Regenexx® Non-surgical Shoulder Treatment
For Shoulders with Arthritis, Rotator Cuff Tears & Other Shoulder Conditions in Denver, CO
Am I a Candidate?What Are Regenexx Procedures for Shoulders?
Regenexx® Non-surgical Shoulder Treatment uses sophisticated image-guided injections to place high-dose platelet-rich plasma or bone marrow concentrate containing stem cells in critical places to help your body heal itself. As the headquarters of Regenexx, Centeno-Schultz is where all of these procedures used by our national network began and were invented. These are breakthrough, non-surgical procedures for people suffering from shoulder pain due to common injuries and conditions pertaining to the shoulders. So, if you’re looking for an alternative to shoulder surgery in Denver or Boulder, Colorado, what you really need is what we offer at Centeno-Schultz Clinic in Broomfield.
Traditional options for patients suffering from these conditions include arthroscopic shoulder surgery to repair tears, or shoulder joint replacement. With both surgeries, months of rehab are required, and the patient must be aware of and prepared to take on the risks. As an alternative, the Regenexx Same‑Day Protocol procedure may help alleviate shoulder pain and the conditions that cause it with a simple injection procedure.
Why Go with Regenexx’s Non-surgical Shoulder Treatment Instead of Surgery?
Because the shoulder is the most mobile joint in the human body, most patients considering surgery for a shoulder injury, osteoarthritis, or degenerative condition are looking for relief from pain. Surgical approaches using the pain generator understanding of orthopedic pain can often be reductive (or plain wrong) about what is the cause of pain.
Orthopedic surgeons have surgical solutions which are not always in your best interest. Orthopedic surgeons are trained and dedicated to the surgical model. Their treatment recommendations are biased towards surgery and not always in your best interest. For example, rotator cuff surgery has a significant number of complications the most important of which is a high number of re-tears. Surgery for shoulder instability due to ligament injury can be a major surgery requiring extensive rehabilitation and time. Results can be disappointing and complications can occur.
Common Shoulder Conditions We Treat
This is not a complete list, so please contact us or complete the Regenexx Candidate Form if you have questions about whether you or your condition can be treated with these non-surgical procedures.
- Rotator cuff tears
- Arthritis of the shoulder joint
- Thoracic outlet syndrome
- Labral tears or degeneration
- Rotator cuff tendonitis & tendonosis
- AC Joint Separation
- Recurrent shoulder dislocations
Explore The Conditions We Treat
L5-S1 Annular Tear
The labrum is a cartilaginous cup that circles the shallow shoulder socket (the glenoid) to make the socket deeper. The labrum supports and stabilizes the shoulder joint. Causes of Shoulder Labral Tears Injury to the labrum typically occurs from repetitive trauma in overhead throwers, such as in baseball. It can also occur from a traction injury to the arm, such as lifting a heavy object off the ground or getting your arm jerked. Symptoms of Shoulder Labral Tears. Typical symptoms include pain in the front of the shoulder or deep inside the joint. Treatment options initially include physical therapy which is designed to restore range of motion and strength to the shoulder.
Read More About L5-S1 Annular TearAC Joint Impingement
AC joint Impingement is a painful condition that occurs when the space beneath the acromion bone is narrowed. This narrowing can result in irritation of the rotator cuff tendons and bursa. A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that reduces the friction on tendons and muscles as they cross bony surfaces. A tendon is thick collagen tissue that connects muscles to bones. The rotator cuff tendons provide important support and enable movement in the shoulder. If severe, impingement can cause tears in the rotator cuff tendons. Patients with AC joint impingement typically have pain with elevation of the arm and or while lying on the shoulder.
Read More About AC Joint ImpingementAC Joint Impingement Demo
AC joint Impingement is a painful condition that occurs when the space beneath the acromion bone is narrowed. This narrowing can result in irritation of the rotator cuff tendons and bursa. A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that reduces the friction on tendons and muscles as they cross bony surfaces. A tendon is thick collagen tissue that connects muscles to bones. The rotator cuff tendons provide important support and enable movement in the shoulder. If severe, impingement can cause tears in the rotator cuff tendons. Patients with AC joint impingement typically have pain with elevation of the arm and or while lying on the shoulder.
