Peter A. Fields, MD, DC enjoys volunteering as a medical physician in third world countries
How rewarding it is to give of our time and services to help those in need. Peter A. Fields, MD, DC has had the honor of volunteering with the Hackett-Hemwall Foundation, the world’s largest teaching and education organization for Prolotherapy.
Together with approximately 75 other physicians from the US, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Germany, Italy, South Africa, and other countries, Dr. Fields has traveled to an annual clinic in Honduras. He has been honored to be one of the 15 Faculty instructors with the foundation. Of the 75 physicians going to Honduras- the rest are students. They are there to learn or to improve their Prolotherapy skills all while helping those in need.
Dr. Fields says that providing to those in need has always been in his heart and when the opportunity arose to do so, he was excited. And the patients were so grateful and appreciative. Many traveled many hours or even days and then waited all day for treatment. Most present with chronic knee, shoulder, low back, neck, ankle, foot, or other joint pain, often induced by working long hours in manual labor.
Honduras Clinic
Honduras is the third lowest-income country in the Western Hemisphere, only behind Haiti and Bolivia. Access to health care is severely limited. This is why every year hundreds of local residents traveled by bicycle, foot, or bus to the free clinics sponsored by the Foundation in three small towns.
Friends and Physicians
Here the Foundation provides medical care and treatment for individuals who otherwise would not receive it. Based at the Red Cross Centers in each of the above cities, the clinicians treat hundreds of patients suffering from acute and chronic joint problems as well as and arthritis with Prolotherapy. Also known as regenerative or reconstructive therapy, Prolotherapy is a recognized non-surgical orthopedic procedure that stimulates the body’s natural healing. It stimulates areas with targeted injections to strengthen joints weakened by overuse, arthritis, normal wear, and tear or trauma.
In January of 2007, the Foundation opened its first clinic ever in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Although not a rural as Honduras, the people there had never had the opportunity to experience Prolotherapy. For this first clinic, only twelve instructor physicians were asked to go – and Dr. Fields was one of those that were selected. He found this experience just as rewarding.
Guadalajara, Mexico
