Arthroscopic Knee Surgery Actually Contributes to ‘Bone on Bone’

A newer study published in Arthritis and Rheumatism suggests arthroscopic procedures might actually contribute to cartilage degeneration. This includes patients that undergo arthroscopic surgery for meniscus tears and arthritis.  If the meniscus is shaved or removed it doesn’t grow back. As a result, arthritis will likely occur in the knee joint. In addition, when arthroscopic surgery is performed on an arthritic knee to ‘clean it out’ cartilage is removed.  The outcome leaves the patient with less cartilage that won’t grow back, and more arthritic changes eventually occur in the knee.

Whether a patient undergoes an arthroscopic procedure for arthritis or for a meniscus tear it leaves a patient vulnerable to arthritic changes in the knee which unfortunately may lead to knee replacements later in life.

“I had Arthroscopic surgery on both knees (for cartilage tears) which caused Arthritis behind my knee caps. (After the surgery)  I experienced pain daily and constantly in both knees.  I (also) had tenderness and swelling on the inside of my knee caps.  I couldn’t stand for more than a few minutes before the pain became severe.

After completing treatments with Dr. Schnee I don’t waddle when I walk and I have less limping.  The swelling and pain has gone down tremendously and I can now stand for more than 5 minutes without needing a chair!!”- Sandra M., Irving, TX

Located in Irving, Texas, the DFW Spine & Joint Center includes a team of professionals that are dedicated to improving your quality of life.   Professional and amateur athletes, dancers, musicians, retirees and people who are just suffering with pain go to the DFW Spine & Joint Center for care. Using the facility to improve their condition, thousands of successful cases have been treated since 2001.

Dr. Alexandra Schnee primarily treats patients suffering with knee pain due to unsuccessful knee surgery, arthritis, bursitis, ‘bone on bone’, tendonitis, meniscus/cartilage tears, and Baker’s Cyst’s. However, at the DFW Spine & Joint Center we have programs available that can help most musculoskeletal conditions such as low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, sciatica, disc and nerve problems, hip, ankle, foot, hand and wrist pain, etc… For instance Dr. Robert Hanson, an associate at the DFW Spine & Joint Center, offers a very successful non-surgical program that treats herniated, bulging, degenerated discs, stenosis, and pinched nerves with Cold Laser/Spinal Decompression Therapy.

If you live in the Dallas/ Fort-Worth Metroplex and would like more information about Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program or any of our other programs please call our office at 214-596-1051, or fill out the form on the right hand side of this page and a FREE 16 page report about the treatments will be mailed to you within 72 hours.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

References:  Hotzel, Tom.  Knee Replacement from the Patient’s Point of View.  Velocity Press.  Pg.2.

How Can Cold Laser Therapy Help My Knee Pain?

There are multiple benefits to receiving cold laser treatments.  The list below gives a brief overview of just a few of them.

• Relieves or Eliminates acute and chronic knee pain
  • Cold Laser Therapy blocks pain transmitted by nerve cells.
  • Cold Laser Therapy reduces/eliminates inflammation, therefore there is less swelling in the knee and less knee pain.
  • Cold Lasers also help release high levels of pain killing chemicals such as endorphins and enkephalins.
• Increases the speed, quality, and tensile strength of tissue repair in the knee
  • Photons of light from cold lasers penetrate deeply into tissue and accelerate cellular reproduction and growth.
  • Lasers also increase the energy of the cell so that the cell can take on nutrients faster, and get rid of waste products. When the cell is damaged or injured, for instance in arthritis, it is not able to repair itself so the knee continues to deteriorate. This is why it is so important to help the cells repair themselves so that the deteriorative process stops.
  • As a result of the laser, the regenerative cells of tendons, bone, ligaments and muscles repair faster.
  • Cold Lasers also reduce the formation of scar tissue following tissue damage from cuts, scratches, burns or surgery.
• Increases blood supply to the tissues in and around the knee joint
  • The lasers we use in our office significantly increase the blood supply to damaged tissue therefore speeding up the healing process and reducing scar tissue in and around the knee joint.
• Stimulates the immune system
  • Cold Lasers have a direct effect by stimulating immunoglobulin and lymphocytes.
• Stimulates and improves nerve function
  • Cold lasers stimulate nerve function.  Without proper nerve function one will eventually feel numbness, tingling and/ or burning sensations around the knee joint. 
• Develops collagen and muscle tissue
  • Collagen is the essential protein (found in cartilage) required to replace old tissue or to repair injuries in body tissues.
• Helps generate new and healthy cells and tissue
  • Cold Laser Therapy re-energizes cell membranes allowing the transport of essential nutrients, specific enzymes, and greater oxygen flow across cell walls allowing healthy new cells to grow in the soft tissues of the knee.  (Nutrients will not cross an injured or sick cell wall, thus slowing the healing process and not allowing new cells to grow).  For example, the degenerative process in Osteoarthritis is unknown.  But it is thought to represent a defect in the cellular repair process.  Cold lasers help heal and repair cells that are damaged and irritated this results in the restoration of normal cell function.

