Comprehensive Consults – Get the Answers You Deserve
Whether you’re struggling with a new sports injury or battling a chronic condition, such as Arthritis, orthopedic issues can impact your ability to live life to the fullest. So, what’s next? Perhaps you scour the internet looking for solutions or seek advice from family and friends… Your best option is to speak with a specialist and get the answers you deserve!
Physician expertise
Speaking with a specialist will help you properly diagnose your orthopedic concerns and better understand your treatment options.
Did you know? Physician specialty matters! Imagine you were experiencing dental issues; would you trust your primary care physician to complete your root canal? Probably not. Similarly, it’s best to speak with a physician who specializes in orthopedics and regenerative medicine.
At Regenexx Cayman, our physicians are board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, pain management, and/or sports medicine. We spend 100% of our time treating orthopedic issues – this focus and specialization make us experts in what we do. Rest assured, when you book a comprehensive consultation, you will get to the root cause of your orthopedic issue and understand your options.
Who should book a consultation?
What’s included in a comprehensive consult?
When you schedule a comprehensive consultation, you will have one hour with a specialist. That’s one full hour to thoroughly assess your orthopedic issues and understand your treatment options.
A comprehensive consult is like putting together an intricate puzzle. During this hour, the physician collects each unique “piece” of information to complete your “orthopedic puzzle.” This includes a discussion of your symptoms and medical history, a physical evaluation, a diagnostic ultrasound (if applicable), a review of any imaging you might have, and a conversation about your treatment options. Let’s dive in and learn a bit more about the benefits of a comprehensive consult.
Medical history
Prior to your consultation, our patient care team will ask you to complete a medical history form, which includes questions about your problem areas and the pain you’re experiencing. The physician will want to know when your orthopedic condition or injury first started and better understand your pain, including the frequency and severity, what aggravates or relieves it, and any previous injuries, traumas, or surgeries you’ve had. Each piece of your medical history helps the physician better understand your unique condition.
Quick tip! Through our research and experience, we’ve found certain medications can inhibit cell growth in culture or have a detrimental effect on healing. When completing your medical history, you’ll need to include all medications, supplements, and hormones you’re taking – the physician reviews this to ensure there are no contraindications and to confirm if you need to adjust or withhold any medications before, during, or after your procedure. After all, we want your cells to thrive, so you can have the best possible outcome!
Physical assessment
The physical assessment is an important part of your consultation because your physician will complete a hands-on evaluation to better understand your orthopedic issues. Many of our international patients initially have a telemedicine consult; however, the physician completes a physical assessment during the first in-person consultation.
Fun fact! This comprehensive evaluation is not only for your problematic joint: it’s a full biomechanical assessment. So, what does that mean exactly? The physician will analyze how your body moves as a whole. For example, if you have a knee condition, the physician may evaluate your knee, back, hips, and ankle. This is to determine if there are any other co-existing conditions, which might be contributing to your ailment (i.e., your knee pain).
Diagnostic ultrasound
The diagnostic ultrasound helps your physician better identify the dynamics and pathology of your joint. This is a real-time, musculoskeletal ultrasound, and it allows the physician to dynamically see how the joint moves. For instance, if you’re having knee issues, the doctor will check to see if you have any lax or loose ligaments, including your LCL, MCL, or ACL. He can also load the knee to see how it’s being stabilized by ligaments, which cannot be evaluated by x-ray or MRI.
Unfortunately, x-rays only show bone, so it misses out on soft tissue. MRI, on the other hand, shows bones and soft tissue, but it takes images in slices. This means it can miss several millimetres of tissue between each image. Also, x-rays and MRIs are not dynamic – this means they can’t show how the joint moves in real-time. The diagnostic ultrasound is a quality evaluation to see exactly what’s going on. This helps the physician better understand if you’re a candidate for treatment and recommend the best treatment plan for you.
Note! Diagnostic ultrasounds are completed on the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hands, hips, knee, ankles, and feet; however, they are not done on the spine.
