By Deborah Westergaard, M.D. Dallas | Regen Experts Dallas & Plano What to Know About Sedation for PRP and Bone Marrow Concentrate Procedures You have probably had the experience of describing something about your own body and watching it get filed away as background noise. Something aches. You mention it. You get told it is arthritis, it is age, it is what happens. Somewhere in there, the thing you actually said stops being information and starts being a complaint. I think a

Artificial intelligence may be learning to design new proteins. But it still cannot look at your knee, understand the life you want to protect, and decide which structure may actually be driving your pain. By Deborah Westergaard, M.D. Dallas | Regen Experts Dallas & Plano Can Technology Help Preserve Your Joints? Lately, I have noticed something interesting. My patients are asking me about artificial intelligence—not with fear, but with genuine curiosity. Recently, a patient

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 | Dallas and Plano Short answer: Precision BMAC may be an option for selected patients considering nonsurgical knee care. Bone marrow concentrate is placed under imaging guidance into specific structures, including the bone beneath cartilage, rather than treating every knee identically. At Regen Experts in Dallas and Plano, Dr. Deborah Westergaard reviews imaging and performs a biomechanical examination to assess candidacy. Why “Bas

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Regen Experts | Dallas and Plano Short answer: Shoulder preservation begins with identifying the structures contributing to pain and impaired movement. Rotator cuff problems, instability, arthritis, muscle imbalance, and cervical spine issues may contribute in different combinations. At Regen Experts in Dallas and Plano, Dr. Deborah Westergaard evaluates shoulder structure, mechanics, and functional movement before discussing nonsurgical options f

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 care may be appropriate for selected patients even when an X-ray shows advanced knee arthritis. Imaging alone does not capture how ligament stability, alignment, muscle support, and symptoms affect the knee. At Regen Experts in Dallas and Plano, Dr. Deborah Westergaard uses examination, imaging review, and ultrasound to assess whether joint preservation is reasonable. The Question Many Pat

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 | Regen Experts | Dallas and Plano Short answer: PRP treatment involves more than spinning blood and injecting it. The diagnosis, platelet concentration, target tissue, and placement all shape the treatment plan. At Regen Experts in Dallas and Plano, Dr. Deborah Westergaard uses ultrasound, MRI correlation, and targeted examination to identify contributing structures and assess whether PRP may be appropriate for selected patients. “PRP is just spin

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano The Umbilical Stem Cell Myth: What the FDA Really Says The Myth: You’ve probably heard it. “Umbilical stem cells are the most powerful, youthful cells you can get. Why use your own when you can have younger ones?” It’s a seductive story, especially in an era obsessed with quick rejuvenation. Clinics across the country promote umbilical, placental, and amniotic products as if they were a medical revolution already blesse

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano Outdated Thinking About Cartilage Repair After 50 They told you cartilage can’t grow back after 50? Not exactly true. Many active adults over 50 have been told that once cartilage wears down, it’s gone forever as if aging shuts off the body’s repair switch. That’s outdated thinking. While cartilage turnover slows with age, modern studies reveal the joint environment can be reprogrammed toward protection and repair throu

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano Nerve Burning Risk | Balanced Alternatives to Radiofrequency Ablation in Dallas & Plano If you’ve been offered nerve burning (radiofrequency ablation, or RFA) for back, knee, or shoulder pain, you’ve probably heard the positive first: “Insurance covers it.” But what isn’t always discussed is the nerve burning risk. RFA works by disrupting pain signals, but in doing so, it can sometimes affect nerves that also help activ

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano The Problem with New Drugs for Chronic Pain Pharmaceutical companies continue to release new drugs for chronic pain, often celebrated as breakthroughs. These medications can quiet the brain’s pain signals or reduce inflammation temporarily. For some, they offer a measure of relief. But here’s the truth: pain is a signal. It’s the body’s way of alerting us to a deeper issue. If we only mask it, we risk ignoring the cause

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano Regenerative Medicine Protocols in Dallas & Plano: Why Quick Joint Injections Fail Too often, patients walk into a clinic expecting a single joint injection to change everything. The story is familiar: a quick PRP or “stem cell” shot into the joint space—no deep diagnostics, no comprehensive plan. For many, the outcome is predictable: a few months of hope followed by disappointment. The truth? An injection is not a tran

Can AI Help Your Joints Heal Smarter? Episode 3 Just Dropped We’ve officially entered the part of the story where a multi-agent AI named Robin scans literature, formulates hypotheses, and identifies new uses for existing drugs—all without a single late-night espresso. In this third episode of The Clinical Singularity, I discuss how "Robin," a multi-agent AI, helped uncover a potential treatment for macular degeneration—and why this matters for regenerative medicine, especiall