By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano There’s an old Southern saying: “That Dog Won’t Hunt.” t’s what folks say when something just isn’t going to work—no matter how many times you try. In medicine, we see the same story play out every day. Another round of steroids. Another anti-inflammatory. Another brace, another pill. But here’s the truth: if the same approach hasn’t worked the last three times, it’s time to stop pretending it will magically start worki

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano Myth #11: Going Along to Get Along — Why Playing It Safe with Steroid Shots and Surgery Can Cost You Your Joints There’s an old Southern phrase, "Go along to get along.”I t means you keep doing what everyone else does… not because it’s working, but because that’s what’s familiar. But when it comes to your health and mobility, “going along to get along” can cost you something you can’t get back: your joints. For decades

By Deborah Westergaard, MD | Pain Experts | Dallas–Plano The Hidden Bias Behind “Covered Care” There’s a deeply ingrained belief among both patients and physicians  that if an insurance company doesn’t cover a treatment, it must be unproven or worse, “fringe.” Even excellent, forward-thinking physicians fall into this mindset. We’re trained from day one to consider cost and coverage because we genuinely care about our patients. We want to ease their suffering without creating