Essential Sports and Spine Solutions

10/08/2026

In residency I rotated with a regenerative medicine physician, and it changed the way I approach medicine. 🩺

He spent the extra time with his patients. And his procedures weren't just covering up pain for a few weeks. People were coming back smiling, telling him they couldn't believe how much better they were doing.

I'd read about this in papers. That was the first time I saw it in action.

Not every patient, not every case. But enough to make me rethink what medicine could look like.

That rotation is a big part of why Essential Sports & Spine Solutions exists. 🙏

If you've been stuck on the cortisone-then-surgery track and want a different conversation, tap the link in bio to request a consult.

Who's the teacher that changed your path? 👇

For educational purposes only. Not medical advice.

10/06/2026

On a GLP-1? Read this before your next workout 👇

A new analysis in AAOS Now looked at nearly 80,000 people on GLP-1 medications. Over five years, they had higher rates of rotator cuff, Achilles, pec, and quad tendon ruptures than matched non-users.

Before you panic:
✅ It's an association, not proof of cause
✅ The absolute increase is small
✅ Diabetes itself already weakens tendons

My take? Fast weight loss takes muscle with it. Less muscle means more load on your tendons. Lift. Eat your protein. And don't ignore new shoulder or heel pain.

I'm not anti-GLP-1. I'm pro-protocol. 💪

📍 Columbus, Dublin, Westerville, Gahanna. Request a consult, link in bio.

Educational purposes only, not medical advice.
GLP1

10/05/2026

10/02/2026

iovera° is an FDA-cleared cryoneurolysis device. It uses precise, targeted cold to temporarily quiet the nerves that carry knee pain.

By Nikhil Verma, MD, board-certified, fellowship-trained interventional spine and sports medicine physician, Essential Sports and Spine Solutions, Columbus, OH A few months ago, a family friend had her knee replaced. Before surgery, a local physician treated her with iovera°. She wasn't my patient,...

10/02/2026

Your pain injection bought you time. What are you doing with it? ⏳

Most pain procedures don't fix the underlying problem. They turn down the alarm so you can move again. That quiet window is your chance to get back in the gym, stretch, and rebuild what's holding the joint or spine together.

Spend the next 12 months doing nothing, and you bought time and wasted it. 🔥 The pain comes back, you move less, and the next procedure becomes the plan.

The injection is one piece. The protocol is the point. 💪

Had injection after injection without a real plan? Link in bio to request a visit. 📍 Columbus, OH

Educational only, not medical advice.

09/30/2026

I do these procedures. I believe in them. I've watched them give people back parts of their lives that pain had taken.

I've also watched them get overused.

Both of those are true, and if you only hear one of them from me you're getting a worse version of the truth.

Here's the thing about a steroid injection. It works. Fast. And in some conditions the data shows clearly better relief at six weeks and worse outcomes at twelve months than doing less.

There's a reason they keep wearing off. It isn't that your body got used to them.

The failure I see isn't a patient who got a steroid injection. It's a patient who got four in a year and nobody ever mentioned there was a ceiling.

Same logic runs through everything in this post. Nerve blocks tell us where the pain is coming from. Radiofrequency ablation quiets the signal without fixing the joint. Stimulators can change a life for the right person, and that person is rarer than the implant numbers suggest.

I wrote about all of it. Trigger points, joint injections, nerve blocks, RFA, ligament injections, the minimally invasive spine options most people don't know exist, and neuromodulation.

Including the honest part: I offer these and I reach for them rarely.

A procedure that buys you three months of relief is only valuable if those three months contain the work.

Link in bio 🔗

This is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

09/29/2026

Cold, not cortisone. ❄️ iovera° quiets the nerves carrying your knee pain, always under ultrasound. I use it before a knee replacement or before PRP, BMAC, or MFAT. Insurance may limit it, and self-pay keeps it simple.

📅 Book a consult: link in bio

Educational only. Not medical advice.

iovera kneepain kneearthritis PRP regenerativemedicine

09/25/2026

Pain that occurs primarily with stairs does not necessarily mean the knee is seriously damaged. However, recurring or worsening pain can indicate an underlying condition that deserves evaluation.

Knee pain when climbing or descending stairs is a common complaint, but the reason is not always obvious. Stair climbing places greater demands on the knee joint than walking on level ground, which can make underlying problems more noticeable. Pain may be related to the kneecap, cartilage, tendons,....

09/24/2026

My buddy tore his Achilles. First question we talked through: does he actually need surgery? 🤔

He chose not to. He went the regenerative route with PRP and bone marrow concentrate, plus the rehab work that nobody gets to skip. Two years later he's running triathlons. 🏊‍♂️🚴‍♂️🏃‍♂️

And Aaron Rodgers? He did have surgery. But he didn't stop there. He's talked publicly about adding stem cells, hyperbaric oxygen, a dialed-in diet, and up to eight hours a day of rehab, with PRP reportedly part of the mix too. Surgery was one piece. Everything around it is what sped up his return.

Now, let me be honest. A full tear with a big gap is a different conversation, and I said that on the podcast too. You can't inject a complete rupture back together. But a lot of people get handed a surgery date before anyone asks the real question: what does YOUR tear look like, and what are YOUR goals?

That's the whole philosophy of my field, physical medicine and rehabilitation. What can we do to prevent or put off surgery, and when surgery is the right call, how do we help you recover better?

The injection is one piece. The protocol is the point. 💪

Clip from my conversation on (Down To Health Podcast).

📍 Columbus, OH | Book a consult, link in bio
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This is not medical advice. This is for educational purposes.