ONDAMED Sports Injury Cases — Shoulder Displacement

Claire R., age 20, was treated for an August 2010 Shoulder Displacement following a Bacterial Infection of HLH diagnosed on November 9, 2009.

Claire entered treatment on March 19, 2010 for symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following an HLH Autoimmune Infection, which became so critical that she expired while in the hospital and was revived by the staff at New York Presbyterian Hospital. She slowly recovered from this infection, taking months of rehabilitation.

Prior to her body total shut down, Claire had been an athlete playing soccer in high school and was slated for a scholarship to play for Southern Connecticut. With only a summer of recuperation, she headed off to college and a rigorous training schedule. This became too much for her still fragile system. She developed poor sleep, anxiety, and depression, vivid and frightening nightmares. The nightmares were the reliving of being hospitalized, near death experiences and the severe pain of the illness. She was unable to keep up with the schedule and returned home to seek treatment.

She was in so much discomfort that we prescribed Lexapro 20 mg, Ambien 10mg for sleep and Ativan 0.5mg BID. She was then scanned with ONDAMED and began a bi-weekly protocol of ONDAMED. During the ONDAMED sessions, we also engaged in psychotherapy for her emotional issues related to the PTSD. The nightmares were significantly disturbing. We also worked on the spiritual aspect of the illness and what this meant for her life’s work. Claire’s five near death experiences made her question life and she began developing the spiritual side of her life.

The combination of ONDAMED with psychotherapy is very effective in reducing symptoms, easing depression, anxiety, and promoting a feeling of calmness and grounding.

Claire continued with this protocol; ONDAMED and psychotherapy for 9 months. Her symptoms became much less severe within 3 months. She was sleeping better and the nightmares were less severe.

Claire continued her education at a Community College and she progressed very well in her physical and emotional recovery. Her private training schedule was going well and she planned to play Division Soccer. She was very healthy and in great athletic condition. In July 2010, she suffered an injury to her shoulder while training that literally took the shoulder out of the socket with very painful result. With the combination of ONDAMED and some physical therapy exercises, she was able to go from “little to no movement” in her shoulder to full movement, and more importantly, she was able to play soccer on a Division One Team only two weeks after the injury.

Claire felt the use of ONDAMED and its specific stimulation gave her body the ability to heal itself and reverse any symptoms she was having.

Claire has been able to wean herself off the antidepressant, Lexapro and she no longer requires Ativan for anxiety. She has a prescription for Ambien, but uses it only occasionally for sleep.

She is basically off all the medications she required when entering treatment with my Center. Claire is a starting soccer player at Manhattan College and is doing very well. Her blood work continues to be fine with no symptoms or signs of the HLH virus. She is one of the very few that has ever fully recovered from HLH. The mortality rate is very high, particularly among babies.   (Maryanne Cowan, L.C.S.W., PH.D.)