MRI or X-ray
Have you ever received an x-ray or MRI report? Chances are, it was riddled with big words and difficult-to-understand findings. During your consultation, the physician will review any imaging you have, including MRI or x-ray. They will walk you through the findings, help you better understand what’s going on, and answer any questions you might have.
Quick tip! Your imaging should be less than two years old, and hip imaging should be less than 6 months old.
Treatment goals
During your consultation, the physician will ask about your treatment goals. Every patient has unique treatment goals, but there’s usually one common denominator – our patients are often looking to reduce pain and improve function, so they can return to the activities they love.
For example, you might be an older patient with Arthritis – you likely have functional goals related to everyday activities, including getting around your house, walking up and down the stairs, taking your dog for a walk, or playing with your grandchildren. Perhaps you have an athletic background – you want to get back to high-level running, cutting, or jumping sports. Essentially, you want to return to higher-level activity. Whether you’re an older patient, a high-performance athlete, or you fall somewhere in-between, orthopedic pain shouldn’t impact day-to-day activities or prevent you from enjoying life.
Fun fact! We recently treated a patient named Michael. He received our cultured stem cell therapy, Regenexx-C, to treat his knees. Less than 3 months later, Michael competed in Leadville 100 MTB – a strenuous 100-mile trek through rugged Rocky Mountain terrain. And he placed 10th out of 129 athletes in his age class. Pretty impressive!
Treatment options
At the end of your comprehensive consultation, the physician will discuss your treatment options. If the physician feels you will benefit from Regenexx, he might recommend one of our blood platelet procedures (PRP), which is commonly used to treat soft tissue injuries, mild arthritis, and spine conditions.
Another option is our same-day stem cell therapy, Regenexx-SD, which is typically used to treat one problem area (and slightly more severe orthopedic injuries and conditions)
We also offer the world’s most advanced orthopedic stem cell treatment, Regenexx-C. This cultured stem cell treatment is a trusted alternative to orthopedic surgery, and because of the high cell yield, it is typically used to treat multiple joints simultaneously. After your re-injection, any additional cells can be cryogenically frozen and used for future treatment.
Fun fact! Our Regenexx-C procedure can yield 100-1,000x more stem cells than same-day therapy!
Did you know? We pride ourselves on being honest. In some cases, the physician may suggest physiotherapy or chiropractic services as an effective therapy. In more severe cases, the doctor might indicate that surgery is your best choice. Whether it’s a Regenexx treatment or some other option, the physician will help you understand your best path forward.
Candidacy rating
The physician will not only discuss your treatment options but will also provide you with a candidacy rating of good, fair, or poor, based on your condition, medical history, examination, and treatment goals. The doctor determines your candidacy rating based on all the data collected during your comprehensive consultation. This will give you a clear understanding of your expected outcome after treatment at Regenexx Cayman.
Fun fact! One size does not fit all. Not every patient is a good candidate for every procedure. As mentioned above, honesty is key! Our physicians will be transparent and tell you whether our PRP or stem cell treatments are a good fit for your orthopedic condition.
Tailored treatment plan
If you decide to proceed with treatment at Regenexx Cayman, the physician will collate all the findings from your comprehensive consult and create a tailored treatment plan. This will be unique to your condition, so you can get the best possible outcome. Our cellular biologists also customize your cell dose for your individual needs. There is no one-size-fits-all approach at Regenexx Cayman.
Did you know? Our physicians are leaders in regenerative medicine – they’ve completed thousands of image-guided, injection-based treatments for a range of body parts. In fact, there is no team on earth more familiar with or trained in, the application of these techniques and treatments – we think that’s pretty impressive!
In summary
Our comprehensive consultation will help you better understand your orthopedic issues and make a well-informed treatment decision. The consult includes:
Next steps
At Regenexx Cayman, we understand that dealing with joint problems can be a real pain – both physically and metaphorically! From receiving an accurate diagnosis to finding an effective treatment option, this can be a long and tedious process, but it doesn’t have to be.
We’re here to help! If you would like to schedule a comprehensive consultation with one of our 11 visiting specialists, please contact our patient care team at 345-943-5900 or [email protected] Note! For local patients, consultations are typically reimbursed by most local insurance companies.
