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"I Have A Life Again"
Total Health May 2012
Kerry Kubo can wash dishes again, and she is absolutely thrilled about it.
It may sound crazy that such a mundane chore could bring such joy, but to those with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, even the simplest milestone is worth celebrating.
RSD is a neurological condition in which damaged nerves caused by trauma or injury send inappropriate messages to the brain, causing chronic and debilitating pain. The pain can be exacerbated by heat, cold or the slightest sensory stimulation.
Kubo is the former Kerry Bradley, a 1978 graduate of Trinity High School. She was introduced to readers of the Observer-Reporter in 2005 when her family and friends were planning a fundraiser for Kubo's trip to Saarbucken, Germany, where she was going to be placed in a five-day coma and infused with two highly potent medications in hopes of putting her RSD into remission.
She had already tried countless medications and treatments, including a decompression chamber, spinal blocks, botox and spinal cord stimulators, to escape the pain, but nothing helped. Germany was her last chance - or so she thought - to regain some relief and independence.
But the hallucinatory procedure didn't work, and she continued to suffer chronic pain, insomnia, fatigue, severe memory loss, seizures, night sweats, blurred vision, frequent chest infections, edema in her feet and ankles, hair loss, migraines, tremors and laryngeal spasms.
So when her aunt, Holly Janflone, called Kubo earlier this year at her Phoenix, Ariz., home to suggest yet another treatment, Kubo, 52, couldn't help but be skeptical.
The treatment is called ARP Wave. It's a system that combines a proprietary electrical device and carefully designed protocols to target injury at its source, eliminate inflammation and accelerate the recovery of soft tissue injury. It claims to help patients with neurological diseases, decreasing their pain levels and increasing their quality of life.
"When you're desperate and in pain, you'll pretty much try anything," said Kubo, who was in Washington last month for a family wedding. "I knew I had to try something. I was starting to regress, and I didn't want to end up in a wheelchair."
In February, Kubo flew to Pennsylvania, where ARP Wave is available locally at South Hills Health & Wellness Center in McMurray.
"I listened to everything, how it worked, and it made sense," Kubo said.
As Fred Menzel, owner of the health center, explained, the machine scans the body and "teaches" the brain how to talk to the body. It's not painful, but it does cause a very acute sensation that can be rather uncomfortable.
"When it hits a hot spot, you know it," Kubo said.
After the initial body scan, Menzel told Kubo, "You're a mess."
Then he quickly added, "I'm going to change this."
Kubo's retort: "Show me."
And he did.
"ARPwave Clinic"
Washington County Business Journal May 2012
When one suffers a major injury in the United States, the diagnosis seems to have two key ingredients: surgery and pain medication. But to think that is the only option you have would be naïve, when, in fact, there are other options available. Among them is the ARPwave method. An acronym for Accelerated Recovery Program, ARPwave was invented by Denis Thompson. The machine, which hooks up to the body via stimulators, uses direct currents.
“Denis Thompson invented this machine and its protocols,” said Fred Menzel, Operations Manager for the ARPwave Clinic, located on 4000 Washington Road, Suite 203 in McMurray. “The machine uses a direct current, because that current is harmonious with your body. Most other machines are alternating current. This machine elongates the muscles and reconnects the nervous system to the muscles again. We address and treat you neurologically; everyone else wants to treat you physiologically.”
But the treatment is not just about being hooked up to a machine. Each patient receives a consultation, where those at the clinic will give a diagnosis and set up both long term and short term programs tailored on a case-by-case basis. Among the injuries treated include arthritis, carpel tunnel, multiple sclerosis, concussions and recovery from sports or automobile injuries and avoiding hip and knee replacement and even bone on bone issues. The clinic is overseen by Dr. Omar Hammad, an Emergency Room Physician at Allegheny General Hospital and Medical Director for Peters Township Ambulance Service.
“We address and fix what caused the injury and when you fix the cause the symptom goes away,” Menzel said.” For example, a woman that was incapacitated for 27 years and on six different pain medications before we diagnosed her is now walking and sitting without pain. She is now pain free and off the medications.”
But it is not just locals benefitting from the ARPwave form of treatment.
Tim Thomas, the Boston Bruins’ goaltender who has won a Stanley Cup, Vezina trophy (NHL’s best goalie in the regular season) and Conn Smythe Trophy (MVP for the playoffs), uses the program. So much so, in fact, that he owns two clinics in the Boston area. There are seven total ARP clinics in the United States.
“Tim Thomas is almost 40. How is he one of the best? How is he better than the 20-year-olds? He uses the ARPwave method,” said Menzel. “And it is not just him. NFL stars Larry Fitzgerald and Dwight Freeney use this method and it is part of the reason they have stayed healthy for an extended period of time. It has saved hundreds of careers.”
According to ARP’s website, the program is currently used by more than 650 NFL players, more than 200 athletes in the NBA and PGA, more than 100 MLB players and more than 200 NHL players. The list also includes NCAA athletes, professional European soccer players, Olympians and high school athletes of all sports.
And while the method is used by the stars, it is also proven amongst Menzel’s clientele in the Western Pennsylvania region.
Ask the Expert South Hills Health and Wellness Center
| Union-Finley Messenger July 2012 |
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Q: Do you have joint pain? Were you told that you are bone on bone and need a knee or hip replacement?
At South Hills Health and Wellness Center we believe that the pain is where the problem ended and not where it’s coming from. Almost everyone addresses the problem physiologically. We address the problem neurologically. We can show you that the reason you have injury and pain was caused by a muscles inability to absorb force. If a muscle can’t absorb force, the force travels to the joint and wears the joint until you have pain and a problem. We locate where the problem started not where the pain is. We get the muscle to “turn on” and increase it’s ability to absorb the force again. In doing this, the problem and pain disappear.
Here is a list of some of the problems that we are successful in treating:
-Preventing Hip and Knee Replacement
-Back Pain
-Neck Pain
-Chronic Pain
-Spinal Fusions
-Neurological Diseases: Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia and Parkinson’s. We can’t cure the disease, but we can -give the patient a better quality of life.
-Migraine Headaches
-Rapid Orthopedic Pre and Post-Surgery Rehabilitation (We can acutely shorten the length of your therapy)
-TMJ
-Problems with range of motion
Neuromuscular soft tissue therapy is becoming the “Specialized Sports Performance and Training” for the 21st Century with 70% to 80% less prone to injury; and build muscle mass. This method is used by Thousands of professional and Elite Athletes all over the world.
We are offering a Free Evaluation and the First Treatment Free to show you where the problem is and how we can help you.
For more information, visit our website at www.southhillshealthandwellness.com
Call our office today at 724-260-5337 and take the next step to being PAIN-FREE!
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