• Promotes faster wound healing
  • The cold lasers we use in our office stimulate fibroblast development (fibroblasts are the building blocks of collagen, which is predominant in wound healing) in damaged tissue in the knee
• Reduces inflammation (swelling) in the knee
  • Cold Lasers have an anti-edema effect.  They cause vasodilation of the cells which activates the lymphatic drainage system (drains swollen areas).  As a result, there is reduction in swelling in the knee caused by bruising or inflammation. 

“The laser treatment speeds up cell repair & stimulates the immune, lymphatic, & vascular systems.” Paul Silbert, M.D, Chief of Neurology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

It is important to remember that Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program not only includes cold laser therapy but combines other modalities to help work on your strength, range of motion and overall improved health and function of your knee.

If you live in the Dallas/ Fort-Worth Metroplex and would like more information about Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program please call our office at 214-596-1051, or fill out the form on the right hand side of this page and a FREE 16 page report about cold laser treatments will be mailed to you within 72 hours.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

Reference: Martin R., Laser-Accelerated Inflammation/Pain Reduction and Healing.  Practical Pain Management. Nov/Dec 2003 3(6):20-25.

Albert Einstein and the History of Cold Laser Therapy

Cold Laser Therapy or Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) has been used in clinical practice all around the world for over four decades. In 1916 Albert Einstein conceived the theory of Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation or LASER. In 1967 Professor Andre Mester began using low power lasers in medicine.  Today, Dr. Mester is recognized as the grandfather of laser therapy.  Presently there is an entire branch of science devoted to photobiology, which is the study of how light affects living things.

Since 1967 there have been over 2,500 clinical studies published worldwide.  Many of these studies are double-blinded, placebo-controlled and have demonstrated cold laser therapy to be a proven method for pain relief.   Cold laser therapy can stimulate all cell types including those that help make  muscle, ligament, cartilage, nerves, etc. so a number of conditions can be treated including but not limited to: Arthritis pain, back, neck pain, knee pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, bursitis, trigger points, nerve and disc pain, and post operative pain.

Dr. Alexandra Schnee primarily treats patients suffering with knee pain due to knee surgery, arthritis, bursitis, ‘bone on bone’, tendonitis, meniscus/cartilage tears, and Baker’s Cyst’s. However, at the DFW Spine & Joint Center we have programs available that can help most musculoskeletal conditions such as low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, sciatica, disc and nerve problems, hip, ankle, foot, hand and wrist pain, etc… For instance Dr. Robert Hanson, an associate at the DFW Spine & Joint Center, offers a very successful non-surgical program that treats herniated, bulging, degenerated discs, stenosis, and pinched nerves with Cold Laser/Spinal Decompression Therapy.

If you live in the Dallas/ Fort-Worth Metroplex and would like more information about Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program please call our office at 214-596-1051, or fill out the form on the right hand side of this page and a FREE 16 page report about the treatments will be mailed to you within 72 hours.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

Low-Level Laser Therapy a Trend in Treatment for Knee Pain

Low-level laser therapy (cold laser therapy) was featured in the March 2009 edition of Parade Magazine. The article was entitled Keep Your Knees Healthy by Michael O’Shea.

