After playing a lot of golf in Florida this past winter, I suffered from “tennis elbow” of my left arm, which, unfortunately, has “cramped my style” and also has prevented me from playing golf this spring and summer. Apparently, “tennis elbow” isn’t just an overuse injury caused by playing tennis; it’s common to golfers, and it involves strained inflamed outer elbow tendons. Upon my return to NJ, basic arm movements such as being able to wring out a towel or picking up anything as light as a soup can were very painful.
Initially, resting my elbow and applying ice to reduce the inflammation became standard for me, and after seeing my orthopedist, I began a regimen of physical therapy three times a week for six weeks. The orthopedist cautioned that my injury often takes a year to heal irrespective of rest and physical therapy, which was not exactly what I wanted to hear. Since I do not tolerate cortisone internally, having a shot wasn’t an option. So, off to PT I went in the hope that I’d find the magic cure. The techniques employed by the physical therapist included: application of heat, deep muscle massage and wrist stretches, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and ice. Furthermore, to accelerate the healing process my physical therapist recommended that during the day I wear an immobilizing wrist brace that would apply some compression to my arm’s muscles and irritated tendons. Upon completion of six weeks of PT with a therapist whom I highly regard, my injury was slightly improved but I was still in considerable pain.
Frustrated by hitting a plateau in which I still continued to feel sharp stabs and was limited by the tennis elbow condition, I opted to try acupuncture since I felt I had nothing to lose except the continual pain. After researching local acupuncturists, I decided on David Karlovich. I am pleased to report that after having had only six sessions with David, I am completely pain-free and ready to return to playing golf!
David knows what he is doing, and I am impressed with his both his knowledge of this natural therapy and his professionalism. He explained how the thin sterile needles stimulate a healing response, about energy flow, and he’s very attentive–he listens well to information about your symptoms and pain, and he answers questions you have. I find his demeanor to be very calm and reassuring, and I feel that David and his staff are extremely accommodating.
Coming for acupuncture was actually a lovely relaxing experience for me. As a matter of fact, in one of our sessions, David not only worked on my elbow but also on my left hip, and his needles ended what pain I had there. Each session certainly left me less stressed and a whole lot more relaxed than when I walked in the door.
That David’s acupuncture provided me with pain relief when other methods didn’t work makes me a firm believer in the benefits of acupuncture. Offered in conjunction with Western medicine, I’m convinced that acupuncture is an integral part of health care and needs to be accepted as such.
Thank you, David!
S.S., Newton
