Emerson M Jou

Physiatrist (Physical Medicine) | Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

321 N Kuakini Street Suite 410 Honolulu HI, 96817 Show map

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Dr. Emerson M Jou is a physiatrist practicing in Honolulu, HI. Dr. Jou is a medical doctor specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation. As a physiatrist, Dr. Jou focuses on a patients ability to function, and can treat multiple conditions that affect the brain, nerves, spine, bones, muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons. Dr. Jou can diagnose and treat pain that is a result of injury, disease or a disabling condition. Physiatrists often lead a team of physical therapists, occupational therapists and physicians in a patients treatment or prevention plan.

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Emerson M Jou

Samples of Pain Mismanagement
One day on a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles, I responded to an in-flight call for a doctor offering my help as always. A young doctor was there ahead of me tending to a female passenger. He had already placed her lying down on the aisle, and a flight attendant was checking her blood pressure...

Can you play sports with nerve damage?
I am not clear about your foot problem. If you had nerve damage, there are symptoms of loss of sensation (no pain), muscle weakness/atrophy and possibly deformity. Then you function up to your physical limits, sports or not. I really doubt that you have "nerve damage". You might have pain which is NEVER a nerve problem. I can't comment further without knowing what problems you have. READ MORE
Is my ankle broken or sprained?
First thing is to find out whether there is a fracture or not. If there are signs of bruise/swelling and difficulty in weight-bearing, fracture must be ruled out by x-ray. If fracture, hairline or stable fracture requires stabilization with a sprint/cast. If the fracture is unstable, surgical fixation followed by casting may be necessary. Fracture or not, there must be also muscle/fascia strain around it, more fascia than muscle, while ligament tear or sprain is unlikely. Such strain injury must be treated, preferably prior to surgery/casting. If done after casting, much more time/effort is required to resolve it because it becomes tighter with contractures. To resolve strain, it is best treated with light touch and hold (The Precision Method) to initiate release of strained tissue by the body itself. Any external treatment (medication, massage, manipulation, stretching, strengthening) has little effect and may even worsen the injury, therefore not recommended. This is detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit website: NoMorePainClinic.com. READ MORE
How many times a week should I do physical therapy after knee replacement?
First, total knee replacement is NOT a choice of treatment unless the knee joint is destructed enough no longer functioning as a hinge. All knee pain/tightness/weakness only comes from muscles/fasciae outside and around the joint, mostly fascia strain in the joint space, simply because there is no pain sensation in the joint but only soft tissue outside the joint. With surgical replacement, not only the real injury remains untreated, but also it adds another injury by surgery. This untreated injury still requires proper treatment but will worsen further by stretching/strengthening, even after joint replacement. Therefore the proper therapy must be focused on soft tissue release by light touch, but NEVER stretching/strengthening. Prior to surgery, it can be resolved in 1-2 hours, but now with further injury by surgery, it may take more than 6-8 hours. This is detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit my website: NoMorePainClinic.com and its link to "Samples of Pain Mismanagement" READ MORE
Can hand nerve damage from a stroke be repaired?
In stroke, there are damages to the brain cells (neurons) of the affected sites, more motor than sensory. It often causes partial paralysis of the upper extremity, distal (hand) more than proximal (shoulder). There is no nerve damage to the nerves of the hand, in fact, no damages to any peripheral nerves anywhere in the body. Its recovery largely depends on recovery of the damaged brain cells, nothing to do with peripheral nerves in the hand. Not much can be done to enhance its recovery. READ MORE
Steroids and diabetes?
First question, why is back pain treated with steroids (and other medications)? It only masks pain temporarily without "treating" anything (the source/cause of pain). All back pain comes from mechanical strain of muscle/fascia and must be mechanically released to cure pain, much like tangled hair must be combed to untangle it, but not with medication. There is no concern of blood sugar related to one injection of steroids to the spine. READ MORE
How long should you keep your foot elevated after an ankle sprain?
First of all, there is no “ankle sprain” but fascia strain around the ankle. Elevating the ankle does not treat the injury at all. The injured fascia must be smoothened to restore its normal function by lightly touching and holding the injured (painful) sites for awhile. It may take a total of 1-3 hours to recover. No stretching, massage, exercises or any other treatments can resolve it. Please visit my website for details: NoMorePainClinic.com READ MORE
Do you need physical therapy after a broken foot?
There are always two injuries in a fracture: (1) fracture, (2) muscle/fascia strain around it and beyond. Fracture must be treated either by immobilization and/or surgical fixation. It heals by itself without any other intervention and its pain lasts for 1-2 weeks until inflammation subsides. Most pain/swelling lingering for years actually comes from strain and must be treated immediately, the longer delay the more time/effort it takes to recover. Without treatment, the strain injury stays for lifetime and recovery of fracture is incomplete with residual contractures and deformities. The strain injury is best treated with light touch (The Precision Method with Touch-and-Hold), and NEVER stretching or strengthening which only aggravates/worsens injuries and delays/prolongs recovery. The current practice of physical therapy is not recommended and even contraindicated. Please refer to website: NoMorePainClinic.com. READ MORE
