Getting Back in the Game

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What do Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Brandi Chastain, Ali Krieger, Heather Mitts and Molly Doetzel have in common?  They are all talented women soccer players who tore an ACL. And all, except Molly, played for the U.S. National Team.

Molly is still in high school and hasn’t achieved recognition on a national stage. But here, in Sioux Falls, she’s a star.

Molly anchored the defense for the O’Gorman’s Lady Knights soccer team that was so dominating that this year they gave up just six goals the entire season. And, no surprise, they won the state championship.

Molly was a big reason for the championship.  Need proof?  Had Molly not been injured, it’s entirely possible O’Gorman could have won last year, too.  It was in the state semi-finals that she tore her ACL, aka anterior cruciate ligament, and the Lady Knights fell short of the state championship.

Molly wanted to get back into action as quickly as possible.  She and her parents wondered who to call.  “Tons of people told us Dr. Looby was the best,” Molly said, referring to Peter A. Looby, an orthopedic surgeon with Orthopedic Institute.

And with good reason. Dr. Looby completed his Fellowship in Sports Medicine at Harvard and, while there, was team orthopedic surgeon for the Bruins (hockey), the Revolution (soccer) and for the New England Patriots.  Looby knows how to help athletes get back in the game.

“One thing striking about NFL quality athletes is their ability to heal,” said Dr. Looby. “They are incredibly motivated. They get injured Sunday, you treat them Monday, they play next Sunday.”

The athlete’s motivation and Dr. Looby’s care got them ready. It was this level of care Dr. Looby   provided to Molly. “I was trained to handle elite athletes,” said Dr. Looby.  “I apply this training to all athletes whether they are training for the pros or they are weekend warriors.”

And so it was with Molly. “Dr. Looby repaired my ACL and helped me quickly regain strength and flexibility,” Molly said. “Everyone told me—and from my own experience—that Dr. Looby is the best of the best.” Something she echoes regarding her experience at Orthopedic Institute, particularly the rehabilitation process, which was led by Brad Pfeifle, VP of Sports Medicine & Rehab Services. According to her coach, Ryan Beier, “We didn’t know if she would be able to come back this season as strong as she had been in the past. She was able to play at full strength, if not even better than before and she didn’t need to wear a brace because of the hard work she did in therapy at Orthopedic Institute and with Brad.”

Although it might seem strange, tearing her ACL turned out to be a great, even life changing, experience for Molly. Consider: where does Molly go from here? Does she want to play at the next level? Qualify for the national team?

No, Molly wants to hit the books. So inspired was she by her experience with Dr. Looby and Orthopedic Institute that she’s now thinking about a career in sports medicine—something that touched Dr. Looby’s heart.

“It’s hard to imagine there could be any higher accolade,” Dr. Looby said.

Using Pins and Needles to Get Rid of That Feeling of Pins and Needles

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By any measure, Dee Larson and her husband Dale lived a pretty good life. Dee was an executive assistant. Dale was a pharmacist.  With two grown children, doing very nicely in distant cities, Dee and Dale regularly played golf together. When they weren’t golfing or socializing, they traveled to warm and sunny places on land and enjoyed the occasional cruise.

But about 10 years ago, something happened. Dee noticed her legs were tired and thought something was happening to her nerve endings that made her feel like something was crawling in her leg. Sometimes it felt like pins and needles.

It was disrupting her sleep. “I was tossing and turning constantly,” said Dee. “It was affecting my husband’s sleep, too.”

For those who don’t recognize these symptoms, Dee suffered from what is known as “restless leg syndrome” or RLS.  It affects about 10% of the population, mostly women in their 50s, and is a neurological condition characterized by unpleasant and painful sensations, like those Dee experienced, and an irresistible urge to move the leg. Maddeningly, lying down activates the symptoms and, left untreated, RLS can cause fatigue and exhaustion, impair memory and concentration, and make travel difficult. Dee did seek treatment. “I tried every kind of medication,” said Dee. “But I didn’t like how they made me feel—and they didn’t help that much.” But there was something worse. “I had terrible dreams.” Her life was becoming a nightmare.

Dee stopped taking medicine and found a surprising treatment:  acupuncture.   And it worked.

Life, as it happens, takes unforeseen turns and sometimes what you need is unexpectedly at hand.  Dee set up an appointment for acupuncture with  K.C. Chang, MD, a physiastrist specializing in non-surgical treatment of the spine at Orthopedic Institute. Twenty five years ago he integrated acupuncture into his practice.  He is one of a few medical doctors practicing acupuncture in the state of South Dakota. Dr. Chang, who has treated about 20 patients for RLS began to treat her.  Dee said things got “progressively better with each session until I felt I didn’t need it anymore.”

Indeed, one day, no more pins and needles. Which is ironic since acupuncture uses needles to stimulate “meridians,” or energy pathways, in order to modulate the neurological states that apparently cause RLS. Ironically, later, after Dee had knee surgery, the RLS returned. Again: Dr. Chang and acupuncture to the rescue.

Once again, life is good.