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“I began to do everything with my left hand,” said Kostakis. Even more worrisome, it interfered with her ability to paint. “I was so scared it was the end," she said. "Painting is what I do every day. It’s what I love.”
Not knowing what was wrong and fearing the worst, Kostakis made an appointment with sports medicine specialist, Dr. Katherine Vadasdi, director of the ONS Women’s Sports Medicine Center at Orthopaedic & Neurosurgery Specialists.
“Dr. Vadasdi was amazing and so kind," said Kostakis. "With an x-ray machine right there in the office, I had everything done in the same appointment. It was so easy.” Vadasdi diagnosed lateral epicondylitis, commonly known as tennis elbow. She helped Kostakis get the proper braces from an online source and prescribed a program of physical therapy.
As a mother of two and art teacher, the time commitment needed for physical therapy seemed daunting. Yet, when she was able to get an appointment right away with Tanya Kalyuzhny, DPT, the director of physical therapy at the ONS Greenwich office, Kostakis was immediately confident the time would be well spent.
“I could tell that Tanya was very knowledgeable and experienced from the get go,” said Kostakis. “Every time she treated me, she talked me through the entire process, so I knew what she was doing, what I needed to do and why it was important.“
Treatment began with laser therapy and light weight bearing exercises, and eventually advanced to therapies such as Graston technique and dry needling.
“It was really a pleasure to go there," said Kostakis. "I never felt like I was forgotten or ignored." When Kalyuzhny announced that Kostakis had “graduated” and didn’t need therapy anymore, Kostakis was surprised at the void she felt in her life. “I built a real friendship with Tanya,” she said. “It’s funny to say, but overall it was a pleasurable experience. I recommend ONS to everyone. We are so lucky to have their offices right here in our own backyard.“
These days, Kostakis is back doing what she loves most. Painting canvases large and small, teaching art classes at Greenwich Academy and privately and spending time with her husband and two sons. And she’s back on the tennis court as good as new.
ONS has offices in Greenwich and Stamford, Conn. and Harrison, N.Y.
For more information on the services offered by ONS, click here.
