I had the very gradual onset of left elbow discomfort and stiffness starting over one year ago. I would have occasional soreness when working my German shepherds in obedience exercises or with certain aspects of my job as a medical transcriptionist. This was related to certain positions of my arm, usually rotation and elevation. I would treat this with naproxen for a few days and the symptoms would decrease.

I continued my regular activities. The discomfort worsened nine months ago with frequent stiffness and sharp, burning pain. I was having nightly pain and stiffness that would waken me from sleep. My arm seemed to get “stuck” either bent or straight, depending on how I was laying on it and it was extremely painful. When working the dogs, even small movements with my arm would cause a sharp, hot pain in the elbow. At work, it was difficult for me to lift or rotate my arm at all and I noticed that I was walking around holding my left arm to my body with the right hand. I wore an elbow strap on a regular basis as well as took anti-inflammatory medication regularly with no improvement in symptoms.

I was having so much pain in my elbow that I finally decided I could not live like this anymore. I told Dr. Gertel the pain was so bad that I was ready to have surgery if that was what it would take to fix this problem. I knew he was doing a new procedure with injecting platelets into the elbow and, when he asked if I would consider this, I was absolutely ready to try this.

Dr. Gertel did the procedure right in the office. He drew blood out of my right arm and this was put in a centrifuge in the exam room. After 15 minutes, Dr. Gertel injected the platelets into my left elbow, in the area where I had indicated it was the most sore. It was all painless, and the entire procedure took about a half hour total.

I took it easy for a few days, to give it a chance to work. I think I started noticing improvement in my symptoms about a week to 10 days after the procedure. Within a month, I was so much more comfortable with a lot less elbow pain. I was doing all of my regular activities at work and training the dogs. It felt so good to be able to use my left arm with no pain and I was sleeping through the night. It has been five months since the procedure and, aside from one episode of slight discomfort because of overuse, my elbow is pain-free.

I tell everyone how well this procedure worked for me and would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who, after having tried other treatment, is still experiencing pain and stiffness in their elbow.

Sandy S.
I sought the advice of Dr. Gertel because of persistent and increasingly intolerable pain in my left elbow (diagnosed as tendonitis or tennis elbow). Every activity increased the pain, now over a year in duration, to an intolerable level. I tried several cortisone injections. The last one lasted only 3 weeks. Even a light touch on the skin became unbearable. I was getting frustrated and on the brink of considering surgery. I knew surgery was a good option because I had excellent results with my other elbow over 15 years ago. I was prepared to talk about anesthetic risk, 3-month recovery period, and rehab several days a week for at least 6- 8 weeks, all of which follow surgery.

Surprisingly, Dr. Gertel offered me a new option, one that was in its infancy, but offered great promise, and little risk. It is called Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP). Since it only required removing a test tube of my blood from one arm and injecting it in the painful elbow tendon, it seemed to have no drawbacks. I loved the idea that I could return to almost normal activity immediately, other than being reasonably careful to protect it from further injury and limit heavy lifting. I immediately scheduled time for this procedure.

The injection was much like a cortisone shot. The rest of the day, my elbow felt quite achy at first, but nothing unmanageable. By the end of the day, it was much better. Amazingly, within a week or two, I began to notice improvement. And, over the next few weeks, it got increasingly better. At about 8 weeks, I felt about a 70 % improvement.

Going for even better returns, we decided to do a 2nd shot. I am now 6 weeks post 2nd injection, and feeling even better. I am about 80+% improved. Unbelievably, I suffer NO pain in my everyday activities. The only activity that causes any discomfort whatsoever is putting on tight exercise pants, since the pulling aggravates the elbow, and that is mild.

It has been over 5 months since the first injection. I am truly so delighted to have chosen this route, and await the long-term results with hopefulness. Even if it never gets any better than it is today, I am thrilled with the results. And, if anything changes, I am still a good surgical candidate. I am just not planning that!

Eileen S.