My experience with bone marrow aspiration

In my podcast with Dr. Thomas Incledon, we laughed heartily about our experiences with bone marrow aspiration, a painful but effective procedure to aid recovery. For me, it was all about getting my knee healed after surgery, and this meant seeing Dr. Joseph had to call in Purita to pull bone marrow from my hip, turn it down, and use those precious stem cells to speed up the healing of my knee. Sounds simple, I know. But there was one major complication: My bones are absurdly dense, thanks to years of NFL impacts, lifting and pure genetics.

When Dr. Purita started the procedure, he quickly realized that my bones were not average. To aspirate bone marrow, he had to break through the hip bone to access the marrow inside. Usually it is one or two taps, especially in older patients whose bones are much less dense. But in my case it took him about seven strokes, each harder than the last. Imagine being put on the line as a vampire, like I told Dr. Incledon said: It was intense to say the least. Dr. Purita wasn’t just tapping; he went almost medieval, trying to break through what must have felt like stone.

Then I called Tom. I had some good words for him because he went through the same procedure and gave me no warning about how cruel it could be. Tom laughed it off and said he barely felt anything when he went through it. He was surprised, but the point is, most patients don’t have bones that require a hammer to crack! Tom didn’t have my NFL-hardened bone density, so his experience was nothing like mine.

Despite the pain, the procedure works. Bone marrow stem cells have powerful healing potential, and for athletes or anyone looking for an alternative to surgery. This approach can make a real difference in healing time. By harnessing my own cells, I was able to promote healing naturally, something worth the discomfort of those seven hard taps on the hip.

This story may sound harsh, but it reminds us that recovery often takes perseverance. Sometimes the most effective treatments aren’t simple, but when done right, they are well worth the effort. The bone marrow procedure was a struggle, but I would take it again for the gains in mobility and the chance to stay off the surgeon’s table.

For anyone considering regenerative treatments, know that it may be a little (or a lot) uncomfortable, but it’s all about the bigger picture: regaining full strength and mobility without invasive surgery.