Home › Blog › What Triathlon Knee Pain? Middle Aged Triathlete Athlete Completes Kona Iron Man after Regenexx Procedures

Can an injection of your own stuff stare down triathlon knee pain and make it blink? The Regenexx procedure using stem cells to treat knee arthritis has had a long history with triathletes and the Iron man race. This time it’s a middle aged guy trying to stay in the race despite 2 prior failed arthroscopic knee surgeries. Significant knee pain during triathlons was holding him back. By the time Dr. Schultz evaluated him in May of this year, he had arthritis on the inside of the knee. However, using our Orthopedics 2.0 approach, Dr. Schultz also recognized that he had another big issue: loose ACL and MCL ligaments. No surgeon would have thought these were loose enough to replace, but for a high level triathlete, they made his knee unstable and created an inflamed joint. In addition, what no one else had noticed was that irritated nerves in his back were also causing significant problems in muscle activation around the knee, so he wasn’t using those muscles to protect his knee as long as those nerves weren’t working. Dr. Schultz used the Regenexx-ACL and Regenexx-PL-Disc procedures to treat those critical issues. He recently received this e-mail from this triathlete:

“Thanks so much for all of your good wishes and support.  It was an outstanding experience from the start to the end!  The swim start is the most exciting athletic event kick off I have ever seen.  Had a solid swim  and actually backed off the bike time because I was concerned about having enough gas in the tank for the run in the heat.  Winds were quiet at Hawi but I hit a BIG head wind for the last 30 on the bike and tried not to fight it to conserve the energy for the run.  My big concern was my knee for the run and I no problems.  I just decided to back off and take it easy to make sure I could enjoy the finish.  Very interesting being out there on the Queen K in total darkness with the last of the triathletes.  This race is the best of the best and most participants had won their age group in the last year at an IM race to qualify, so there was not a long list of slow old guys hanging out with me at the end.   Since you guys know I am a little competitive and it was not exactly a PR, I had plenty of gas in the tank at the end and the knee held up incredibly well.  It was a true joy to be able to finish strong and take in all the sights at the end. 

The chute at the finish line is electric with energy, even for the slow guys like me.  What a privilege to be able to participate.  The unique thing about the Ironman is you are out there with best on the same day and the same course and you get to see them on the route.  We are all out there each with their own personal story and journey.”

We’re happy to see this triathlete being able to finish the Iron man in style after the Regenexx procedures!

Chris Centeno, MD is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. View Profile