Does acupuncture help speech after stroke?
Acupuncture has no effect whatsoever. Improvement of aphasia largely depends on recovery of the brain and speech therapy has very limited effect. For dysarthria, aside from spontaneous recovery of the brain, the partially-paralyzed and tightened muscles/fasciae of the mouth and throat must first be mechanically released to allow improvement, speech therapy/training yields very little results. The tightened muscles/fasciae can only be released by the body itself initiated by light touch to the affected sites, but not by massage, stretching, strengthening or training (speech therapy). READ MORE
Chronic pain deep in the gluteals, lower back, and feet?
Pain can only (almost always) come from muscle/fascia strain, totally unrelated to spine, joint or nerve. You strained many individual sites in low back, pelvis, thigh, leg and foot. The strained tissues are jammed up causing pain, tightness, weakness, limited mobility and gait deviations. Those mechanically strained tissues are like tangled hair and must be untangled mechanically to recover, otherwise the injuries stay permanently unresolved. Any treatment that does not mechanically release the jammed-up tissues are deemed to be ineffective. All the treatments you have received are not only wrong/ineffective but also come with so much side-effect and bad consequences. Those strained tissues can not be released externally by medication, surgery, manipulation, massage, stretching, strengthening or other means but can only be released by the body itself initiated by light touch and hold. New and old injuries can all be resolved after sufficient treatment. This is detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit website: NoMorePainClinic.com. READ MORE
Can you fix scoliosis without surgery?
Scoliosis is the result of muscle/fascia strain, bending and twisting the spine, not spine itself unless fractured. Surgery is to force and fixate spine to be artificially straight against natural adaptation and compensation by the body. Not only does it limit movements/function but also cause unwanted strain to the bones and muscles with permanent stiffness and pain, let alone treating its source, i.e. muscle strain. Those strained muscles and fasciae can be released and resolved by light touch (Precision Method with Touch-and-Hold) one site after another taking 6-12 hours. Surgery and physical therapy for stretching are not recommended. It is detailed in my book "NO MOTRE PAIN, All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough", please visit website: NoMorePainClinic.com. READ MORE
What is the cause of long term joint pain?
Here I only address the issue of "joint pain". First thing to know, no pain ever comes from any joint simply because there is no pain sensation in the joint. The so-called "joint pain" actually comes from strain of fascia tissue outside and around the joint and perhaps muscle strain beyond the joint as well. MS certainly does not cause pain in the joint, even no joint pain from arthritis either. Therefore 'joint pain" has nothing to do with joint. The strained muscle/fascia results in pain, stiffness, bulging (such as knuckle pad), limited movement/range/function. These mechanically-strained tissues must be mechanically released to recover with no more pain. This can't be accomplished externally by medication, heat, massage, manipulation, stretching, exercises, etc., but only by the body itself initiated by light touch and hold (The Precision Method), as detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit website: NoMorePainClinic.com. READ MORE
How can I improve my walking after ankle surgery?
If your walking is altered only after ankle surgery, the problem lies in surgery and/or its post-operative physical therapy. I am not sure what surgery you had and whether it was appropriately indicated. Post-operatively you must have been treated with physical therapy for stretching and strengthening. Stretching/strengthening is counter-productive and harmful. Your ankle problem is most likely derived from physical therapy. Soft tissue around the ankle must have been all jammed up, causing pain, tightness and weakness. Such soft tissue (muscle, fascia) injury must be released via light touch for 3-4 hours, but never stretching/strengthening again. Once all is released, there is no more pain, tightness or weakness and your walking will be back to normal. This is detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit my website: NoMorePainClinic,com and a link "Samples of Pain Mismanagement" . READ MORE
Do I need a massage or chiropractor for lower back pain?
The straight answer is NO, simply because neither one is therapeutically effective. Back pain comes from strained soft tissue (muscle, fascia) in the back and pelvis. Such strained tissue is jammed-up like hair tangled. In tangled hair, we simply comb through it, but not by heat/cold, massage, manipulation, stretching, medication, surgery, etc. The same here in treating back pain, the jammed-up tissue must be untangled to get rid of pain. Any treatment not untangling the strained muscles/fasciae is deemed to be ineffective. The strained tissue cannot be released by any external means, but only by the body itself via light touch (Touch-and-Hold Method) initiating self-healing. There is no direct treatment to the strained tissue by chiropractic manipulation and the strained tissue remains tangled. Massage applies rub-down mostly to the uninjured muscles which are somewhat tight due to the nearby injury. Massage is not aiming at the injured sites, in fact, the injured sites are often skipped because they are very tender. There may be some relief of pain and tightness temporarily after release of the tight uninjured tissue, but the injured sites remain untreated and will cause those uninjured tissue to be tightened again after few hours. This is detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit my website: NoMorePainClinic.com READ MORE
