The blind leading the blind: NP teams up with chiropractor to do "joint injections"

When a student learns from a teacher, it's customarily the case that the teacher is more knowledge and experience than the pupil. This is what the framework for medical school education is built upon, and why the ages-old tradition of medical residents training under the tutelage and wisdom of attending physicians works. Common sense dictates that you can't learn anything, let alone how to do a procedure like a joint injection, from someone just as clueless as you are. That's not going to stop elite nurse practitioner Jordan Hunter, though! According to this post in our favorite Facebook group for cream-of-the-crop midlevel NPs, NP Jordan is going to be teaming up with a local quack chiropractor to do "joint injections" with "hyalouronic [sic] acid" and PRP (platelet-rich plasma).

Effect of Intra-articular Platelet-Rich Plasma vs Placebo on Pain and Cartilage Volume in Knee Osteoarthritis

This randomized trial assesses the effect of injections of platelet-rich plasma vs saline placebo on 12-month changes in knee pain scores and medial tibial cartilage volume among patients with symptomatic mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis.

JAMA NetworkFor Authors

Notwithstanding the fact that the evidence for using PRP to treat certain conditions (e.g. knee osteoarthritis) is mixed at best, the fact remains that joint injections are not trivial, 100%-risk-free procedures, contrary to what some midlevels would like you to believe. Certainly, they are not a procedure you want to casually learn from your local neighborhood charlatan who has "never done them either". It's not like fucking up an injection into what should be a sterile joint capsule could lead to significant side effects or bad outcomes, right?

Psoas Abscess After Lumbar Facet Joint Injection: Case Report and Literature Review

Low back pain (LBP) is a common condition. It is estimated that 84% of adults will present LBP symptoms at some point in their lives. Rarely, however, is LPB an indication of a serious medical condition, requiring further investigation. The treatment of non-specific LBP is based on non-pharmacologic…

Psoas Abscess After Lumbar Facet Joint Injection: Case Report and Literature ReviewMatheus F. M. Ballestero

When there's no shortage of highly trained, board-certified physicians in fields such as family medicine, rheumatology, orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, pain medicine, and more, there's really no medical reason to cheap out and seek out an untrained midlevel or chiropractor to have an invasive procedure such as a joint injection performed. Your body deserves better than that!