Acute Tendonitis

Dear MendMeShop,

I am certified in Rolfing, a form of deep, integrative bodywork and Massage. I use my hands alot for this work. Last September I broke my cardinal rule to limit activities outside work that would stress my hands. I laid down a bamboo floor on two stories of my house. I used a jigsaw and hydraulic nail gun which were hard on my hands. Shortly after completing the work, my right thumb gave out. It would either click and hang up when I bent it or lock up completely and refuse to bend at all. It was stiff and painful. After trying a number of home remedies including rest, ice, heat, essential oils, and manual manipulation, I finally went to see a hand doctor and yes, you guessed it, my choice was surgery or cortisone shots which are only effective in about a third of the cases. His diagnosis was "trigger thumb." The tendon was damaged, swollen and scarred, creating a lump so it would no longer move easily through the tendon sheath. The operation did not remove the lump, but rather slit the tendon sheath so the lump could move unimpeded. Well, that did not sound so great to me, as I think about fluids that the sheath contains and how the dynamics of my thumb may change forever. Having worked with many clients over the last ten years, I have seen how the body never really goes back to factory spec after a surgery, so if there were any other solutions, I wanted to find them. In March I found Mend Me Shop's website and read about the portable Ultrasound Machine. I ordered it that day along with a supply of gel. I have had consistent improvement in my thumb. I maintained the same work schedule and began their treatment protocol. At first I noticed the general tightness and swelling went down, then I noticed that the strength was returning. Some time after that, my thumb began to move again, sometime with clicking and sometime without. I have done several thirty day protocols so far and I am absolutely certain that my thumb will heal completely. The other day I had a totally normal thumb for the entire day, which delighted me and is a good indication of the healing that is taking place. We are often too much in a hurry to fix things, and rush into surgery or harmful medications. The body has enormous capabilities to heal and sometimes needs just a little help and patience. I find the staff at Mend Me Shop extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Customer Service is obviously a very important thing to them, which I appreciate, as that is how I treat my clients and it is nice to find that level of service me. I hope if you are reading this that you give this unit a try. The ability to apply the treatment yourself is not only cost effective, but also better from a healing perspective because as you follow the treatment protocol outlined for your condition, you can see and feel the accumulative effect. This would be difficult, not to mention expensive, if you had to go to an outside service.

Rating:

Rita Singh

Dear MendMeShop,

I am 49 years old. 2 years ago I started feeling pain in my right knee. Usually it disappeared after 10 min, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. After a few weeks it became stronger and one day I needed to stop jogging after 5 min. The next day it was even painful to walk. I visited a sports medicine surgeon for x-rays examination -the diagnosis - inflammation of patella tendon (point of its insertion into patella). Took a course of physical therapy for 4 weeks twice a week. Sadly, the knee didn't feel the same. The pain was there and I felt it on each sharp movement of my right leg, when I went upstairs, and when I try to run up even a few steps. A few months later on the street, I misstep and felt sharp pain on the knee cup. This time it became swollen and REALLY painful. Visited the doctor again and obtained really strong anti-inflammatory drug which helped. I also enrolled in PT again, but after all this it was still painful. A few months ago I went to the doctor for a third time and obtained a knee MRI ($2000 cost) and I was told that I have a partual tear of patella tendon and tendinosis. No running now and pain felt even when I touched a particular spot on the patella, and if I tried to do even partual squat it was painful as well. Recommendations - 3rd round of PT. This time I decided to take matters into my own hands. I browsed the internet a lot, and read a lot of "horror" stories of how people suffering from runner knee for many years found out nothing, even surgery, helped them. A few papers mentioned ultrasound, so after additional research I decided to invest around 100% into the device. There are few devices available which according to specs looks the same, but amazon reviews were quite positive for mendmeshop and I liked the fact that when I called customer service, I immediately got connected to live person and all my question were answered. The device arrived as promised. I've started treatment around 3 weeks ago, went by the manual 2 times per day 10min on high for the first two week, 3rd week I did once a day only, so today (Oct 25 is the first day of 4th week which is recommended to skip treatments). As it mentioned in the manual, I didn't feel any warm sensation on the skin (some people complained about heat), The device itself becames slightly warm but that's about it. You can hear a little humming which nearly disappears when you have a good seal between the metal head and the skin. Results: immediately after each treatment I felt a tangible decrease in pain just by pressing on the patella. Moreover , I also felt much less pain when I did a very partial one-leg squats. Now 3 weeks after I started the treatment , I can do 10-15 one leg partial decline squats literally pain free (a little ache but nothing similar to what I had before). No pain when I stand up from chair or go upstairs. I am very encouraged ( frankly I was sceptical at the beginning and thoght it's a snake oil, but I decided to try and I am very happy I did ). I'll definetely continue to use the device in the future. I have a scheduled visit to my knee doctor in a few weeks and I am eager to see what he will tell. I would be very interested to get a second MRI and see if there are any changes in tendon , but I am skeptical he will send me. Well now I am happy that there is a progress with pain and I am about to start exercising on the Nordic Track ski machine since it's less pressure on the knee joints). I am not taking any risk in starting jogging (I tried few steps and it's OK , but I don't want to take chances). Overall, I achieved great help from this device and I wish I would have started it much earlier. Need to give credit for MendMeShop customer service - immediate connection to live person, questions promptly answered, notification e-mails after shipment.

Rating:

Vladimir Rainish

Dear MendMeShop,

I am a Registered Nurse who works straight night shifts and I have had chronic neck, bilateral shoulder and arm pain intermittently for 3 years. I have seen a chiropractor, a neurologist, and physical therapist. I have tingling and numbness in my arms and hands, especially when I push on the pressure points near my elbows. In fact, most or all of the pressure point in my neck, shoulders, and arms hurt when pressed/massaged. The neurologist said it is probably cervical strain, the nerve conduction test was negative. I just saw my primary physician today and she has referred me back to the neurologist to redo the nerve test because I am starting to drop things. I have tried NSAIDs, massage, tens, heating packs, ice packs, stretching exercises, and traction. The only treatment that took the pain and numbness away instantly and thorougly has been MendMeShop Ultrasound massage therapy.

Rating:

Cheri -