In this article the author gave useful tips to help keeping your knees healthy so that “you don’t become one of the 20% of Americans over 60 with significant knee pain.”

A few of the tips discussed were keeping a healthy weight, exercising, consulting with a doctor, and different trends in knee treatment. One of the trends he mentions in the article to help treat knee pain, and get pain free sooner is low-level laser therapy!

Low-Level Laser Therapy continues to gain recognition as a safe, non-invasive, painless treatment to help end knee pain without the typical downsides of surgery, shots or medications.

If you live in the Dallas/ Fort-Worth Metroplex and would like more information about Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program please call our office at 214-596-1051, or fill out the form on the right hand side of this page and a FREE 16 page report about Cold Laser Therapy and Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program will be mailed to you within 72 hours.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

Cold Laser as Effective as Cortisone, But Painless and Safer Without Any of the Side-Effects!

Rats with arthritis were exposed to a number of different cold laser protocols. It was found that treating the arthritic area with 810-nm cold laser (low-level laser) was as good as cortisone at reducing swelling, and most importantly had none of the negative side-effects of cortisone. In addition, cortisone shots are very painful and uncomfortable however cold laser treatments are completely painless.  The research study verified that cold laser therapy not only reduced joint swelling but also correlated with decreased serum prostaglandins, a common marker of inflammation.

If you have swelling in your knees because of arthritis, ‘bone on bone’, a meniscus tear, Baker’s Cyst, tendonitis, bursitis or a knee injury, and live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area call our office at 214-596-1051 to find out if you’re a candidate for Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program.

Or if you would like more information about my Cold Laser Knee Program fill out the form on the right side of this screen to get your FREE report mailed to you today!

This blog is meant to be interactive, and informative.  I’ll be adding new information regularly on this blog, so stay tuned. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them below.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

References: Castano AP, Lasers Surg Med 2007 Jul; 39(6):543-50.

I’ve Already Had Knee Surgery Am I Still a Potential Candidate For Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program?

The good news is that knee surgery is NOT a contraindication for receiving cold laser treatments. As a matter of fact the two most common surgeries patients have had prior to getting treated in our office are arthroscopic knee surgery and/or a total knee replacement.  After undergoing unsuccessful arthroscopic knee surgery or a total knee replacement the most common complaints from people is pain, swelling, stiffness and/ or decreased range of motion.

Cold laser therapy is a highly effective treatment for those who have undergone surgery and are still complaining of knee pain.  Cold laser therapy is a conservative treatment that painlessly reduces/eliminates pain, swelling, and stiffness and increases range of motion in the joint.  During treatments not only are multiple cold lasers utilized, but several other modalities, including therapeutic exercises, are performed to accelerate the healing process.

Depending on the tissue damage and the severity of the condition people usually need a series of knee treatments.  Fortunately, unlike surgery, there is no downtime with treatments, and people can go back to their usual activities or work immediately after the therapy.

Located in Irving, Texas, the DFW Spine & Joint Center includes a team of professionals that are dedicated to improving your quality of life.  World champions, sports legends, professional and amateur athletes, dancers, musicians, and people who are just suffering with pain go to the DFW Spine & Joint Center for care. Using the facility to improve their condition, thousands of successful cases have been treated since 2001.

Dr. Alexandra Schnee primarily treats patients suffering with knee pain due to unsuccessful knee surgery, arthritis, bursitis, ‘bone on bone’, tendonitis, meniscus/cartilage tears, and Baker’s Cyst’s. However, at the DFW Spine & Joint Center we have programs available that can help most musculoskeletal conditions such as low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, sciatica, disc and nerve problems, hip, ankle, foot, hand and wrist pain, etc… For instance Dr. Robert Hanson, an associate at the DFW Spine & Joint Center, offers a very successful non-surgical program that treats herniated, bulging, degenerated discs, stenosis, and pinched nerves with Cold Laser/Spinal Decompression Therapy.

