By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts If You’re Going on a Vegetarian Diet… Do You Shop at a Butcher? Let me ask you something. If you’ve decided to pursue a vegetarian diet…is the first place you go a butcher shop? Of course not. Not because the butcher is wrong.Not because meat is bad.But because the solution you’re seeking doesn’t match the training of the provider. The same principle applies to your joints and spine. If your goal is to avoid surgery in Dallas, the fir

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts There Are Biological Points of No Return Cartilage does not regenerate indefinitely. Ligaments do not re-tighten themselves once instability progresses. Muscles that protect joints can shut down quietly over time. There are structural thresholds in biology. And once those thresholds are crossed, your options narrow. If you want to Avoid Joint Surgery in Dallas, the smartest strategy is early structural clarity not late-stage reaction.

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano When Traditional Pain Management Tools No Longer Match the Demands of Modern Life When I transitioned from the intellectually rewarding field of anesthesiology into pain management more than two decades ago, my goal was not simply to join a specialty. I wanted to operate at the highest level of it. That search led me to Texas Tech and the legendary Dr. Gabor Racz, whose fellowship was regarded internationally as the pi

NSAIDs, Steroid Injections, and Turmeric are Often Options Joint pain flares push many people toward two common options: Oral NSAIDs Intra-articular corticosteroid injections Both have been widely used for decades. Both temporarily reduce pain. And both have well-documented downsides for cartilage biology. Oral NSAIDs inhibit COX-1 and COX-2 and can impair: Cartilage cell metabolism Proteoglycan synthesis Collagen turnover Long-term cartilage recovery Repeated intra-articular

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano Outdated Thinking About Cartilage Repair After 50 They told you cartilage can’t...

And every morning: 8 miles. But here’s the problem no one is telling her — and no one is telling him , either (and many of our gentlemen...

A year ago this July, I joined a club I never wanted to be part of the Hip Replacement Club. And while I would’ve traded nearly...

Long hours. High expectations. Active weekends.Joint pain, stiffness, or old injuries shouldn’t be the reason you slow down—or the reason...

By Deborah Westergaard, MD Pain Experts How to Avoid Knee Surgery Are you or someone you know facing knee pain or considering surgery? There are ways to explore non-surgical options that may help protect your natural joint for longer. In our latest Pain Experts Talk  episode, we dive into the impact of prior knee surgeries on early arthritis and explore how regenerative treatments like PRP and bone marrow concentrate can support cartilage health and possibly delay the need fo