Complimentary Story
Summer 2026Pain management is BIG business. Physical pain, of course, can be caused by a multitude of issues. Unfortunately, when it comes to dealing with back pain (which is common), some of the options are extreme: surgery, opioids, etc.
Every case is different, but I’m going to share my interesting experience with the hope that it may apply to 10% of my readers…
I’m a healthy, active senior. I walk every day, frequently play golf, have a good diet, am not overweight, have no chronic health issues (e.g., diabetes), etc.
As such, it was surprising that I started having lower back pain about five years ago. I wasn’t aware of any trauma that might have caused this, so initially I thought it was temporary and would go away. It did not.
The pain level steadily increased (up to 9 on a scale of 10). It soon got to the point where I was permanently (other than sleeping) attaching an icepack to my lower back. That helped some, but the relief was temporary. Worse, the pain did not go away even when I laid down.
My next strategy was to visit a chiropractor to see if what they did would help. Over the next year, I visited four different chiropractors (who used different techniques), multiple times. There was no change.
I went to my competent Primary Care Physician. His advice was to see a back specialist. I then went to a very experienced orthopedic surgeon who specialized in back issues. Several visits (over many months) resulted in two MRIs, multiple cortisone shots, etc. Nothing changed.
It was difficult to function during this painful period, as the pain was chronic and strong. I could walk, but had to stop playing golf, and many other things.
At this point, almost a year had gone by with no reduction in the constant pain. I went back to my Primary Care physician, and he suggested seeing a pain management MD. Fortunately, there was a good one nearby.
I subsequently met with this pleasant woman, and after a detailed consult, she asked me if I would like to try a PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injection.
Basically (a layperson’s explanation), the idea is that blood has healing properties, but some back or joint pains can be caused by inadequate blood in a sensitive area. So the MD draws blood from another part of your body (e.g., your arm), processes it in a centrifuge to extract the blood plasma, and then injects that into the location where they believe the pain is originating from.
One of the reasons I liked the idea here is that it is about fixing the problem (and in a natural way), rather than masking the symptoms (like with a cortisone shot). I’m a big believer in effectively using all our natural resources.
A MAJOR failing of the official positions on the COVID-19 fiasco is that almost none of it involved explaining to citizens the extreme importance of having a healthy immune system, and exactly how to do that. (Natural prevention is always a better approach rather than treatment afterwards.) However, Dr Fauci, the CDC, the FDA, the WHO, etc. did not do that. This was a clear sign that we had left the realm of real science.
The PRP procedure is essentially painless, and it’s very unlikely that there will be side effects. If it doesn’t work, it can be tried again at another time in a different location. One downside: many insurance policies don’t cover this, as it is still considered “experimental.” My cost was about $500.
Of course, I said yes — what did I have to lose? What other options did I have?
So, I went through this in-house procedure, which took about an hour. It was essentially a pain-free process.
Results? By the next day, my back pain was gone. What a relief! Better yet, in the 5+ years since, it has NOT come back!
I’m sure that there will be skeptics, but I was astounding how dramatic the change was, particularly after trying multiple other strategies.
Will this work for everyone? Of course not. Each person and each person’s pain issue is very different.
For those experiencing chronic back pain, my advice is to: 1) consult with a competent Pain Management MD, and 2) discuss with them if a PRP injection might be of value to you.