Read More About AC Joint Impingement DemoAvascular Necrosis of the Shoulder
Avascular Necrosis is essentially a lack of blood flow, eventually resulting in necrosis, or dying of the bone. This happens in multiple joints. And today we are talking specifically about the shoulder. So talking about AVN in the shoulder, patients typically come up with two main questions. Number one, can this heal on its own? And if not, how long or how fast will this progress? Now we classify AVN in multiple different stages: Number one: we have stage one, where it is very normal X-ray — usually, typically, someone just has pain with activity. Is the bone itself continues to deteriorate, then we start getting some changes on your X-ray.
Read More About Avascular Necrosis of the ShoulderCalcific Tendonitis
Calcific tendonitis, also known as calcifying tendonitis, is a condition characterized by the formation of calcium deposits in a tendon, most commonly in the rotator cuff tendons of the shoulder. These deposits are not due to injury or trauma but rather occur spontaneously. Tendons, the thick connective tissues that link muscles to bones, aren’t usually calcified. However, in calcific tendonitis, calcium builds up in these tissues, which can result in inflammation and severe pain. This condition tends to occur more commonly in adults between 30 and 60 years old, and it’s more prevalent in women than in men.
Read More About Calcific TendonitisEhlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
Disorders that affect and weaken the connective tissues such as tendons and ligaments. It is a hereditary disorder which means you are born with it. EDS has many different signs and symptoms which can vary significantly depending upon the type of EDS and its severity. It most commonly affects the skin, joints, and blood vessels. Joints are typically hypermobile with excessive joint range of motion because of a defect in collagen formation. In most cases Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is inherited. That is to say that you are born with it. The two main ways EDS is inherited are: autosomal dominant inheritance and autosomal recessive inheritance…
Read More About Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)Frozen Shoulder
Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a painful loss of shoulder movement and range in motion. The incidence of frozen shoulder is 3-5% in the general population and up to 20% in those with diabetes. The peak incidence is between 40-60 years of age. The exact mechanism is poorly understood. In general, the capsule becomes inflamed, thickened, and contracted with pain and significant restriction in range of motion. causes are poorly understood but risk factors include trauma, prolonged immobility, systematic diseases such as diabetes, stroke, connective tissue disease, and heart disease. Other causes include post-surgery, chronic inflammation causing stimulation of myofibroblasts
Read More About Frozen ShoulderRotator Cuff Tear
Are you plagued by shoulder pain that has now transitioned from intermittent to constant and keeps you up at night? Are daily shoulder movements, such as dressing and reaching for objects in the kitchen cabinets, painful? Is your range of motion decreasing as your pain is increasing? You may have a full- or partial-thickness rotator cuff tear. Has conservative therapy in the form of heat, ice, stretching, rest, and acupuncture failed to provide significant relief? Has an MRI demonstrated a full-thickness or partial-thickness tear of the rotator cuff? What to do? If left untreated, full-thickness and 26% of partial-thickness tears will progress.
Read More About Rotator Cuff TearShoulder Impingement Syndrome
Pain is the most common symptom. It typically occurs with the elevation of the arm, forced movement overhead, and when lying on the shoulder. Impingement can also cause shoulder pain when reaching across the body. Narrowing of the subacromial space is the most common cause of shoulder impingement syndrome (6). The subacromial space is the area between the top of the arm bone (humerus) and the AC joint. This narrowing compresses or pinches the rotator cuff tendons and bursa. If left untreated the rotator cuff tendons can become inflamed, damaged, and or torn.Bursa and tendons can not be seen on x-ray. An x-ray may demonstrate…
Read More About Shoulder Impingement SyndromeShoulder Labral Tears
The labrum is a cartilaginous cup that circles the shallow shoulder socket (the glenoid) to make the socket deeper. The labrum supports and stabilizes the shoulder joint. Causes of Shoulder Labral Tears Injury to the labrum typically occurs from repetitive trauma in overhead throwers, such as in baseball. It can also occur from a traction injury to the arm, such as lifting a heavy object off the ground or getting your arm jerked. Symptoms of Shoulder Labral Tears. Typical symptoms include pain in the front of the shoulder or deep inside the joint. Treatment options initially include physical therapy which is designed to restore range of motion and strength to the shoulder.
