Physicians From National Spine & Pain Centers Lead Medical Training Program In Mexico

Free Clinic Helps Relieve Pain for Hundreds of Underprivileged; Advanced Injection Therapy Taught to Local Doctors

Relief from chronic pain: it is a transcendent standard of basic good health, but one that the disadvantaged and remote inhabitants of third-world countries often are forced to forego. Thanks to the volunteer efforts of four pain management experts from National Spine & Pain Centers (NSPC), however, residents of Cuidad Guzman, Mexico can now look forward to healthier, pain-free lives.

NSPC physicians Mayo F. Friedlis, MD, Damon Robinson, MD, Joshua A. Thomas, DO, and Jatinder Narula, MD, were among 25 doctors from around the world who descended in late-November on Cuidad Guzman, an underprivileged community 80 miles south of Guadalajara, for a week-long opportunity to teach local doctors how to diagnose and treat pain-related conditions. The annual trip was coordinated through the American Academy of Orthopaedic Medicine (AAOM) and was undertaken as part of NSPC’s ongoing commitment to humanitarian initiatives and continuing education.

“It gave my colleagues and me great pleasure to share our knowledge and expertise in pain management with a community in dire need,” says Dr. Friedlis, Managing Partner for NSPC. “During our stay we worked with the directors of the local medical clinic to train the local physicians and provide free medical care and pain treatments to more than 500 patients, helping to alleviate and even cure chronic pain conditions that would almost assuredly have gone untreated otherwise.”

Dr. Friedlis adds, “One of the treatments we used most extensively was Prolotherapy, an innovative injection technique we employ regularly at NSPC. It is a highly successful option for combatting musculoskeletal injury and pain, and one that is well-suited for use in third-world countries where resources are limited and communities remote. The treatment can be performed anywhere; no expensive equipment, overhead or facilities are required; there’s no down-time for the patient, and its 80% successful in cases of musculoskeletal injury.”

More specifically, Prolotherapy promotes long-term, often permanent pain relief by stimulating the body’s ability to repair itself. A solution of concentrated dextrose and local anesthetic is expertly guided by injection into the affected ligaments, tendons, or joint capsules. This solution stimulates the body’s natural ability to repair these tissues, encouraging growth of new ligament or tendon fibers. Many conditions respond well to prolotherapy, such as back and neck arthritis, whiplash, joint sprains, degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis, chronic tendonitis, and more. Multiple treatments encourage additional tissue growth to restore and strengthen the affected area.

“Compassionate patient care is our mission at National Spine and Pain Centers, and this was an amazing opportunity to marry that mission with our commitment to community service,” says Dr. Friedlis. “We’re already looking forward to next year’s trip.”