Recovery time?
Apparently you strained some muscles in the hip along with the adjacent fascia, not just iliopsoas. It is NEVER tendon sprain or muscle impingement, therefore NEVER any surgery at all please. The exact injured muscles can be identified by physical examination for 1-2 minutes and NEVER x-rays or MRI. Those muscles are mechanically jammed up, they must be mechanically untangled by light touch and hold (Touch-and-Hold Method) but NEVER massage, stretching, manipulation, exercises of any kind. The jammed-up muscles can't be released by any external means but by the body itself. It can only be done by way of light touch to initiate self-healing. That is why physical therapy never worked, it may even aggravate the injuries making it worse. Using this method, it usually takes 1-3 hours to resolve all injuries back to normal. It is detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit website: NoMorePainClinic.com READ MORE
What can physical therapists do for a sprained ankle?
Physical therapists typically following what they are taught apply hot/cold packs, stretching and strengthening to a sprained ankle. Yet, the injury in a sprained ankle is actually fascia strain in the joint space and hardly ever real sprain of ligament/tendon. Those treatments are contraindicated in fascia strain and can only worsen the injury instead. The proper and effective treatment is to apply light touch (Touch-and-Hold of The Precision Method) to release the jammed-up fascia initiating self-healing, much like combing the tangled hair. It takes only 1-2 hours to cure it. Please visit my website: NoMorePainClinic.com. READ MORE
Is physical therapy necessary after hip replacement?
First, any hip (or knee) pain/tightness/weakness only comes from strain of muscles/fasciae outside the joint, not the joint itself, only because the joint has no pain sensation. It takes 1-2 hours of manual therapy (Touch-and-Hold Method) to resolve the strained tissue to recover. There is no need for surgery, unless the joint is destructed no longer working as a hinge. Surgery not only does not treat the injury but also add another injury (trauma) to the hip. You should avoid surgery if all possible. After surgery, physical therapy is usually prescribed for stretching/strengthening. Such therapy can irritate and worsen the original (untreated) soft tissue injury as well as the new injury caused by surgery. The whole course is painful and lengthy. The treatment should be focused on soft tissue release via light touch, the same way the original injury without surgery is to be treated. It usually takes 2-3 hours to recover. Soft tissue injury (jammed-up muscles/fasciae) can only be released (untangled) internally by the body itself via light touch, but not by any external means (medication, heat/cold, electrotherapy, massage, manipulation, stretching, strengthening, etc.). It is detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit my website: NoMorePainClinic.com. READ MORE
What does a physical therapist do for sports injuries?
You apparently suffered soft tissue strain with jammed-up muscle/fascia tissues. They must be untangled to restore strength/function with no more pain. Any treatment (medications of any kind, heat, cold, electrotherapy, massage, stretching, manipulation, exercises of any kind, etc.) not untangling the injured tissues has no therapeutic effect. It is like untangling tangled hair, nothing works but simply combing through it. Physical therapy is not only ineffective but also may worsen the injury. No external means can effectively untangled the inured/tightened tissue but internally by the body itself via light touch (Touch-and-Hold Method) to initiate self-healing. It takes less than few hours to recover. It is detailed in my website: NoMorePainClinic.com and my book "No More Pain All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". READ MORE
Pain in Shoulder Chest and Stomach
Simply put, you suffer soft tissue (more fascia than muscle) strain in shoulders, rib cage and abdomen, nothing else is wrong. All these injuries can be identified by palpation. No MRI or X-rays needed. The injured tissue is jammed up, like hair tangled. The only effective treatment is to untangle it by the body itself internally via light touch initiating self-healing, certainly not by any external means such as medication, hot/cold application, massage, stretching, strengthening, manipulation, acupuncture, etc. Without untangling, the injured tissue remains for a lifetime without spontaneous improvement. This is detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit my website: NoMorePainClinc.com. READ MORE
What is the best therapy after a stroke?
Medically first thing is to stabilize stroke by controlling risk factors and preventing complications. Second is to prevent another stroke in the future by controlling the risk factors.If partially paralyzed, physical therapy is needed to release tightened muscles/fasciae by light touch (Touch-and-Hold Method) but not by stretching. Strengthening exercise is applied only to the unparalyzed muscles. This is followed by gait and ADL (activity of daily living) training to maximize daily function. Foot brace may be used as needed for control of foot drop due to extension synergy. Occupational therapy is applied to the paralyzed upper extremity to maximize hand function. For aphasia or dysarthria, speech therapy is indicated, but it is not very effective. Recovery of stroke largely depends on recovery of the affected brain cells (neurons), not much can be done to enhance it. READ MORE
Can physical therapy relieve the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis?
My answer is yes and no. Inflammation and pain of any kind including rheumatoid arthritis can be relieved by light touch (manual therapy), but never by heat, cold, massage, manipulation, stretching, strengthening, etc. Specifically it is called Touch-and-Hold of The Precision Method detailed in my book "NO MORE PAIN All Pain Considered - A Breakthrough". Please visit my website: NoMorePainClinc.com. READ MORE