By Deborah Westergaard, M.D. Dallas | Regen Experts Dallas & Plano If you've been told that nerve burning—also known as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) or rhizotomy is your next step for chronic back pain, you may wonder whether it is your only option. For many years, I performed these procedures myself. Today, I do not. That decision was not based on a single study or a single patient. It came from experience gained in practice since 1989, an evolving understanding of spinal b

By Deborah Westergaard, M.D. Dallas | Regen Experts Dallas & Plano Many patients come to my office after months—or years—of pursuing treatments designed primarily to reduce pain. Pain relief matters. But if your goal is to avoid surgery, preserve function, and maintain an active lifestyle, an important question must be asked: Are we treating pain, or are we identifying the structures responsible for the pain? For many patients, those are not the same thing. About Dr. Westerga

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Regen Experts powered by Pain Experts The Problem: A Diagnosis That Often Leads Straight to Surgery He walked into my Dallas clinic with a familiar story. A high-performing individual. Disc degeneration on imaging. Pain beginning to interfere with movement, travel, and performance. And the message he had already started to hear: “This is degenerative disc disease… and eventually, you may need surgery.” This is where many patients feel their option

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Regen Experts | Dallas and Plano Short answer: Hip preservation may be appropriate when an individualized evaluation identifies reasonable nonsurgical options. Bone condition, joint stability, surrounding soft tissues, and how weight passes through the hip influence treatment decisions. At Regen Experts in Dallas and Plano, Dr. Deborah Westergaard evaluates these structures and hip function before considering orthobiologic treatment for selected p

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Regen Experts | Dallas and Plano Short answer: Nonsurgical treatment may be appropriate for selected rotator cuff tears, but some require surgical repair. Tendon continuity, retraction, and muscle quality influence which options are reasonable. At Regen Experts in Dallas and Plano, Dr. Deborah Westergaard reviews MRI images, performs dynamic ultrasound, and assesses shoulder function before discussing treatment. When the Goal to Avoid Rotator Cuff

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts If You’re Going on a Vegetarian Diet… Do You Shop at a Butcher? Let me ask you something. If you’ve decided to pursue a vegetarian diet…is the first place you go a butcher shop? Of course not. Not because the butcher is wrong.Not because meat is bad.But because the solution you’re seeking doesn’t match the training of the provider. The same principle applies to your joints and spine. If your goal is to avoid surgery in Dallas, the fir

By Dr. Deborah Westergaard | Pain Experts When “Not Covered by Insurance” Is Confused With “Not Legitimate” A question I am frequently asked—often by intelligent, highly analytical professionals—is whether regenerative medicine is covered by insurance or experimental. What is usually being asked, implicitly, is this: If insurance does not cover it, is it legitimate medicine? That assumption is understandable, but it is incorrect. Insurance coverage has never been a reliable i

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Regen Experts | Dallas and Plano Short answer: Nonsurgical treatment may remain an option for selected patients, even after an earlier injection has not helped. The preparation, dose, and tissue targeted can affect how treatments differ. At Regen Experts in Dallas and Plano, Dr. Deborah Westergaard reviews imaging and prior treatment details to assess whether another approach may be appropriate. “I Was Told Surgery Is the Only Option Left” Patient

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano High-performing individuals rarely identify as “patients.” They are CEOs, entrepreneurs, physicians, athletes, and weekend competitors who expect their bodies to keep pace with demanding professional and personal lives. Yet after 50, even disciplined training and excellent genetics can no longer fully offset age-related changes in joints, tendons, ligaments, and neuromuscular control. In Dallas, orthobiologics has becom

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Regen Experts | Dallas and Plano Short answer: Treating only a disc may leave other sources of back pain unaddressed. Facet joints, ligaments, and stabilizing muscles share the work of supporting the spine and can also contribute to symptoms. At Regen Experts in Dallas and Plano, Dr. Deborah Westergaard uses targeted examination, functional assessment, and image-guided diagnostic confirmation when appropriate to evaluate potential contributors. Ex

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano When Traditional Pain Management Tools No Longer Match the Demands of Modern Life When I transitioned from the intellectually rewarding field of anesthesiology into pain management more than two decades ago, my goal was not simply to join a specialty. I wanted to operate at the highest level of it. That search led me to Texas Tech and the legendary Dr. Gabor Racz, whose fellowship was regarded internationally as the pi

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Regen Experts | Dallas and Plano Short answer: Pain may involve more than one contributing problem. Changes in a joint, nerve, muscle, or movement pattern can affect connected structures, so the most painful area may not explain everything. At Regen Experts in Dallas and Plano, Dr. Deborah Westergaard evaluates the interconnected musculoskeletal system to identify potential contributors before discussing treatment options. It’s human nature to loo