-on treatments and techniques
- An interactive experience: We help you to help yourself heal
- A noticeable change: Improved strength and flexibility
- A customized home program to help you optimize your recovery
Whether you prefer to receive treatment in the clinic or in your home, you will be guaranteed quality treatments that will result in decreased pain and return to optimal function.
Option 1: Insurance Billing
Akasha bills your medical Insurance. Physical Therapy treatment ($50) and Copayment ($25) applies. Paid at time of service ($75).
*Note: If your insurance deductible has not been met, you have a co-insurance, and your allowable is below $100, you will be responsible for the additional ($100) of the bill. Total: ($75 + $100 = $175)
Option 2: Discounted Cash Price
$135/60 minute Physical Therapy Evaluation ($225 regular price)
$135/60 minute Physical Therapy Follow ups ($175 regular price)
$75/30 minute Physical Therapy Follow ups ($100 regular price)
3. Traditional Chinese Medicine
The Traditional Chinese Medicine Department at Akasha is an invaluable component of the integrative medicine care offered at the Center. The exceptionally trained Chinese medical practitioners provide expert care either as an independent modality, or in conjunction with the many other modalities offered by other practitioners and doctors. This collaboration involving numerous healing practices is unique to Akasha and provides a tremendous advantage to patients; well-facilitated communication between Akasha’s practitioners allows for streamlined care and for patient support on all levels. This means that a team of practitioners “under one roof” provides state-of-the art patient care, instead of patients being pulled in different directions by practitioners at multiple facilities. At Akasha, one can benefit from expert Traditional Chinese Medicine care knowing that integrative and conventional Western medicine care is also always available.
The Chinese Medical Practitioners at Akasha are licensed acupuncturists in the state of California and are regarded as primary care providers.
What is Traditional Chinese Medicine? Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the oldest and longest practiced medicine in the world. This medical system’s written literature dates back almost 2,500 years, and currently one-fourth of the world’s population makes use of this medicine. Today, modern Western and Traditional Chinese Medicines are the two dominant medical systems in the world. TCM is comprised of different modalities, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutritional counseling, Tai Chi and Qigong breathing exercises, and massage. Akasha’s TCM Practitioners are trained in all of these modalities.
Is Traditional Chinese Medicine just a system of folk healing? No. This system of medicine was created by some of the brightest doctors and scholars in Chinese history. These doctors have recorded their theories and clinical experiences from generation to generation across thousands of books. It is estimated that there are between 30-40,000 existing books on Chinese Medicine written before 1900. Since then, thousands of additional books and articles in professional journals have been written and published in China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
What can Traditional Chinese Medicine treat? Chinese Medicine is a complete medical system used to treat the full range of trauma-related, infectious, or internally generated diseases, both acute and chronic. If a disease is extremely virulent or advanced, however, TCM alone may not be sufficient. Chinese Medicine is a particularly excellent and effective choice at the onset of any disease, or for diseases which modern biomedicine either does not understand or treat effectively. The World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health both recognize that acupuncture can effectively treat many different ailments. These include:
- Pain (back, neck, joints, etc.)
- Headaches
- Fatigue including chronic fatigue syndrome
- Hypertension
- High cholesterol
- Hepatitis A, B, and C
- Stress, anxiety, and depression
- Insomnia
- Women’s health issues
- Gastro-intestinal disorders such as IBS, GERD, and constipation
- Allergies
- Skin conditions
- Colds and flu
- And Much more
Is Traditional Chinese Medicine safe?
TCM is extremely safe when practiced correctly by qualified, licensed practitioners. In fact, when practiced correctly, acupuncture and herbal medicine result in zero side effects and almost never produce iatrogenic (doctor-caused) disease. Should a patient reports side effects from a Chinese medical treatment, the practitioner modifies the treatment until healing occurs and side effects are absent. The goal of Chinese Medicine is to restore balance to the entire person, not simply on eliminating a single symptom.
How does Traditional Chinese Medicine work?
Chinese Medicine works by re-establishing balance and harmony within the body. This includes balancing the Yin and Yang forces with the five major organ energy systems, the qi (energy), plus blood and other body fluids. This balance can be effectively re-established and strengthened by acupuncture and herbal medicine. These ideas are further discussed and explained during your visit to the clinic.
How does a Chinese Medical Practitioner determine what is out of balance?
Practitioners of Chinese Medicine diagnose what is out of balance in a person’s body by employing four basic examinations. The first involves exploration of one’s signs and symptoms, medical history, and course of disease; the second is the visual inspection of one’s face and body, focusing on the tongue; the third is to listen to one’s voice and breath, and make note of any bodily odors; and the fourth involves the palpation of various areas of the body, particularly the pulse of both wrists. Using a combination of one’s signs and symptoms, tongue examination, and pulse diagnosis, the practitioner can determine the pattern of disharmony that requires rebalancing.
How is rebalancing accomplished?
If something in the body is too hot, the practitioner seeks to cool it down; too cold, the aim is to warm it up. If something is too damp, it must be dried; too dry, it must be moistened. If something exists in excess, it must be reduced; exists in deficiency, it needs to be supplemented. If qi or blood is not flowing well, the practitioner will help improve their circulation. If qi is traveling in the wrong direction, the direction of flow is corrected.
The main methods of re-establishing balance in TCM are acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, which form a powerful synergistic healing combination. Acupuncture seeks to regulate the flow of qi and blood in the body through the insertion of fine, sterile needles at certain acupoints. Chinese Herbal Medicine in the form of herbal teas are generally customized for each patient according to his or her condition. In addition, Chinese Medical Practitioners may also use Chinese Massage or prescribe remedial and preventative exercises, such as Qigong breathing exercises or Tai Chi. Patients will also be counseled on diet and lifestyle, maintaining accordance to the theories of Chinese Medicine in order to promote optimal health.
