In the past, many of our patients have been told:

         "you’ll just have to live with it"

            "take pain killers daily, no other solution"

or "you must have surgery"

These statements rarely true, as the following case histories from our center show.

Chronic Low Back Pain, Spinal stenosis, Osteoarthritis, Migraine, Shoulder problems, Sciatica, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

9 years of "unspecific chronic low back pain - cured with Orthokin,  and Back Acupuncture

Mr. U. had suffered from chronic low back pain on the left side for nine years. As the head of a large advertising agency, he spent much of his workday sitting down. In his leisure time he liked to be active, especially playing football and jogging. The back pain would strike mainly when he was sitting or standing for extended periods; in the mornings, after getting up, his back would be practically immobilized for a good half hour. Many x-rays, CAT scans and MRIs, were taken over the nine years. The images showed age-typical wear of the small vertebral joints, as well as several bulging discs and one small herniation of the lowest disc. In the past, Mr. U. had been told that the pain was due mainly to wear of the lumbar spine, and he was therefore given little hope that his pain could be eliminated. He took anti-inflammatory medication and muscle relaxants almost daily, supported by physiotherapy and back school. As the pain worsened, he received cortisone injections under CAT control, most recently to the small vertebral joints. This helped for three months, then the pain returned.

Diagnosis: Upon examination, we noted a very sensitive area about 5mm across on the upper iliac crest. Deep pressure on this spot triggered Mr. U's typical back pain. The musculature immediately surrounding the spot was hardened, and so it was not surprising that Mr. U could hardly bend over.

Therapy: A special Back Acupuncture. The patient experienced no pain in this procedure because we first injected a small amount of local anesthetic. We then injected autologous interleucin 1 receptor antagonist (Orthokin) to stop inflammation and speed up the regeneration of the ligament tissue.

Course of treatment: After the first treatment Mr. U reported that the pain had increased slightly. After three treatments his condition had improved, and after six treatments he was pain-free. We performed another nine treatment sessions to further stabilize the back. After the completion of therapy, the patient was instructed to do a lot of exercise, but to minimize strain on the back. Now, four years later, Mr. U is still free of pain and jogs regularly. Even carrying heavy boxes and furniture during a recent move had no negative effect on his back.

Lumbar stenosis - good results with Orthokin® and Neuroacupuncture

Mr. K had been suffering from increasingly lower back pain for three years. His ability to walk was declining rapidly. For the past year he had been able to walk no further than 50 meters before he had to sit down to rest.

Diagnosis: The MRI showed marked narrowing of the spinal canal at the level of the fourth and fifth vertebrae. Various injections had brought no relief, and he had been told he would have to have surgery to widen the spinal canal. He decided to give treatment a try at the Center for Integrated Pain Management.We additionally examined the lumbar nerves with an neurophysical examination and performeda three dimensional rasterstereographie

Therapy and course of treatment: We administered  Orthokin® and Neuroacupuncture. After only two sessions he was able to walk for an hour without taking a break. After the fourth session the back pain was considerably reduced. After eight sessions Mr. K was pain-free and he remains so to this day, two years later.

Osteoarthritis of the knee - 85% improvement with autologous condioned serum (Orthokin®) only

Mrs. G., 63, had suffered from pain and swelling in the right knee for ten years. She had difficulty climbing stairs. At night her knee ached, felt hot, and inflamed. She had been receiving cartilage-building injections and occasionally cortisone, and was taking pain-killers and anti-inflammatory medication almost daily. Because the condition was seriously impairing her quality of life, doctors were recommending knee replacement surgery.

Diagnosis: X-rays and MRIs showed fairly advanced degeneration of the bone (arthritis). The cartilage was almost non-existent in some places, and there was an accumulation of fluid in the knee joint.

Therapy and course of treatment: We only injected anti-inflammatory peptides (Orthokin®). After 6 sessions the patient experienced a 70% overall improvement in symptoms, and we recommended that she wait three months for her condition to stabilize.  Mrs. G reappeared in the clinic two years later, reporting that her right knee had been 80%-90% improved since our treatment, and that she was able to go for walks and climb stairs. Now she wanted the other knee to be treated, which had begun to develop arthritis symptoms about a year ago. Same treatment, same results.  Mrs. G comes to the clinic every two years for a refresher treatment. She has not taken any analgesics or anti-inflammatories in six years. 

15 years of chronic migraine - PRP injections, Chinese medicine, Acupuncture

Dr. W., 35, an oral surgeon, had suffered from headaches from the age of 20. In recent years they had become more intense and more frequent. By the time she came to us, she was having migraine attacks up to three times a month, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, dizziness and visual symptoms. Without medication, Dr. W. would have been unable to work.

