Capitol Spine & Pain Centers Brings Pain Management Expertise to Disadvantaged Community in Peru
Advanced Injection Therapies Taught to Local Doctors;
Free Clinic Helps Relieve Pain for Hundreds of Underprivileged
Fairfax, Virginia — Clean drinking water, food and electricity. For residents of Pamplona Alta, a poor and disadvantaged community outside of Lima, Peru, these staples of daily existence are all-consuming pursuits; pursuits of such utmost priority that other critical life concerns, like medical care, are sacrificed as luxuries. Thanks to the volunteer efforts of pain management experts from Northern Virginia, however, the inhabitants of Pamplona Alta can now look forward to healthier, pain-free lives.
In early September, Mayo F. Friedlis, MD, and Jatinder Narula, MD, from Capitol Spine & Pain Centers were among 35 doctors from the United States, Mexico and Argentina, who traveled to Pamplona for a week-long opportunity to collaborate with and teach local doctors how to diagnose and treat pain-related conditions.
The annual trip, led this year by Dr. Friedlis, was coordinated through the American Academy of Orthopaedic Medicine and undertaken as part of the organization’s ongoing commitment to humanitarian outreach and continuing education. Once onsite, local physicians were invited to the Pamplona Mission to observe and train in a host of interventional pain management techniques, with a special focus on prolotherapy, one of several regenerative treatments for which Dr. Friedlis is recognized as a foremost expert.
"Participating on these goodwill trips is always a humbling experience and a highlight of my year," says Dr. Friedlis, Managing Partner for Capitol Spine & Pain Centers. "It's incredibly gratifying for my colleagues and me to share our time and expertise with communities where the need is so great and immediate. During our stay we collaborated with local physicians to provide free medical care and pain treatments to more than 1,200 patients, a staggering percentage of who were living in chronic pain from resolvable ailments."
Dr. Friedlis continues, "One of the treatments we were eager to teach is called Prolotherapy, an innovative injection technique we employ regularly at our own practice. It is a highly successful option for combatting musculoskeletal injury and pain, and one that is well-suited for environments like Pamplona where resources are limited. Why is it such a great option? 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.
"What value is there in knowledge if you don’t share it? As experts in the field of pain management, we're in a position to share what we know with communities in desperate need at home and abroad," says Dr. Friedlis. “We’ll be looking forward to next year’s trip and staying in touch with our new friends in Peru."