Gold Implantation – A New Method for Treating Chronic Arthritic PainKjerkegaard outlines how US-American veterinarians began with gold implantation in dogs with hip dysplasia in 1978. The majority of the dogs became free of pain and were able to run around, and their appetite improved. In 1985 Danish veterinarians started with gold implantation in dogs and horses. Gold beads were implanted right at the outside of the joint capsule. An X-ray photograph was taken before and after the treatment. The veterinary results: the majority of the animals were rid of their pain, there were no side effects, the gold implants did not migrate, and the procedure was simple and inexpensive compared to, e.g., alloplastic. Kjerkegaard started with gold implantation in humans in 1996. His first patient was a 48-year-old man with severe arthritis in one knee due to injuries from playing soccer. Shortly after the gold implantation, the symptoms – aches, pain and swellings after any exertion – disappeared. 8 years later the knee was still problem free, and he even was able to play badminton. Since 1996 Kjerkegaard has treated about 5500 patients. About 50% of them suffer from lumbar disc degeneration, 33% have arthritic knees, and the remainder have arthritic hips, cervical disc degeneration or arthritic problems in other parts of the body. After taking X-ray images and identifying the relevant trigger points, the patients receive a small lidocaine block there. If the pain disappears, gold beads (2 mm long, 1 mm in diameter) are implanted at each active trigger point through a 14-G needle. While veterinarians found positive results in about 80%, human doctors had positive results in about two-thirds of the patients. In a double-blind research just ended, involving patients with cervical osteoarthritis, Kjerkegaard found a major effect of gold implantation compared with patients who did not receive gold implantation.
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