PITTSBURGH -- Some sweet news may finally spell relief from the excruciating, chronic elbow pain known as "tennis elbow."
WTAE Channel 4's Sally Wiggin reported that a nationally funded, three-year study in Pittsburgh is looking at an alternative called prolotherapy to treat chronic tennis elbow. This sugar water remedy was used primarily by veterinarians in the 1930s.
Marcia Burchick and Rick Constantini are two people who were happy to find out about the study at the
Center for Integrative Medicine at UPMC Shadyside.
Burchick said she has "extreme pain" from tennis elbow. "Couldn't pick up a coffee cup. I couldn't do anything."
Constantini, a sub shop owner, was in the same kind of agony from slicing and grilling all day.
"Couldn't wake up in the morning without taking five minutes to stretch out my elbow," he said.
The center's director, Dr. Ron Glick, uses prolotherapy -- the injection of dextrose, or sugar water, into the sore elbow. It's the same thing you get in an IV, only a little stronger.
"What you are actually doing is injecting something that is a little bit of an irritant. The irritant causes the tissues to remodel, and something that has become a chronic problem for six months or a year or longer can actually improve or completely go away," Glick said.
Burchick was on the way to surgery when she discovered the study on Google. After six shots, she's on her way to healing.
"That is my goal -- to get back where I'm playing with no pain. It is at least 85 to 95 percent improved," Burchick said.
Constantini is feeling better, too.
"I wake up in the morning, able to stretch and move it right away," Constantini said.
The goal of the study is to see if dextrose injections can truly be an alternative to cortisone shots or surgery. The shots work for any part of the body, but insurance does not cover them.
The study is still looking for volunteers. People who want more information can call 412-623-2374 and go to integrativemedicine.upmc.com.
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