Diagnosis: Western diagnosis revealed trigger points at the suprapinatus muscel and above the nervus occipitalis major and minor. Chinese diagnosis indicated Shao Yang headache (in the temporal area) due to liver yang rising with liver blood weakness. The stress of Dr. W.’s work and the frequent migraine attacks were leading to incipient Qi weakness with loss of appetite, digestive problems and moderate fatigue, even during the day.

Therapy: We used distal points on the foot, calf, and forearm, in order to eliminate the energetic imbalance. Very fine needles, which cause no pain when inserted, were used for local points on the head. Acupuncture was accompanied by PRP injections close to the nerves occipitalis minor et major. 

 
Shoulder pain and stiffness - Acupuncture and PRP treatment

A 53-year-old patient came to us complaining that she could no longer play golf. She had been experiencing pain in her left shoulder for the last 18 months. She was no longer able to lift the arm, and could no longer sleep on her left side. She first tried physiotherapy. An orthopedist provided temporary relief with several cortisone injections directly into the joint. But the pain recurred and mobility of the joint continued to decline.

By the time she came to us she was taking large doses of painkillers, which had resulted in stomach problems. A trial of ultrasound treatment worsened the pain, and several physicians had recommended surgery. Instead, the patient decided to try acupuncture at our center.

Diagnosis: We performed an MRI of the shoulder joint, a three dimensional rasterstereographie and a neurophysiological examination of the nerves of the cervical spine. We found a chronic inflammation of the supraspinatus tendon of the shoulder joint, an irritation of the cervical nerve root No. 6, and muscular dysfunction and trigger points of the neck.

Therapy and course: Acupuncture treatment at local points, with special manual, thermal, and electrical needle stimulation techniques, as well as needling of energetic points brought initial relief after only four sessions. We then infejcted PRP - Platelet Rich Plasma - at a specific point on the front of the shoulder capsula, right into the so called supraspinatus tendon. Only one acupuncture treatment followed the PRP treatment. After 4 weeks the patient felt a pain relief of 50%, after 8 weeks of 80%.  At the follow-up examination after three months, the patient was completely free of symptoms. She continues to be so until to this day 5 years later, and is back to playing golf three times a week.

Sciatica for 9 month - Autologous Growth factors, Neuroacupuncture

Mr. R, age 47, was a business consultant who had been suffering from low back pain that radiated along the outside of the right leg and into the foot for nine months. Sitting and lying down were especially painful. He would travel on business only by train, where he could stand. He would stand during meetings, and at night he would wake up several times in severe pain and mentally run over his disability insurance coverage.

Diagnosis: An MRI showed a large disc herniation, between the second- and third-lowest vertebrae, that was pushing on the nerve root on the right side. A neurosurgeon recommended surgery. His orthopedist prescribed a course of injections, before also recommending surgery. In this situation, Mr. R decided to visit the Center for Integrated Pain Management in a desperate attempt to find a nonsurgical solution to his problem. We performed an neurophysiological examination of thelumbar nerves and identified the 5th nerveroot to be inflammed but not yet structurally damaged.

Therapy: Mr. R’s case was one in Neuroacupuncture is typically effective. After 3 sessions he experienced a 50% improvement, especially in the leg pain. After that we gave a one-time injection of corticoids and autologous growth factors directly to the nerve root to support the anti-inflammatory healing process.

Course: After eight more sessions the nerve inflammation had disappeared. Even more important, the neuroacupuncture evidently enabled the affected nerve to regenerate. After 11 sessions an 80% improvement was noted. Complete regeneration of the nerve required more time. Three months of post-acupuncture recovery were recommended, supported by an intensive exercise program. Four years after the abov treatment Mr. R, is completely symptom-free.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrom 

Mrs. F, a 53 years old, visited our clinic because she suffered from numbness and pain in the left hand, mainly in the first three fingers. Analgetics, anti-inflammatories, and a splint at night did not help significantly. The nerve conduction speed was significantly reduced. The neurologist had recommended carpal tunnel surgery.

Therapy: We treated with very thin acupuncture needles, and local application of focal heat to the nerve. After two treatments the swelling of the wrist had disappeared, after four treatments the pain and numbness in the fingers was reduced by 60%. Altogether we used eight treatments. The patient left with very little numbness at the finger tips which also disappeared six weeks after the end of treatment.

Course: For some other reason we saw the patient five years later - the carpal tunnel syndrome had not recurred.