A New International Method to Alleviate Chronic Pain Through A Blood Treatment Being Employed By Professional Athletes

How to treat chronic pain without creating drug dependence leading to prescription painkiller abuse and addiction has always been a serious problem. Although not approved by the FDA and quite expensive, professional athletes across the board are flying to Düsseldorf, Germany for a new blood treatment invented by a German doctor. This treatment and its meaning recently was examined in an investigative piece in the New York Times. Would Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, both former Most Valuable Players and future Hall of Famers in their respective sports, fly halfway around the world for a treatment that didn’t work?

Dr. Peter Wehling Treats Chronic Pain

At the office of Dr. Peter Wehling on the bank of the Rhine River, an Olympic volleyball player Lindsey Berg explained why she is paying out of pocket for the novel blood treatments: “I’ve been struggling with knee pain for the last four years and just continuing to play on it.” After cortisone shots and surgery failed to alleviate the chronic pain, the novel treatments, even at over $8,000 for a regimen that lasts five days, seemed like a good investment before the start of the summer Olympics.

By bolstering the natural healing powers of the athlete’s own blood, Dr. Wehling has created a treatment for specific types of chronic pain related to physical injuries that seems revolutionary. His team withdraws blood from the client, incubates it, and then spins it in a centrifuge to rejuvenate the natural healing properties. Blood cells naturally produce proteins that reduce inflammation and stimulate cellular growth.

But not everything is natural and holistic. Often, Dr. Wehling adds additional anti-inflammatory proteins to the blood before injecting it back into the damaged area. Patients tend to receive treatment over a several day period. Although his offices have become a literal Mecca for many injured superstar athletes, it remains to be seen how effective the treatment will prove in the long run.

No Magic Cure For Chronic Pain

Called Regenokine therapy, Dr. Wehling claims that what makes his treatment so effective is that he heats the blood before it is spun to increase the concentration of anti-inflammatory proteins in his cell-free solution. The idea is not just to focus on the physical symptoms, but also to treat inflammation as a cause of tissue damage as well as a symptom. “The potential of biology to treat orthopedic problems is high because it has only been developed a little,” Dr. Wehling said in an interview. But the Doctor also emphasizes that sleep, diet and conditioning are among the important components that need to go hand-in-hand with the injections. There is no magic cure for chronic pain caused by bodily injury and, as Dr. Wehling explains, “There’s no such thing as the one therapy that fixes everything.”

Without question, Dr. Wehling is passionate about his work and about the effectiveness of his treatments. He has been developing the idea since his days as a young resident in neurophysiology and orthopedics, and is proud to finally see the work addressing chronic pain come to fruition. “When you’re one of the progenitors of a new way of thinking you really want to have it thrive,” said Chris Evans, the Müller professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, who wrote the introduction to Dr. Wehling’s book.

Chronic Pain & Prescription Painkiller Abuse

The clinical staff at ONE80CENTER has found that chronic pain often leads to severe prescription painkiller abuse and addiction. Nevertheless, the pain still needs to be treated. If Dr. Wehling’s treatments lead to a new field of helping chronic pain sufferers with bodily injuries heal and find relief, then it makes perfect sense. Anything that opens the door to relief without the burden of long-term reliance on prescription painkillers is worth more research and exploration. Ultimately, chronic pain must be addressed to alleviate suffering. If it can be addressed by amplifying the body’s own healing mechanisms and properties, it could truly be a revolutionary breakthrough.