Jennifer Carter – Joint Repair Clinic of Montana

Without Pain Pills or Surgery—My Story

Clint Branger
March – April 2023 • Vol 4, No 3

My name is Clint Branger, and I am 58 years old. I was born in Red Lodge and raised in Roscoe where I live today. I’m sharing this story as a way of giving back a little bit for what I got. I feel good about saying what has happened with my knee, as it has really changed my life. Perhaps my story can help others know about this amazing medical opportunity.

When I was a Junior in high school, I was pole vaulting and didn’t have a spotter. I landed wrong and really messed up my knee. I had to have knee surgery at 18 years old. The doctors did a good job back then, and my knee recovered to function wonderfully for me for many years.

I grew up on the ranch and began bull-riding when I was 12. At 20 I started traveling the rodeo circuit full time. I sustained lots of injuries and really abused my knee a lot through my bull-riding years. I learned real quick when I got off a bull that if I didn’t have a good spot I would just land on my knee—which was better than landing on my foot—but it really abused it. It was amazing what my body was able to endure all those years, but I never gave my knee a break, and it really caught up with me later in life.

A typical day on my ranch involves being on horseback for about 4 hours per day. We ride on some of the steepest country, and are on our horses constantly as we move cattle. Doing that all day long wears you out, and you get tired.

In 2018 I was blessed to marry my wife Janna, and we now have the pleasure of running both my ranch in MT and her ranch in WY together. Her ranch requires us to be on horseback all day long, which really impacted my knee. Ever since I started those longer days of riding, I began noticing my knee starting to hurt quite a bit.

It started with an arthritic pain in my knee that was a constant annoyance. I would push through the pain and live with it, but I didn’t enjoy it. While working, my mind would be so focused on my work that I could endure the pain. But I would really feel it most when I was trying to relax and had time to think about it. When I would get up to walk, my knee would really hurt, and it was becoming a real problem. Arthritis pain is hard to explain, but when you are bone-on-bone on the inside of the knee, it really hurts.

The longer hours on horseback pushed me to the edge, as it was really impacting me, and I was ready to do anything to fix it. People said I might need a knee replacement. It seemed everyone around me was talking about getting knee replacements. That was all I knew to do in order to stop being in pain.

I was determined to do all I could to get it replaced, but being a type 1 diabetic, I was required to put off knee replacement surgery until I could get my blood sugar levels down in order to avoid infection. I successfully lowered my A1C and got myself lined up for surgery in the Fall of 2022.

Then I saw an ad on Instagram for the Joint Repair Clinic of MT and their natural alternatives to surgery. It caught my eye, and I thought I should look into the option for avoiding surgery. I talked with the doctor on the phone, and we went over my x-rays and discussed a treatment program that would help re-cushion my joints and lubricate my knee to take away the pain.

In my mind, I could relate that to putting hydraulic fluid in there, and it made sense to me as to how that could really help. I thought it was worth giving this a try before going through an irreversible replacement surgery. In the spring of 2022, I began my treatment program. Within a few days of the PRP treatment, I started to feel some noticeable results. It was just amazing to no longer feel the pain—it was really gone!

Ranch life requires me to keep pushing through. The work has to get done. Before getting help from the Joint Repair Clinic of MT, depending on how much work I was doing, it would get to where it was really a lot of misery. The pain was impacting my ability to fully enjoy my life. Now I no longer suffer from the arthritic pain in my knee like I did before. I can once again enjoy the simple things I love, like spending time with my wife.

A short while ago, we had a really long day up in the mountains in the BigHorn Basin and on the way out, it was mostly downhill—I started to feel a little reminder of the pain in my knee, and I was concerned about what the next day was going to be like, but when I got up the next day, there was no pain! It was a miracle—the pain is gone, and it has been such a blessing to be able to enjoy life without pain again.

Prior to the treatment, my arthritic knee hurt no matter what I was doing. Even when just sitting, eating or laying down to sleep. The pain was there all the time—it didn’t have a day off!

After the treatment, I have no arthritic pain—it is incredible—it is truly gone!

