PowerKnee Hamstring Stretch Video

Hamstring stretching is crucial for your knee and overall leg function.  Too often this simple exercise is ignored or done only occasionally.  In order to improve flexibility and function of your knee, hamstring stretching should be done multiple times per day.

The video below is a simple one minute instructional video about how to perform the PowerKnee Hamstring Stretch.  It is demonstrated at a track but this stretch can be done by simply placing your foot and leg on a chair, step or other support.  



Check out the video  for details about how to perform the PowerKnee Hamstring Stretch,  As always, please consult your personal physician prior to beginning any exercise protocol.

AM
TotalTendon

Kobe returns to Germany for another Knee Arthritis Treatment

KobeTeam.com

Kobe Bryant returned to Germany this past week to be treated with a blood derived treatment (Orthokine) again for his knee.  He has had this treatment in the past at least twice before.  It involves drawing blood and incubating it over a 24 hour period and then reinjecting a component of blood that has anti-inflammatory properties.  It is similar but not exactly the same as platelet-rich plasma therapy.  It would be most interesting to learn about how this has helped him over the years and in what specific ways. He clearly has thousands of miles of basketball on his knees and is also recovering from multiple other injuries.  We do not, however, have any data about the status of his knee cartilage or joint before or after any of these treatments.  Here is a detailed description of the "Orthokine" treatment.  

Kobe has with his travel and his wallet voted in favor of this treatment.  It will be quite interesting to see how he plays this year in the NBA.   It will also be instructive to follow Kobe's future medical interventions as a way of measuring the value of the one he just had in Germany.

AM

TotalTendon

Biologic Orthopedics, Forbes, Sports Illustrated and ESPN

This week the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia has organized a meeting dedicated to exploring biologic orthopedics and sports medicine in a unique format.  The group has invited researchers and clinicians from around the world to participate with elite media representatives from Forbes, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN among others.  Dr. Noriyki Tsumaki from the the 2012 Nobel Prize winning CIRA Center in Kyoto Japan will also be lecturing.  Discussion about the FDA regulation and economics of biologic orthopedics will also occur.

Stem Cell and Biologics in Sports Medicine Summit

The meeting represents a special opportunity to bring together a unique group of individuals that are interested in how to best treat tendonitis, arthritis and other orthopedic conditions with stem cells, platelet rich plasma and other biologic therapies.  The moderators of the scientific panels will be editors from world renowned publications.  I expect to have spirited discussions about the state of the art in 2014 in addition to perhaps identifying novel pathways that lead to transformative treatments for professional, collegiate and weekend warrior athletes.

I will report my finding in this space and will tweet out real time information via:  @BloodCure

AM
TotalTendon

Why patients are seeking out platelet rich plasma and other biologic treatments.

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) and adult stem cell treatments derived from bone marrow are rapidly evolving into the mainstream of medicine.  As you can see from the chart above, the number of hits for "platelet rich plasma" is rising dramatically.  There are also over 7400 PRP references on PubMed.org.  Let's explore why.

Patients are seeking out less invasive treatments.  When presented with the option of surgery or an office procedure, patients typically will choose the office procedure.  Surgery often carries significant more risk and certainly more cost.

Patients want to return to sports, work or life as quickly as possible.
Botox and Lasik eye surgery provide patients with almost immediate improvement for wrinkles and vision.  Patients now expect other specialities to deliver similar almost instantaneous success.   Elite athletes are especially interested in returning to the highest level of function as quickly as possible.  They have been one of the primary drivers of PRP and other biologic treatments.

Patients are dissatisfied with the surgical treatments we have been offering them.
This is particularly true when it comes to knee arthritis.  Presently, there is very little definitive evidence supporting the use of many common treatments and there is a Grand Canyon size hole in our ability to effectively manage tens of millions of patients.  Biologic therapies will likely fill this void within the next five years.

Patients intuitively understand the regenerative abilities of your own blood and bone marrow.  Evidence is mounting across a several specialties supporting the use of blood and bone marrow to treat a variety of conditions.  A new study will begin this fall evaluating the utility of giving Alzheimer's patients blood transfusions from healthy volunteers under 30.  (Stanford Blood-Alzheimer's study)

Patients are willing to be treated without perfect supporting data.

Patients do not often understand the need for large clinical trials and are impatient with the time and effort it takes to generate meaningful clinical data.  The use of their own blood (PRP) or bone marrow simply make sense to them and they are willing and often eager to try a new treatment instead of undergo surgery.

We are presently scrambling to figure out how to develop, execute and pay for the clinical trials needed to best understand how to utilize biologic orthopedic therapies.  The good news is:  hundreds of clinicians, researchers and medical device professionals are working diligently on dozens of new treatment options.

Please post any comments about why you may think patients and clinicians are using PRP, stem cells or other biologic treatments.

AM   (@BloodCure on Twitter)
TotalTendon