If you live in the Dallas/ Fort-Worth Metroplex and you would like more information about Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program please call our office at 214-596-1051, or fill out the form on the right hand side of this page and a FREE 16 page report about the treatments will be mailed to you within 72 hours.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

Cold Lasers Are Far More Effective Than Light Emitting Diodes (LED) and Super Luminous Diodes (SLD) for Treating Deeper Joint, Soft Tissue Conditions

Phototherapy is the general term for light therapy.  Light energy can be produced by a variety of devices such as Light Emitting Diodes, Super Luminous Diodes and Cold Lasers (low-level lasers).  All three of these devices have therapeutic effects;   however, the depth of penetration and tissue that is affected greatly varies between all three forms of therapy.  Due to their unique properties and penetration depth Cold Lasers are far more powerful then LED’s or SLD’s, so they are more effective at treating deeper conditions.

LED’s (light emitting diodes) and SLD’s (super luminous diodes), produce broader beams of light that are referred to as non-coherent light sources.  This type of light therapy is dimmer and is not as photoactive as cold lasers but can be very helpful for treating superficial wounds, ulcers and burns.  LED’s will normally penetrate less than 1 cm.  SLD’s are more powerful and can penetrate about 2.5 cm below the skins surface.  LED’s and SLD’s are often sold to consumers on the internet or on infomercials they are not considered true cold lasers or low-level lasers.

In contrast, Cold Lasers (low-level lasers) produce coherent light waves.  Coherence is at term that refers to light that is well ordered, and has synchronized light waves and has shown to be more active at deeper tissue levels.  Coherence is a very unique property found only in lasers. This property is maintained when the light enters the tissue.   Therefore, cold lasers are used to treat deeper joint and soft tissue conditions so discs, nerves, tendons, ligaments, muscle and other soft tissues are able to be treated.  True Cold Lasers with a wavelength around 830*nm can penetrate 1-4 inches deep with a lateral spread of 1.5 inches.  The wavelength of the laser is also important.  For the deepest penetration 790nm-830nm has shown to be far more effective in treating tissue than any other wavelength. This is important because not all cold lasers are created equal.   In our office we  use FDA cleared, IIIB cold  lasers such as the ML830™, Med X™, Apollo™ etc. when treating knee pain so that we can get to the source of the problem.
If you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth Metroplex and are tired of suffering from knee pain, and would like more information about my Cold Laser Knee Program fill out the form on the right side of this screen to get your FREE report mailed to you today!

This blog is meant to be interactive, and informative.  I’ll be adding new information regularly on this blog, so stay tuned. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them below.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

References: Photomedicine and Laser Surgery. Volume 23, Number 4, 2005; Pp. 431-434

Laser Therapy More Effective Than Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

A research group from Norway, headed by Dr. Jan M. Bjordal, and published in the British Medical Journal summarizes that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), including cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors, reduce short-term pain associated with knee osteoarthritis only slightly better than a placebo.(1)

The findings from a recent Norwegian Health Technology Assessment Report stated that low- laser therapy (cold laser) was actually twice as effective as NSAIDs, if applied correctly with optimal dose and energy.  According to the Norwegian Drug Agency, low- laser therapy has earned a top spot in treatment recommendations for patients suffering with osteoarthritis knee pain,  due to the unequivocal scientific findings so far, and lasers effectiveness for treating knee pain.

Long term NSAID use is harmful, should be avoided, and is ineffective for osteoarthritis knee pain.  If you want relief from arthritis knee pain that is safe, has no side-effects, and is painless then call our office at 214-596-1051 to find out about our Cold Laser Knee Program.

If you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth Metroplex and would like more information about my Cold Laser Knee Program fill out the form on the right side of this screen to get your FREE report mailed to you today!

This blog is meant to be interactive, and informative.  I’ll be adding new information regularly on this blog, so stay tuned. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them below.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001”

1. Rauscher, Megan.  NSAIDS Do Little to Relieve Knee Osteoarthritis Pain.  Reuters Health.  2004. 16:20:27.

Arthroscopic Surgery for Arthritis Knee Pain is Proven Worthless

Prior to receiving treatment in my office, half of my patients have had at least one or more arthroscopic knee surgeries, which did not meet their expectations. Unfortunately, after the surgery many of these patients still suffered from knee pain, swelling, reduced range of motion or some other problem that arthroscopic surgery did not fix. If only those patients would have known about the double blind studies that the New England Journal of Medicine had published about the results of arthroscopic surgery. The information would have saved them months of unnecessary suffering…

