Meet Dr. Timothy Taylor: A Personalized, Patient Centric Approach to Regenerative Orthopedics

 

For Dr. Timothy Taylor, regenerative orthopedics fills an important space between traditional conservative care and surgery. His approach starts with understanding why a patient is hurting, how an injury is affecting their function and what treatment makes sense for that individual—not simply treating a diagnosis. That philosophy ultimately brought Dr. Taylor across the country to join Breakthrough Regenerative Orthopedics, where he could focus on evidence-based regenerative treatments designed to help patients heal, restore function and get back to the activities that matter to them.

 

Where does regenerative orthopedics fit within the larger orthopedic treatment continuum?

I like regenerative orthopedics because it fits into that space where we don't necessarily need to immediately jump to surgery just because you have a new injury or trauma. The body does an amazing job of healing itself, and with regenerative orthopedics, we've found ways to tap into that ability and help the body heal appropriately.

 

It's more than simply resting, icing an injury, using heat or taking Tylenol, but it's still less invasive than surgery. The goal is to determine what is actually injured and then find the appropriate treatment to help the body's own healing process. Ideally, that can also help a patient avoid surgery.

 

What made you decide to move across the country to join Breakthrough Regenerative Orthopedics?

My first job after fellowship was in a nonsurgical orthopedic practice, and it was a great experience, but I was still restricted in how much regenerative orthopedics I could do. I found myself doing things like steroid injections knowing that, for some patients, they were going to be back in a few months and we would be treating the same problem again. It could feel like putting a bandage on an injury instead of working toward a long-term outcome.

 

I spent a long time looking at regenerative orthopedic practices around the country. I wanted to find somewhere my family would be happy, and practice in a place where I could treat patients the way I felt they needed to be treated. Breakthrough in beautiful Boulder, Colorado has been an incredible fit for me both personally and professionally.

 

Dr. Mazzola and I actually spent about two years getting to know each other. I attended conferences with him, visited Breakthrough in Boulder and spent a lot of time talking with him about regenerative orthopedics and patient care. Every time I visited, I was impressed by the environment. Throughout medical school, residency and fellowship, I had never been in an office where I felt like everyone genuinely cared so much about each other and about the patients and their outcomes.

 

There really is a family aspect to Breakthrough. I also saw that Dr. Mazzola was practicing regenerative orthopedics for the same reasons I wanted to practice it—to help people because we care about them and to continually look for the next best thing that we can do for them. That's what I was looking for in a practice.

 

What regenerative orthopedic treatments are you most excited about being able to offer patients?

Honestly, all of them. We have a broad spectrum of options, from more conservative treatments such as shockwave therapy and prolotherapy to hyaluronic acid, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), bone marrow aspirate concentrate and microfragmented adipose tissue stem cell procedures.

 

They all have their place. What excites me is being able to come to work knowing that I have different tools available depending on what a patient actually needs.

I'm not simply seeing someone for a few minutes and sending them out the door. I get to know the person, understand the injury and then develop a treatment plan using the regenerative options that make the most sense for that individual.

 

How do you determine which regenerative treatment is appropriate for a patient?

It starts with getting to know the patient and understanding their story. The next and most important step is to perform a thorough physical examination to determine where the root causes and tissue breakdowns have occurred that are leading to their loss of strength, function and power.  Only with a thorough physical exam can we see how the body is working as a whole, where the dysfunction lies in that whole body system, and make a rational treatment plan on where to put our regenerative treatments.

 

If they've previously had X-rays, an MRI, a CT scan or other imaging, we'll review that. Sometimes that confirms our physical exam findings and sometimes the MRI shows us “red herrings” that may not even need a specific regenerative treatment.  We also have top-of-the-line musculoskeletal ultrasounds in the office, which allows us to evaluate muscles, fascia, ligaments, tendons, joints and other structures when needed.

 

The treatment really depends on what we find through the exam, ultrasound, MRI and how severe the injuries or conditions are. If something happened a week ago and it's a mild strain or sprain, we may want to give the body more time to heal itself and start with a more conservative treatment. If we identify a significant tear or a more chronic and severe problem, we will likely develop a more aggressive and proactive treatment plan.

 

That's one of the things I really like about regenerative orthopedics. We have a range of treatment options. We can start conservatively or move toward more advanced regenerative procedures based on what each patient needs. It comes down to the patient, their injury, their goals and with shared decision-making we decide together what is the next best step for them.

 

Many patients arrive after a long road of trying other treatments. What do you want those frustrated patients to know?

We see many patients who have been through a lot. They've tried physical therapy and conservative treatments. They have seen multiple providers over many years and some have already had surgery but still haven't gotten where they want to be.

 

We love seeing patients before they've gone down the road of surgery, but having had surgery does not mean there's nothing we can do. A big part of our job is performing a thorough physical examination and figuring out where the patient has lost function. Then we ask what we can do to help restore that function. If we can improve function, we can most times improve symptoms as well.

 

For someone who's in pain or has lost the ability to do certain activities, we're trying to restore as much of that function as possible so they can get back to doing what they love.

 

How does Colorado's active lifestyle fit with the patients you're treating at Breakthrough?

I love it because I enjoy being outdoors myself. It's exciting to work with patients who want to continue being active.

We see people who are incredibly healthy and active but have an injury that's preventing them from doing something they love. I recently saw a patient who exercised for hours a day and was biking, swimming and lifting weights every week, but an injury was keeping them from running.

 

That's the mindset of many of the patients we see. They aren't necessarily willing to accept that they have to stop doing something simply because they've reached a certain age or developed an orthopedic problem. They want to understand what is happening and what options they have for getting back out there.

Our job is to figure out the most appropriate treatment for that individual and hopefully help them return to the activities that are important to them.

 

Why are evidence-based regenerative orthopedics important to you?

To me, evidence-based regenerative orthopedics means we're not simply looking up a protocol and deciding to use it. Dr. Mazzola and I attend conferences, continually review the scientific research and read medical papers and journals so we are up-to-date with what the evidence is showing and continue improving how we treat patients.

 

Breakthrough is also participating in research on SacroIliac (SI) instability, SI anatomy and Knee arthritis using different formulations of PRP in conjunction with the osteopathic medical school here in Denver and other clinics around the country. We're looking at different formulations of PRP and trying to better understand what approaches may produce the best results in Knee arthritis and why.

 

That's important because we don't want to base treatment solely on what we think might work best. We want to continue looking at what the research and evidence actually show and use that information to improve the care we provide.

 

Find Out What's Possible

If pain or an orthopedic injury is keeping you from the activities you enjoy, you don't necessarily have to choose between simply living with it and having surgery. Dr. Timothy Taylor and the Breakthrough Regenerative Orthopedics team take the time to understand your injury, evaluate your function and determine which treatment options may make sense for you. Schedule a 90-minute evaluation to learn what's causing your symptoms and what the next best step may be for helping you move and feel better.