Back Pain

Former N.Y. Yankee Jim Leyritz – Healing My Injuries & Eliminating My Pain with Regenerative Medicine

(the following is a transcript of the full interview with Jim)

I’m Jim Leyritz, former 2 time World Series Champion with the Yankees. I was a catcher in the major leagues for almost 20 years. I have been receiving Ozone and Regenerative Medicine injections to help with my injuries and pain.

Previous Injuries Creeping up on Him
2 times World Series champion

2 time World Series champion.

One of those things being a catcher is when you retire those injuries kind of start creeping up on you and that’s what happened to me.

Both ankles, both sides of my back, both shoulders. I had surgery on both of my shoulders in my playing days. Five surgeries on my left knee. One surgery on my right knee. Pretty much, it was the whole body.

It was one 

Right around 45, 46, and now I’m 55 years old, I was starting to feel these things.

Life Changing Treatment

For me to be able to have this quality of life after 5 or 6 or maybe even 7 years of going through a lot of pain. Not being able to workout. When I did the fantasy camps I couldn’t even run the bases. I had to have somebody else run for me. Now I’m pinch-running for other people.

I was 246 pounds when I started the regenerative medicine treatments and I’m 228 pounds now. I think 2 reasons why. I’m able to exercise more. I’m able to run again instead of just being on a bike and trying to burn calories that way. But more importantly I don’t have to take 6 to 10 Advil every day for the pain, for the swelling and things like that. My body is just naturally doing it because of the ozone and regenerative medicine injections and because of the treatments I am receiving with the ozone therapy.

It’s life changing. It’s physically changing your body because you are able to do more.

Regenerative Medicine as Part of an Athletes Routine

I think we all look at Bortola Colon who has been doing the regenerative medicine treatments every off season. He’s 46 years old and still pitching in the big leagues

Ozone injection into the back

Jim receiving an ozone injection into his back.

One of the things I love about the regenerative medicine is that it’s not against the PED rules in baseball. This is something where guys can come here and get these treatments and now I’m able to do everything I need to do to make myself ready for the next season.

I also truly think that Major League Baseball should look into this because if this medicine can help their players, then why not. Why not make this part of a routine. Players that are injured, players that need it, they come and they get the treatment that they need. Between the Hyperbaric Chambers, between the ozone, between whatever treatment they need, here it is.

All the athletes and sports people need to get into their mind that this is the new generation of medicine that is going to help everyone get back on the field, on the court, no matter where it is, it will make you get back quicker.

Actually Healing the Injuries

I think the most difficult thing for people to understand is that it takes time. Most people are used to being injected with cortisone or with something that all of a sudden the pain goes away, right away, but then it reoccurs later. This is the complete opposite. This is where you are actually healing from the beginning and you have to give it time.

I think for me that is what I have been able to recognize mostly in my knees and my back is that over a period of time it’s getting better and I’m not feeling like, oh, here goes, I’m set back again. It’s getting better.

It’s Working, I’m Feeling it, The Pain is Gone

For me, to be able to sleep through the night pain free. To not wake up with aching ankles, knees and shoulders, that to me, is what I feel most happy about. If you get more sleep, your body is going to be able to function better.

It was one of those things where my wife hated sleeping with me because every hour I’m turning and tossing and waking her up. Now, I don’t do that. Now I only wake her up when I want to. ;)

Another great thing is I am able to run again. I couldn’t do that before. It’s especially nice living here in Southern California. You don’t want to be on a treadmill every day. You want to get out and run the mountains and the hills and enjoy the typography that we have here in California.

This is why these treatments have been a blessing for me that this part of my life has been able to open up again. 

Passionate About Regenerative Medicine
It’s working. I’m feeling it.

“It’s working. I’m feeling it.”

If something works for me, I’m passionate about it. I’ve been through so much where people have given me things that they don’t work. I research it. I look it up. I don’t just let someone put something in my body without knowing.