The New England Journal of Medicine, after two years of follow-up, reported on the results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of arthroscopy for osteoarthritis of the knee. It was concluded that patients who had arthroscopic surgery (lavage or debridement) performed were no better off than those who underwent the placebo (fake surgery) procedure. (1) Dr. Kenneth Fine, an orthopedic surgeon at the George Washington University School of Medicine, said the procedure had long seemed to do nothing for patients’ “underlying arthritis”. (2)

As a matter of fact arthroscopic surgery actually creates more of the same problem that it is trying to repair. ‘Cleaning out’ or taking out cartilage just leads to more arthritis in the future. Unfortunately, this leaves the knee vulnerable to becoming ‘bone on bone’ and eventually a knee replacement must be performed.

Why undergo arthroscopic surgery and possibly set yourself up for a knee replacement in the future when you can undergo our Cold Laser Knee Program, and get results without any side-effects?

If you have had arthroscopic knee surgery to ‘clean up your knee’ and you’re still in pain then our Cold Laser Knee Program may be able to help you. Join the hundreds of patients who we have helped by eliminating their knee pain, swelling, increasing their range of motion, and strengthening their weak muscles, and ultimately helping them avoid knee surgery.

If you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth Metroplex and would like more information about my Cold Laser Knee Program fill out the form on the right side of this screen to get your FREE report mailed to you today!

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001”

1. Moseley, JB, O’Malley, Peterson NJ, et al.  A Controlled Trial of Arthroscopic Surgery for Osteoarthritis of the Knee.   New England Journal of Medicine. 347(2): 7/11/02: 81-88.

2. Kolata, G. Arthritis Surgery in Ailing Knees is Cited as Sham.  New York Times.  July 11, 2002: Al.

Why Choose Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Pain Program?

Originally, I was one of the only doctors in the DFW area using Cold Lasers or Low-Level Lasers. Now, after several years and over 18,000 successful treatments later, there are a few more doctors that offer cold laser treatments.  However, there are no other doctors who I know of that use cold lasers to solely treat knee pain sufferers.

I do not use a cookie cutter approach to patient care.  In my office, patients with knee pain undergo a customized program depending on their knee condition to get the maximum benefits in the shortest amount of time.  I can choose from five different lasers so that patients get the proper care for their condition, and most of the time I combine multiple lasers to achieve the best results. My office uses world renowned lasers such as MedX™, ML830™, Apollo™, Quantum™ etc.  It is important to note that even though cold laser makes up a large part of our knee program there are other therapies that are used in conjunction with the laser, so that you get optimal, long lasting results.

Our goal is to help relieve pain, decrease swelling, increase range of motion and flexibility.  Ultimately, we want to help patients avoid knee surgery, and for many knee pain sufferers we are able to help them achieve that goal.   That is why our program is so successful, and every week we have patients who drive in or fly in from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and from other cities outside of Dallas/ Fort Worth and stay in a hotel just so they can get the relief they need to help them avoid surgery.  Many of my patients travel far distances to complete treatments with us even though there are doctors that are closer to them.  They choose to receive care in my office because of our great reputation and stellar results with treating patients suffering from knee pain.

Any doctor can own Cold Laser Therapy equipment, but this does not mean they are proficient at it.  NOT every doctor understands laser or has devoted their time to laser therapy.  There are offices that claim to do laser therapy, but do not use true cold lasers. In addition, there are offices that don’t allot the time needed to administer the cold laser properly, and they wave a laser over a patient for a few minutes and refer to that as a treatment.

At the DFW Spine & Joint Center our Cold Laser Knee Program is effective because we use true cold lasers, allot proper time, and cover all bases so that you have the highest probability of a complete and lasting recovery.

If you have knee pain, and live in the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex or surrounding areas, and would like more information about our Cold Laser Therapy Knee Program please fill out the form on the right hand side of this screen.  A  FREE Knee Pain Report will be mailed to you within 72 hours.  Or if you have questions please call our office at 214-596-1051.

This blog is meant to be interactive, and informative.  I’ll be adding new information regularly on this blog, so stay tuned. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them below.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001”