I grew up in Cherry Hill NJ and went to Cherry Hill East. I went to college at Columbia University and Medical School at UMDNJ/Robert Wood Johnson. I did my residency and acupuncture training at Harvard University.

I wanted to study medicine because I thought it was interesting and it is a great feeling to be able to help people. That sounds cliché, I know, but its true.

 

I finished my residency in 2003 and then worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for two years before starting my own practice. I still work at Penn once per week doing EMGs.

Neck and back pain are the most common ailments I treat. Specifically, I focus on trigger points, which are those muscle “knots” and spasms that people feel in their neck, shoulders, back or buttocks.   Often people cannot feel the knots, they simply feel a constant, dull ache. That pain also usually resolves with trigger point injections.  But, I also treat non-operative bone and joint disorders.

I have a holistic approach and generally try to avoid medications. Spine pain is biomechanical and you must first correct the underlying biomechanics in order to resolve the pain.   Physical therapy or an exercise program which maintains good core muscle strength is key to preventing recurrences.  If clinically appropriate,  I do trigger point injections or acupuncture  to supplement physical therapy.  Both trigger point injections and acupuncture are effective therapies, but since trigger point injections are usually covered by medical insurance, I typically suggest that patients start with them first..

Trigger point injections use a needle to force the underlying muscle spasm to contract and relax, thereby reducing tension in the muscle. It is essentially using a needle to give a deep massage to the muscle. “Injection” is a misnomer, the critical component of the procedure is moving the needle around in the muscle, known as “dry needling,” which breaks up the muscle spasm. I inject a trace amount of lidocaine, which is just a local anesthetic to reduce the post-injection soreness. There is no steroid.

 

Neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, buttock pain, arm pain and leg pain.

 

There are very few risks with the injections.  And each patient is made aware of any potential risks prior to any treatments. 

 

A patient’s response to the injections depends on many things. The most important indicator is how long they had the symptoms prior to treatment. If the symptoms began with a week or so before, the symptoms may resolve with one set of injections. More commonly, patient s come to me after suffering for several months. In that case, it will likely take approximately six sessions of once per week  to have pain relief that lasts a week.  For these patients, the pain may resolve for a few hours to a day after the first set of injections.

 

Little known fact about you?  What you do when you are not working – hobbies, etc?   

I enjoy spending time with my family, reading novels, cooking and spend too much time watching mindless tv.

 

525 Rte 73 S. # 104

Marlton, NJ 08053

856.874.9777