I literally met you 2 years after I started looking into regenerative medicine. Meeting you and talking to you, you were that first doctor that gave me a comfort zone and more information about the treatments than most people did. I’ve been studying it, I’ve been looking at it, reading everything and you know what, let’s try this.

Again, we’ve been doing the injections for what, 4 months now. It’s working. I’m feeling it. It’s going away, my swelling and everything else, it’s gone.

Who Can Benefit From This Treatment

Anybody that works out, anybody that runs, anybody that has aches and pains, anybody that has any type of arthritis setting in after many years of being even an amateur athlete, I think the regenerative medicine treatments are for everybody that is active that wants a healthy lifestyle.”

Michael – The Treatment that Finally Relieved My Back Pain

(the following is a transcript of the full interview with Michael)

Michael was in the Army and Navy for 17 years

Michael was in the Army and Navy for 17 years.

My name is Michael. I’m a Veteran of almost 17 years in the Navy and the Army. I hurt my back on active duty and I’ve been in pain, almost chronic pain, for almost ten years. Ten years. Before my injuries I used to go hiking, hunting, fishing, backpacking. I was stationed in Alaska for nine years so that was the perfect area to go snowshoeing but like I said every step was a new adventure in pain.

A Rough Existence

I was a grumpy person. With all that back pain comes the attitude problems. Everything is an irritation. Everything is a bother. Life was just really not any kind of life that anyone would want for themselves and it really makes you not want to do the things you really enjoy doing. Another day, here I go. It’s horrible. It was a rough existence I tell you.

I couldn’t even walk my dog. Just getting out of bed was an effort. It felt like I was constantly crouching over in pain. I walked with a cane. It was horrible.

Work? I didn’t work. I was getting disability from the Army since 2016 because of the injuries. I couldn’t even go for a walk on the beach with my spouse.

When you are in pain everything is like twinging on a rubber band that’s knocking on your skin.

I Tried Everything… Nothing Worked
All of Michael’s previous efforts to relieve his pain failed

All of Michael’s previous efforts to relieve his pain failed.

I’ve done all kinds of back pain treatments. The TENS Unit, the cortisone injections,

I’ve had the physical therapy, pain management, I’ve done the whole gamut. They were even looking at doing the tri-disc replacement surgery because of all the desiccation. Then, pill popping, they get you.

At one point I was on five different prescriptions. I was horribly addicted to the opioids. The Percocet, the morphine, the Oxycontin, the Xanax, the Ambien. And then they covered it up with “now we are going to put you anti-depressants”. We are going to put you on this and that. It doesn’t help the injury it just makes you feel like there is no injury so when you start feeling better and you start getting active again you’re re-injuring yourself, you are just making it worse. After so many years on the opioids and the pain killers and the sleep aids, it was like not even living.

My Wife Found the Solution to My Pain

It wasn’t until my spouse said “hey, we need to try this regenerative medicine treatment over here”. I didn’t believe it, you know, I’ve already been through all this other stuff and nothing has worked so it just drives your motivation to do anything new down.

After the first round of injections I felt so much better. Just walking out the door my back felt so much better. I got the injections and the ozone therapy and almost right away the pain in my lower back was gone.

A New Lease on Life
Michael's first time snowboarding in Big Bear

Michael’s first time snowboarding in Big Bear.

I can’t imagine life without this treatment. I never thought I would even be walking my dog on a leash in the park. Let alone my first time snowboarding in Big Bear. It was great, I mean, who knew? That after this regenerative medicine treatment my life would do a 180 and I’d be walking on the beach, taking my dog for walks, snowboarding at 49. Who knew?

My days before when I was injured I can’t even describe it now. It’s like somebody else’s life.

Would I recommend the regenerative medicine treatments and ozone injection therapies? Definitely. I couldn’t imagine life without it.

And to all the Veteran’s, they welcome you here with open arms. They really do. They made me feel like family and I haven’t felt that way from a doctor in a long time. They usually just kick you out the door with a script.