The Medical Journey of Dr. Gloria Tucker, M.D.
Dr. Gloria Tucker M.D., is extremely passionate about Prolotherapy and PRP because it changed her life! And now she uses the principles of Prolotherapy and PRP to help others.
"I am hypermobile, that is, I have always had loose-limbed joints. Yoga was easy for me and I loved gymnastics as a child. In Medical School, I became a long distance runner and did lots of mountain biking. However, I began having chronic low back and hip problems which I didn’t understand.", said Dr. Gloria Tucker. So, she started spending a great deal of time at the Medical Library at UCSF reading all about lower back and hip problems. She attended multiple medical conferences in musculoskeletal medicine. Although Dr. Tucker was already board certified in Internal Medicine, she went back and got her boards in Sports Medicine.
She is a medical doctor in the state of California. Her undergraduate studies were at the University of Southern California, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating from the University of Southern California Medical School, she completed her residency in Internal Medicine in San Francisco. There she also became Board Certified in Internal Medicine in 1990. For 10 years, Dr. Tucker practiced medicine at the Kaiser Medical Center in Petaluma, California. After becoming Board Certified in Sports Medicine, Dr. Tucker joined the Orthopedic Department at Kaiser in Santa Rosa. In 2013, she left traditional medicine to completely focus her practice on Proliferative Medicine. Dr. Gloria Tucker is also a Certified Yoga Instructor and a former instructor of musculoskeletal anatomy.
Back Pain
Dr. Tucker stopped running and biking, and started swimming. This helped in some ways, but her back still hurt. She saw many doctors and tried strengthening exercises. These exercises made the pain worse. Using cortisone on her back and hip, helped but for a very short time. The pain always returned. Dr. Tucker even had surgery on her hip, which did not help with the pain. Every morning, she would lay in bed, not wanting to get up. Because of this unbearable pain, she used to wonder what would become of her. It was a very hard time. Although Dr. Tucker continued to swim, in order to stay strong, she couldn’t walk for more than a half a mile without feeling pain. She also started gaining weight.
Finally, Dr. Gloria Tucker M.D., saw a Chiropractor who really helped her. "The pain was relieved when he manipulated my back. But, in a few hours, it returned.", she said. Dr. Tucker did this for about a year. She tried to strengthen her core, but many of the exercises made the pain worse. Then, she saw a doctor who told her that she needed prolotherapy. "We did it, and it was life changing! Now, I can go to a Pilates class, ride my bike again, and go on long walks. But most importantly, I get out of bed every morning without pain!", Dr. Tucker said.
Prolotherapy
"It saved my life. I felt so hopeful again, and I knew that it would be unethical of me not to let people know about this treatment.", Dr. Gloria Tucker M.D. said.
I was glad that I had learned musculoskeletal anatomy when I became a sports medicine doctor and had been teaching anatomy and physiology for many years, but the training to become a good prolotherapist required intensive study. I went to many many courses and did very serious training through the Hackett Hemwall Foundation where the most respected prolotherapists in the world come together to teach and learn. I am now proud to say that I am an instructor for other doctors to learn Prolotherapy through the Hackett Hemwall Patterson Foundation.
For the last seven years consecutively, Dr. Tucker has gone to Honduras to treat pain in underserved people using Prolotherapy. After training arduously in these techniques, I offered them to my patients at Kaiser where I was able to treat two patients with prolotherapy per day. Very quickly, I had a 3 1/2 month waiting list. Unfortunately, this is not covered by Kaiser Insurance and I had to stop. But I saw how many people were helped by this, and I decided to start my own practice specializing in Prolotherapy, PRP, and Peri-Neural Injection Therapy. In 2013, I opened my own practice with my background in accurate musculoskeletal diagnoses and these life-changing treatment modalities. They work wonders.
PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma)
PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) is another way to treat ligamentous instability and osteoarthritis using plasma from the patient's own body. In patients with more severe ligamentous problems or even tears, this is an effective treatment, since not only collagen is laid down, but growth factors and cytokines (which are part of the platelet rich plasma) strongly aide in tissue repair. This procedure is the very one that got Steph Curry back in action with his torn meniscus!
Not everyone has pain due to ligamentous instability and tendon tightening, some people have intractable pain due to their nerves. Therefore, I learned another effective treatment for pain called, Peri-Neural Injection Therapy, and I now offer this treatment to those people who have unusual pain syndromes. It is elegant, simple, and it works.
Ultrasound
In addtion to using her hands for careful diagnosis and locating the exact areas to treat, Dr. Tucker also uses ultrasound for evaluation and precision in her treatments. This adds an extra layer of safety by improving visibility of the underlying structures.
Because Dr. Tucker is working on specific ligaments and not simply injecting into the joints, the enhanced visibility improves accuracy and effectiveness of her treatments.