I can enjoy life that much more now that I don’t have the pain, and I am so thankful that I found the Joint Repair Clinic of MT and got their help.

The Joint Repair Clinic of Montana (with locations in Bozeman, Billings, Missoula, and Helena) has been helping many Montanans attain great results from arthritis, joint pain, and peripheral neuropathy. The professional staff uses measurable, scientific testing and x-rays to understand what is going on with your joints to help determine what may be the source of your pain. They can help you learn about the natural options that may be available for you and offer personalized-care programs to help your body naturally. They utilize the tissue from donated umbilical cords from live-birth, healthy moms and healthy babies, which helps the cushioning in your joints. Care packages can include Human Umbilical Cord Tissue (HUCT) allograft injections, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), chiropractic, home exercise coaching, nutritional supplements and dietary guidelines. Our Bozeman location offers additional pain management options including various ozone and light therapies. Call (406) 551-1787 today and mention this article to receive the discounted $49 consultation. 

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Instead, the transfers became laborious, time consuming and downright painful. Needless to say, this is not a desirable way to go about my daily occupation and activities. Additionally, a good night’s rest had become difficult to attain because I could no longer lay on my side and put my legs together without pain.

This went on for about 4 years, and my struggles had become known to my friends and congregation. I was having difficulty getting back up after kneeling down, and it got to the point where I could not even climb a ladder anymore. Hunting and other similar recreational activities were no longer an option, as I could not walk on sidehills or endure the physical demands placed on my knee. At this point I had not yet tried any treatment methods, and when I went to the orthopedic doctor to see about getting a new knee, he told me that I wasn’t ready for one yet. It didn’t seem there would be a good solution in the near future. My life was becoming increasingly more difficult and painful.

Then, one day at church camp, a friend shared with me about his life changing experience with the Human Umbilical Cord Tissue (HUCT) Allograft Injections and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments that he had gotten at the Joint Repair Clinic of MT. He told me about how the injections were a tremendous help to his joint issues. By putting cushioning back into the joint spaces and addressing the inflammation in a natural manner, his pain and mobility issues were drastically improved. He likened the change it made in his joints to being the closest thing he would find to the “fountain of youth” in his lifetime!

Debbie and I decided we should meet with the doctor at the Joint Repair Clinic of MT to see if this might be a good option for my knee. We enjoyed meeting the friendly staff at the clinic and were thankful to learn from Dr. Jahner that I would be a good candidate for their treatment program. What I was most excited about was being able to avoid an invasive surgery with a long recovery time. I didn’t mind spending the money on an alternative, natural approach because I knew it had worked well for others, and I had hope that it would work well for me, too. I also knew that I could always go for surgery if it didn’t work, but I would much rather do what I could to avoid that option if at all possible.

The allograft injection initiated a natural process in my knee that caused it to get better and better over time. Within about 7 months I was pain free! This treatment method is in stark contrast to the mainstream medicine approach of using harmful cortisone and steroids which can provide a quick fix pain blocker but do nothing to address or improve the root issue. With the allograft injection, my knee is now healthier and stronger. I have turned the direction of my joint health around and believe I will get many more years out of my own knee now. I have not had any joint surgeries, and I believe I won’t need any now that I know about this option to avoid surgery and save my joints with HUCT and PRP.

Getting back the pain-free use of my knee has been life changing for me. The things I am most grateful for are: I can now get in and out of my equipment without pain; I can once again climb a ladder, and it is way easier to get back up after spending time down on my knees! Now that my knee doesn’t hurt anymore, I am working on strengthening it, and I look forward to doing more physical activities. Debbie and I used to enjoy going to the races and haven’t been in years. We hope to enjoy more activities together now that I am not weighed down with pain. I am also looking forward to going hunting again too!

Part of the Joint Repair Clinic’s program includes exercise and nutrition counseling. As a result, I am now eating better and overall feeling better too. I would highly recommend others struggling with joint pain issues to call the Joint Repair Clinic to see if they would be a candidate for this wonderful program. I am thankful that I did!