Read More About Shoulder Labral TearsSwimmer’s Shoulder
On average, a swimmer swims 60,000 meters per week. A large proportion of the forward propulsion in swimming is generated by the upper body. 90% of the driving force in the upper body comes from the torque generated by the shoulder. As a result, the shoulder is put under tremendous load during various swimming strokes to generate this propulsive force. Similar forces act on the shoulder when a person lifts heavy weights overhead or works in a profession or sport with the same shoulder movement. These forces can lead to swimmer’s shoulder, whether caused by impingement of a nerve, a tear in the…
Read More About Swimmer’s ShoulderThoracic Outlet Syndrome
The thoracic outlet is an area around the collar bone where the nerves that come from your neck meet up with the blood vessels from your heart and together supply the entire upper extremity (shoulder and arm). These blood vessels (subclavian artery and vein) and nerves (brachial plexus) travel from the base of your neck to your armpit (axilla) and are considered the “thoracic outlet”. Now that you know what the thoracic outlet is, what is thoracic outlet syndrome? Simply listening to a patient’s history and completing a physical examination is all that is needed to diagnose TOS. But more involved imaging such as X-rays…
Read More About Thoracic Outlet SyndromeThoracic Spine Tumor: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment Options
The labrum is a cartilaginous cup that circles the shallow shoulder socket (the glenoid) to make the socket deeper. The labrum supports and stabilizes the shoulder joint. Causes of Shoulder Labral Tears Injury to the labrum typically occurs from repetitive trauma in overhead throwers, such as in baseball. It can also occur from a traction injury to the arm, such as lifting a heavy object off the ground or getting your arm jerked. Symptoms of Shoulder Labral Tears. Typical symptoms include pain in the front of the shoulder or deep inside the joint. Treatment options initially include physical therapy which is designed to restore range of motion and strength to the shoulder.
Read More About Thoracic Spine Tumor: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment OptionsRotator Cuff Tears
Rotator cuff tears are common as people get older. But a tear on your MRI doesn’t mean you’re destined for the operating table. Research demonstrates that 75% of rotator cuff repair surgeries offer no significant benefit over no surgery at all. Learn more about our procedure, the Perc-Shoulder Rotator Cuff Procedure, here:
Shoulder Labrum Tear
A shoulder labrum tear can be caused by a direct injury to the shoulder or as the result of prolonged wear and tear. If you’re considering surgery for labral tears, learn more about our non-surgical option.
Shoulder Osteoarthritis
Our procedure for shoulder osteoarthritis (percutaneous shoulder arthroplasty) is a non-surgical outpatient procedure that helps your body use its innate ability to heal itself to avoid painful surgery and promote a more speedy recovery.
Are You A Candidate?
REQUEST A IN-PERSON OR TELEMEDICINE EVALUATION
Dr Pitts demonstrates the height of professionalism and depth of knowledge treating my shoulder. While my visit was for my shoulder Dr. Pitts asked if…
Nancy C.
I went for shoulder pain after a surgery. The surgery had left me with a defect in my bicep tendon. Over time, A small tear…
Mike B.
Through all the phases leading to, during and after the stem cell procedures on my cervical spine and right shoulder were professional, based on kind…
Sandra H.
I had PRP procedure on my elbow and one shoulder. I was extremely happy with results. The level was very high before my procedure and…
Kim L.
Dr. Schultz is knowledgeable, personable and very skilled. He explained my MRIs in detail to me, and we discussed treatment options. I have had platelet…
Patricia K.
Dr. Markle has performed 3 separate procedures on my shoulders in the past 2 years. The results I have experienced are outstanding. I went from…
Marc W.
