The MRI says you’re healed. The surgeon signs off. Physical therapy ends. And you still cannot raise your arm overhead without your shoulder blade winging out like a broken door hinge. Welcome to the rotator cuff paradox: a gap between two different biological systems running on different clocks. One is your tendon tissue. The other […]
Fourteen months. That’s how long a chronic lateral epicondylitis patient has typically been in treatment before arriving at Sigma Q Clinic in Chicago. They’ve completed physical therapy, had at least one cortisone injection, worn a counterforce brace, and done eccentric wrist curls as prescribed. They still can’t grip a coffee mug without pain. The question […]
Nine months after a suprascapular nerve block and a course of standard physical therapy, a collegiate soccer player stands on the sideline, still unable to throw a ball with authority. Her shoulder has range of motion. Imaging shows resolved inflammation. Yet the nervous system remains dormant. The rotator cuff muscles are not firing at full […]
The Achilles tendon is the thickest, strongest tendon in the human body. At roughly 15 centimeters long and capable of tolerating loads exceeding 1,000 pounds during a full sprint, it is engineered for punishment. Which is exactly why it confuses clinicians when a patient’s Achilles refuses to heal despite months of textbook rehabilitation. The tendon […]