Mary is a 48-year-old patient suffering with a long history of rheumatoid arthritis. I have seen Mary for many years before she moved out of state and then, I began to see her infrequently. It had been a few years since I had last seen her but she came to me complaining of severe swelling in her ankle joint. “I feel like I won’t be able to walk soon as the pain and swelling just get worse and worse. Mary had seen a rheumatologist who recommended that she go on a new rheumatoid drug such as Enbrel. Mary did not to take this medication because of the adverse effects which include increasing the risk for serious infections and cancer.
When I saw Mary, she had a very swollen right ankle. It was visibly swollen as you can see below. It was also very painful when I was examining it.
The conventional approach to treating an ankle like this is to prescribe potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs followed by steroids and then medications like Enbrel. These therapies are all associated with serious adverse reactions.
I suggested that Mary try an ozone shot directly into her ankle joint. Ozone is a gas which consists of three atoms of oxygen (O3). I have found ozone injections extremely helpful for most arthritic conditions, sciatica, disc problems, as well as many other conditions. I injected Mary with 10 cc ozone gas (40 gamma) directly into her ankle joint. I told Mary that I thought ozone would help get rid of the swelling but that it may take a couple of injections. Since she was only in town for a few days, I asked her to return the next day for an evaluation and perhaps another ozone shot.
The next day I saw Mary walking down the hall. She had a big smile on her face and she was no longer limping. She gave me hug and said the ankle pain went away a few hours after the shot and the swelling resolved shortly thereafter. “It is so wonderful to be able to walk again,” she stated.
