See our treatment philosophy and principles in a Q&A.

I trained at Samsung Medical Center and personally performed trauma and arthroscopic surgery for five years. That experience gave me a trained eye for telling apart the conditions that improve with surgery from those that can recover without it. For patients who genuinely need surgery, precise surgery is the best option, but patients who don't need it should never end up on the operating table. If you've been advised to have surgery elsewhere, I see it as part of my role to help you double-check whether that recommendation is right for you.

My principle is not to use steroids as a default. I use them in a limited way, only when truly needed for acute pain, and instead choose injections suited to each condition, such as nerve blocks, PRP, prolotherapy, or PDRN, placing them precisely under ultrasound guidance. I think of an injection as a bridge: it reduces pain enough for you to begin exercise. Treatment that ends with an injection is only half the job.

I offer approved, non-covered treatments only when they have solid medical evidence and a clear indication, following that principle consistently. If a non-covered treatment would be a financial burden given the patient's symptoms and circumstances, I don't recommend it, and I prioritize treatment covered by insurance instead.

On the other hand, I provide treatment a patient truly needs even when there's no reimbursement for it at all. One example is the five-minute exercise education session before patients go home; it does nothing for the clinic's bottom line, but it was the value I cared about most when I opened this practice. I provide it to every patient who wants it, to reduce recurrence and improve treatment outcomes.