Chronic pain from injuries or any medical condition is a side effect that can negatively change a person’s life permanently – until it stops. People living with chronic pain are often forced to turn to a laundry list of remedies to manage their symptoms, where opiates and NSAIDs top the list. Besides only inducing temporary relief and the risk of severe stomach ulcers, opiate addiction is a reality no one should ever endure.
These were Dr. Matthew DiDuro’s fears when his wife was battling the repercussions of chemotherapy after a stage-3 breast cancer diagnosis. With over 25 years of experience in the field, DiDuro, director of the ATL Pain Institute, is an expert in chiropractic therapy and peripheral neuropathy. His wife, Sherri, was admitted to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America where her treatment plan included four months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and 36 radiation sessions every day to destroy all the malignant cells.
Although they were given an 87% survival rate, her chances seemed slim when Sherri developed Chemo Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) during her treatment. This condition is the major reason most people have to discontinue chemo. However, DiDuro is an expert in peripheral neuropathy and was able to use low-level light therapy (LLLT) to relieve his wife of chronic pain from CIPN.
“The doctor recommended that we wait at least 24 hours after her chemo infusion and then we could start the low-level light therapy (LLLT),” DiDuro recalls. “So, that’s what we did. We would use this LLLT on her feet & hands every day, twice per day. We would start the morning sessions with 20 minutes on her feet then we would switch them to her hands for another 20 minutes. We would repeat that protocol in the evening about eight hours later.”
The treatment plan showed positive results and Sherri was able to complete her chemotherapy. Five years later, following another breakthrough episode after her mastectomy, Sherri is virtually cancer-free and thriving every day.
Discovering Softwave therapy
Around this time, Dr. DiDuro was introduced to a company called Softwave Tissue Regeneration Technologies, which uses extracorporeal shock wave therapy. He used this futuristic device to relieve himself of the chronic wrist pain that had put his life on hold for over a decade.
“Eleven years ago, after catching a patient that was falling off a table, I dislocated my right shoulder, detached the labrum, and tore ligaments in my right wrist,” he said. “The injury knocked me out of healthcare for years. Two surgeries later, one on my shoulder & one on my wrist, left me unable to practice chiropractic anymore.”
The surgery on his shoulder was successful but his wrist was severely damaged. He couldn’t do basic things such as mowing the lawn, riding a bike, and on the more important side, helping patients who needed therapy.
The excruciating pain had him visiting doctors all over the country for several years and none could offer a long-lasting solution to his suffering. Not interested in becoming addicted to opiates and painkillers, DiDuro was determined to find a treatment plan that excluded medication entirely.
At this time, he was co-director of the Functional Rehab Department at Life University, and despite having millions of dollars’ worth of sophisticated devices at his disposal, no technology could come through for his pain.
Meeting John Warlick
DiDuro’s life took a turn for the better after he was introduced to John Warlick, the CEO of Softwave Tissue Regeneration Technologies (TRT).
“Warlick introduced me to the Orthotripsy®, which utilizes electro-hydraulically produced sound waves that travel 3,355 mph creating a shearing force that triggers a positive biologically healing response in scar tissue, by causing the cells to compress and then expand,” DiDuro explained.
Performed with the Orthogold 100, Orthotripsy® imitates a natural process of removing waste products, mRNA, and oxidative agents from the affected cells. This way, fresh water and nutrients can move into the cell to revitalize it again.
Dr. DiDuro described his first session as “earth-shattering”. It had only lasted three minutes with a bit of discomfort as the device moved over scar tissue, but the relief was obvious right after. As he says, “You have to feel it to heal it.
“After that first session, I couldn’t believe how lose my wrist felt,” DiDuro recounts. “It felt lighter & it moved with ease. There was no pain. I had a 25-30 percent reduction of pain after each session, and after a total of three treatments in three weeks, I was 90 percent improved and went back to most of the normal activities that I hadn’t been able to do for over a decade.”
The same technique was used to help Sherri after her double mastectomy, following the chemotherapy. The doctors had planned a straightforward procedure, but complications arose during Sherri’s surgery. She was placed in an awkward position on the operating table and after seven hours in the theater, her surgery was successful but she’d lost dexterity in her thumb and forefingers bilaterally.
“This problem triggered another episode of chronic pain where Sherri couldn’t use her hands properly or sleep peacefully at night. From acupuncture to NSAIDs and several other pain management techniques we attempted, nothing truly helped.”
