A patient testimonial interview in which Steve Garner (age 69) describes his experience receiving two PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections at Pinnacle Integrative Orthopedics for right-hip gluteal tendinitis/trochanteric bursitis. He reports notable improvement: symptoms largely resolved within ~3.5–4 months, progressive return to walking (up to 4 miles within weeks), and ability to undertake strenuous travel walks (4–8 miles/day) without overnight soreness. The video also covers procedure logistics, brief downtime/activity restrictions, cost/insurance considerations (procedures paid out-of-pocket), and positive remarks about staff and overall satisfaction.
He progressed back to walking 4 miles within weeks and reported daily vacation walking of 4–8 miles without lasting overnight soreness.
Chapters
All right, well, I am here with Steve Garner, and if you don't mind, my friend, can you give us your age? Because you don't look it for sure.
Yeah. Well, you say that to all your clients, don't you?
I say it to most of them, but only if it's true. Only if it's true.
I'll be 69 the end of this month.
Awesome. And a very active 69.
I'm active.
Yeah. And so Steve is actually a Pinnacle Silver patient. So we have done PRP injections for his right hip. He has not much hip arthritis. He actually had a tear of the tendon in his hip and what we call gluteal tendinitis. And so it was kind of more. It was like what we would call trochanter bursitis or hip bursitis.
Right, okay.
And it had been bothering you for a number of years.
Yeah.
How long had that been a problem?
It really started to be a problem about a year ago. I'd had intermittent and residual discomfort with it, but it really started to aggravate last summer. And.
I was a marathon runner for a long time. Quit that. And I walk, ride a bike, swim on occasion, and I just had some discomfort in my distance walks. I would walk depending on how I felt, between three and six miles. And just there were some issues with it on occasion. I had a full knee replacement three years ago and really pleased with the outcome of it. My doctor released me to continue running if I wanted to, and I just made the personal decision not to.
And I just. It was like all, you know, replacements, whether it's a knee or hip or shoulder, it's a pretty drastic effect on your body. And I just made the choice if there was something alternative that I could approach and try on my hip, I would rather do that.
Right. So what triggered you to finally come in and talk to us here at Pinnacle about the biologics, therapies?
I just did some research, Dr. Schachter, and had seen some information about alternatives, and I really just had questions. And I actually have been in the downtown area for a while, had seen the office here, and I saw one of your commercials, and I said, you know, we'll talk to them and find out what my options might be.
Yeah. And this gentleman is a very considered approach to this. So we talked about your options, and he's. He educates himself very well. So he really knew a lot when he first came in, and then we talked, and he had a chance to think about it. And what kind of concerns did you have. Prior to our procedure, just.
I didn't know enough about it. I just knew that there were some options. This was. I don't know what the right word for it is, Dr. Schacher, but just more of a holistic approach to body care. And I really was looking for something like that that could take care of this issue without major surgery.
Yeah. And that's what we do.
Yeah. Well, and that's why I'm here.
And what was the procedure like? So with him, we did two PRP injections. They were about six weeks apart. And so just describe how those procedures went for you.
Okay. The.
The preparation for me, I didn't have an issue. He told me it's going to be, you know, pretty good sized. Needle and needles have never bothered me. I've donated blood for decades, and just large needles just don't bother me. I was.
Quite surprised on the first injection because.
Even though needles never bothered me because it was new, I just wasn't ready for it. And so it was a shock to me. But the next injections weren't because I knew what to expect. And so was. That was for the first round of shots and then the second procedure, you know, I was ready for it and knew what was coming.
I do want to make sure that I get across how pleased I am with the outcome of the entire process.
I came in with an issue that was a constant problem, and three and a half, four months later, that's gone. And I'm so grateful for the improvement, especially the mobility that I have. I can continue.
My exercise and not worry about having, you know.
Lasting pain through the evening or overnight. That's not an issue that I have anymore.
So amazing.
I made the right choice in going this route rather than, you know, conventional surgery.
I think it's. And he's a special guy. I think all of our patients are special. He's so active, like. And that was always kind of a concern for you. Am I gonna be able to stay active? So. So what kind of downtime did you have? After our procedures, when did you return to your normal activities?
I think at the very beginning, after you and I talked about what I could or couldn't do leading up to each of the procedures and what I could and couldn't do. After the procedures, I curtailed my walking regimen in favor of the stretching exercise program that you gave me. And so I did that the week leading up to each of the PRP procedures and the two weeks after each of the procedures just to give my body an opportunity to Receive the treatment, to heal after the treatment. And then I continued my walking. I went from one mile to two miles in between the two procedures. And after the second procedure, after the second week of that, I increased that back up eventually to four miles. And so I got my walk back up to four miles within.
How long was that?
I probably the first week I started walking after the two week break, I stayed at two miles. And then the week after that I went to three miles. And a week after that I went to four miles. So I tried to do it gradually.
That's incredible. But that's pretty fast too. Yeah, going four miles within a couple of weeks is a really impressive progression. And so we were just talking about what life's like now. You know, you're able to do everything that you want to do. We just got back from an amazing trip to Europe. What were you able to do on that trip?
Trip, you know, prior to the vacation that my wife and I enjoyed with some family, we knew that we were going to have a pretty strenuous walking regimen during the course of that vacation. And so I wanted to be prepared for that. And so I was walking four miles comfortably. And I dropped my time per mile on that so that I could be ready for that vacation. On the vacation, we had daily walking of four to eight miles. And I was really pleased that I was ready for it when we got there. That those days that we did, you know, six or seven or eight miles, I did not have lasting soreness through the evening or overnight. The next morning when I woke up, I was ready for that day. I didn't have any issues the second day, the third day, the fourth day after those, you know, strenuous walks. So I was really pleased with that.
That's so great. Thank you so much. And so what would you tell somebody who's considering this now? Insurance doesn't cover these procedures. They are. It's real money. It's an investment. What would you tell somebody who's considering Pinnacle Integrative Orthopedics and our novel approach to musculoskeletal care? And what would you.
You know, one of the things that I want to make sure I get across first and foremost is how pleased I am with the outcome of the procedures. It was a difficult decision for me and my wife that this was a concierge service as opposed to letting insurance cover it. Like, you know, most of us are used to insurance covering everything and we have a deductible we have to take care of. And sometimes, you know, additional to that. But, you know, this being a procedure that, you know, had to be paid for, it was just a decision that I made personally. It was.
A remedy for a problem I had that I was perfectly pleased with my decision to make. It was just coming to grips with. Like you said, it's real money, and I have no problems. I had no problem making the decision to part with that money for a procedure that I felt was in my personal best interest for me, emotionally, physically, for my body and long term.
That's great, man. Anything else that you want to say?
I do want to say something else about the staff that you have here. Dr. Schachter. One of the things I really enjoyed about each of my visits here at your office is interaction that your staff has with me.
It's a breath of fresh air to.
Have.
Someone.
Regardless of who it is, if it's the receptionist up front, if it's the nurse or tech that takes care of me for the laser treatments where he administers the shot. But I felt like I was welcome and that as a patient, they were glad I was here, and I just have enjoyed the complete.
Treatment that the staff has given me each time.
Dr. Sharp, we take a lot of pride in what we do, and we really do truly feel that our patients are part of the family, and.
We want them to feel that. So thank you for doing so well and being an amazing patient.