It has been 2 months since I had stem cell injections in my shoulder for rotator cuff injury I believe I Still need to improve…
Chris N.
Shoulder Function Improvement After Regenexx Procedure – Prior to treatment, patients report being limited to an average of 65% of their optimal function. After receiving treatment, they report averages up to 87%. The functional questionnaire represented here is the Functional Rating Index (FRI).
Shoulder Pain Decrease After Regenexx Non-surgical Shoulder Treatment – Prior to receiving treatment, patients report average pain of 4.3/10. One month after treatment, pain levels decrease to an average of 2.8/10, a decrease of 35%. The questionnaire used is the Numeric Pain Scale (NPS).
Using a precise, image-guided injections, we are able to get more of the body’s natural “repairmen” directly into the tear. By mobilizing your body’s own healing mechanisms and eliminating the trauma of surgery and atrophy caused by immobilization, Regenexx has produced good results in the treatment of partial rotator cuff tears and has even shown encouraging success with completely retracted tears. Our procedure for shoulder pain, in other words, uses the patient’s own body to repair itself.
Choose a Provider
Christopher J. Centeno, MD
Christopher J. Centeno, M.D. is an international expert and specialist in Interventional Orthopedics and the clinical use of bone marrow concentrate in orthopedics. He is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation with a subspecialty of pain medicine through The American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Centeno is one of the few physicians in the world with extensive experience in the culture expansion of and clinical use of adult bone marrow concentrate to treat orthopedic injuries. His clinic incorporates a variety of revolutionary pain management techniques to bring its broad patient base relief and results. Dr. Centeno treats patients from all over the US who…
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John Schultz, MD
John R. Schultz M.D. is a national expert and specialist in Interventional Orthopedics and the clinical use of bone marrow concentrate for orthopedic injuries. He is board certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and underwent fellowship training in both. Dr. Schultz has extensive experience with same day as well as culture expanded bone marrow concentrate and sees patients at the CSC Broomfield, Colorado Clinic, as well the Regenexx Clinic in Grand Cayman. Dr. Schultz emphasis is on the evaluation and treatment of thoracic and cervical disc, facet, nerve, and ligament injuries including the non-surgical treatment of Craniocervical instability (CCI). Dr. Schultz trained at George Washington School of…
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John Pitts, M.D.
Dr. Pitts is originally from Chicago, IL but is a medical graduate of Vanderbilt School of Medicine in Nashville, TN. After Vanderbilt, he completed a residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The focus of PM&R is the restoration of function and quality of life. In residency, he gained much experience in musculoskeletal medicine, rehabilitation, spine, and sports medicine along with some regenerative medicine. He also gained significant experience in fluoroscopically guided spinal procedures and peripheral injections. However, Dr. Pitts wanted to broaden his skills and treatment options beyond the current typical standards of care.
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Jason Markle, D.O.
Post-residency, Dr. Markle was selected to the Interventional Orthopedic Fellowship program at the Centeno-Schultz Clinic. During his fellowship, he gained significant experience in the new field of Interventional Orthopedics and regenerative medicine, honing his skills in advanced injection techniques into the spine and joints treating patients with autologous, bone marrow concentrate and platelet solutions. Dr. Markle then accepted a full-time attending physician position at the Centeno-Schultz Clinic, where he both treats patients and trains Interventional Orthopedics fellows. Dr. Markle is an active member of the Interventional Orthopedic Foundation and serves as a course instructor, where he trains physicians from around the world.
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Brandon T. Money, D.O., M.S.
Dr. Money is an Indiana native who now proudly calls Colorado home. He attended medical school at Kansas City University and then returned to Indiana to complete a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency program at Indiana University, where he was trained on non-surgical methods to improve health and function as well as rehabilitative care following trauma, stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, etc. Dr. Money has been following the ideology behind Centeno-Schultz Clinic and Regenexx since he was in medical school, as he believed there had to be a better way to care for patients than the status quo. The human body has incredible healing capabilities…
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