I've had De Quervain's Tenosynovitis for almost a year, since February 2019 (It's December 2019 now). I could barely move my wrist without pain and constantly wore a brace to support daily life. Over the course of my chronic condition, I had three cortisone injections (knowing they had long-term adverse effects) and physical therapy which included electric stimulation therapy, heat and cold treatments, ultrasound, and deep tissue massage, to no avail. The only option, several orthopedic doctors have told me, was to snip the tendon sheath that held my inflamed tendons. I'm a 23 y.o. female - I didn't want a permanent surgery that would not only come with many other complications, if done incorrectly, but would also not cure the underlying cause of my pain in the first place, which was the swelling of my tendons. So I turned towards the homeopathic approach; I wanted to try every other means I could before surgery and saw acupuncture as an option.
I did my research and found Elizabeth at Join Hands Acupuncture Wellness and gave her a call. I told her about the pain in my wrist before I came in and when we did meet in person, she wanted to know every specific thing about my chronic condition, and got to work needling me immediately. I was skeptical at first, but asked questions, which she readily and patiently answered. I've never had acupuncture before, and was wary of needles, although I do have a high pain tolerance. I won't lie and say it didn't hurt, but only the initial prick was surprising and after a few moments, I got used to them. Using a distal technique that allowed me to stretch my hands and wrists, she constantly asked me questions as well, asking if certain needles were intolerable, or if they lessened the pain in my wrist. I wasn't expecting for any immediate changes to my condition, and I agreed to come in for two sessions every week in hopes of intensely targeting the inflammation in my wrist.
After a few weeks during one session, Elizabeth had a breakthrough where the pain in my wrist almost disappeared. I was so surprised, and ecstatic; she gave me hope that my condition could be cured after so long, and I gratefully continued the treatments.
After 7 months of shots, doctor's visits, and physical therapy sessions, I only felt progression after a couple months with Elizabeth. On a scale of 1-10, I have gone from an agonizing 7 down to a 1 - that's how good Elizabeth is - and I can not thank her enough. read more