Luckily, after meeting Warlick, DiDuro and his team eventually used Softwave, a low-intensity lithotripsy technology, a type of technique under the extracorporeal shock wave therapy to rapidly relieve Sherri of the debilitating pain.
“This mRNA help tricks the body into thinking there is a new injury and initiates a natural biological healing throughout the body,” DiDuro said. “When we started adding this to Sherri’s treatment plan, we saw transformational changes in both her dexterity & sensory feeling of her hands and feet.”
After DiDuro and his wife regained their quality of life through the TRT treatment plan, he reconnected with Warlick to inquire about the technology. Warlick had no distributors for Orthogold 100 in the chiropractic therapy sphere, and DiDuro became the first North American distributor.
“Since then, my company has gone on to sell 110 devices and has become the largest distributor of this technology in the United States,” DiDuro said. “With only 620 units available worldwide, I’ve also become one of the top distributors in the world. It started with two simple goals: educate the consumer about this versatile technology and get one unit in every state in America, with only three left to go.”
Across Austria and in many other parts of Europe, the Orthogold 100 has become the standard for pain management. The device was declared a non-significant risk (NSR) by the U.S. FDA due to the minimal risks involved and the non-invasive nature of usage. Within a ten-minute therapy session, although it may present with some degree of discomfort, the device helps to locate areas of inflammation and tissue damage, help pinpoint the true source of pain, and then initiate the body’s innate healing process.
The Softwave Tsunami
DiDuro is now the Chief Medical Officer at Warlick’s company, Softwave TRT. As he continued popularizing the device all over the continent, he delved into further research on extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) and made a shocking discovery – it was similar to a stem cell theory, only that you don’t need any external stems from any source. Your own stem cells were enough.
The popularity of stem cells has been increasing over the past two decades and very commonly, a lot of patients aren’t entirely or even remotely relieved in pain management cases. According to Dr. DiDuro, people would spend thousands of dollars on procedures that are “still under research”, leaving them tunneling down rabbit holes of “you just need more injections”.
“The TRT treatment didn’t require any needles, cortisone, expensive stem cells from who-knows-where, and you don’t even have to puncture the skin,” he explains. “It activates your own stem cells, which are the repairmen to the body. They also signal other “helper cells” that then help to accelerate the normal healing process. It tricks the body into thinking there’s a new injury, without causing any trauma or damage.”
DiDuro was featured on “The DOCTORS” show last year where he was asked to demonstrate how the device helps to activate the stem cells. In an episode that had been viewed over four million times since it aired, the associate producer and research consultant reviewed the studies, and the doctors said, “Why don’t you just call this what it really is? The Stem Cell Machine”.
Presently, the technology is embraced by Cleveland Clinic, Sheppard Spine Center, Mayo Clinic, a VA center in Texas, NY Nets, NY Knicks, Memphis Grizzlies, NBA World Champions the LA LAKERS, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and many other general clinics and professional sports teams. Dr. DiDuro and his team of three medical doctors, five chiropractors, two nurse practitioners, and fifteen support staff currently run the ATL Pain Institute, bringing relief to chronic pain patients using the Softwave device and other targeted treatment protocols. They cater to a wide range of patients, mostly senior citizens suffering from diabetic and peripheral neuropathy.
The clinic receives an average of 900 new patients yearly, but the COVID-19 restrictions put a massive dent in those numbers. However, they managed to bounce back operations as DiDuro was motivated to continue bringing relief to people who were enduring the same phase of helplessness he once had – pain so extreme that even the opiates wouldn’t help at times.
DiDuro and his team eventually began to document process videos from clinics all over the country with recovering chronic pain patients.
“Every week, one of our clinics would send in these real, live videos of their patients after their first sessions, documenting these transformational results,” he said. “These would be considered medical miracles but had become a common weekly occurrence. We started a Facebook & YouTube channel called FREE MY PAIN NOW so that we could share these true stories because no one would believe them otherwise.”
DiDuro concluded as he talked about his biggest major inspiration to make an impact in the pain relief industry.
“I’m a student of life, for the rest of my life,” he said. “We’re experiencing some of the greatest advancements in medical technology in the history of healthcare. I’m passionate about helping to build better clinics across the country, utilize efficient and effective therapies, speeding up healing, and also decreasing the cost of healthcare. This helps me get more people well!”