People come to us looking for back pain relief. Some of them come to us for back pain relief after years of chronic discomfort. Some of them come to us for pain relief having spent thousands of dollars, and hundreds of hours, on appointments and surgeries and recovery. Only to find they are in more pain than when they started.
Others find temporary relief but are frustrated at constantly addressing the same problem over and over (and over) with little or no change or improvement. It isn’t until they find us that the issues actually causing the pain are addressed, and they begin to see change and improvement. We want to share some of those stories with you.
Back Pain Relief: Sara’s Story
Sara is one of those who has tried almost everything to find relief from back pain. She is in her 30’s and raising two pre-school aged children as a single working mom.
She has had to take frequent time off work dealing with back pain that sometimes doesn’t even allow her to get out of bed. On “bad pain days”, her children are often sent to stay with a relative, sometimes overnight or for several days. In her efforts to get back pain relief, Sara has had several medical and surgical procedures, numerous MRIs and x-rays, seen multiple specialists throughout Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, and is on several high dose pain medications and a muscle relaxant.
Sara has been told that her lumbar vertebrae are crushing the discs which are pushing on the nerves of her lower back and legs. Pain travels down her legs and frequently causes them to feel unstable, making it difficult to trust herself driving, walking, or going up and down stairs. A fusion has not been a medical option for treatment, so Sara had the nerves burned instead.
This treatment in and of itself was a painful procedure with a lengthy recovery. The hope was that the pain would be significantly diminished or eliminated. In Sara’s case, this did not happen. Instead, she now has numbness and tingling through the upper portions of her legs in addition to the pain that radiates down the sides and backs of her legs.
One of the next options Sara tried was a spinal cord stimulator. Again, this was surgery with its associated costs, risks, and recovery time. It left Sara with a 4 inch scar where the stimulator pack was inserted above her left hip and a 3 inch scar where the leads from it were attached to her lumbar vertebrae. It took Sara several appointments (and more missed time from work) to adjust the electrical stimulation that was supposed to block the nerves from sending pain impulses to her brain.
This procedure was only moderately successful as the stimulator stopped being effective within a few months. The doctors do not plan on removing the stimulator, and Sara now keeps it turned off. Sara tried having her nerves burned again upon the recommendation of new doctors, but in the 2 months of injections and testing required prior to that procedure (more doctors visits and time off work), it was determined that it would indeed not be effective, so was not pursued further.
In the meantime, she has had weekly – or even twice weekly chiropractic adjustments – with the focus of keeping her SI joints aligned. She also sometimes sees an energy worker to help her deal with all the stress she believes is being stored in her body and has had injections several times into her low back.
She is currently on high doses of pain medication and is required by the state to see a pain specialist who monitors the levels she is receiving. Sara is restricted on how often she can refill her prescriptions and has several times been in the emergency room seeking pain relief when her medication has run out. The last few times she has been sent home – and was once told she was an addict – and they would not give her any medication.
Once the pain was so intense through her back and legs that she was taken by ambulance to the hospital and admitted for a few days.
That is the short story.
Sara found us in the middle of all of this when nothing was helping and the level of pain in her back was keeping her from being able to work and take care of her kids.
Logistics of childcare, time off work, and the 45 minute drive to appointments made it difficult for Sara to come frequently. Once a week was the best she could manage. Sometimes that had to be stretched to every 2 weeks. While she needed much more frequent treatment in order to fully heal, Sara was very happy with the increased ability to walk without fear of falling and the decreased pain in her back after her appointments.
Very few of these sessions focused on the pain or the crushed disc. Rather, they addressed what was causing the pain and the crushed disc, giving Sara’s body some much needed space to move. Regular sessions allowed her to continue working and for her kids to remain at home with her, which has always been her most important concern.
She also saw some improvement in the condition of her back and had days where she did not need the muscle relaxant or pain medications. As she continued getting treatment, she also saw improvement in her posture and in the tension in her upper back and shoulders.
Sara is not currently being seen by us as she is too far away, but she is now being considered for a new type of disc replacement expected to be approved for use in the United States some time in the near future. The siren song of surgery is as strong as ever, and we remain proud of how our treatment helped to turn her life around.
Back Pain Relief: Jean’s Story
Jean is brand new to myofascial release. Prior to her first appointment last week, she had never heard of us and how we help people. Jean, however, needed help. She has had back pain for as long as she can remember. At least the last 50+ years.
Jean is now in her 80’s and is getting tired of going seeing a chiropractor and a massage therapist every week. The adjustments do not hold, and while the massage feels nice, Jean’s back still always hurts.
She is fairly active and still plays golf. She smiles a bit when she talks about that because she isn’t as good as she used to be, but can still play 9 holes in about 50 strokes. She considers that excellent at her age. Jean also likes to garden and travel. She has children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren scattered across the country and likes to visit them. Long car rides and airline trips have become increasingly uncomfortable for her, though.
She found us while looking for something different.
During her visit, the evaluation showed multiple abdominal surgeries including a hysterectomy, appendectomy, and removal of her spleen. Of particular note was the spleen removal surgery, which left a 6 inch curved scar under her left ribs. When pointed out to her how that was affecting her body, Jean could feel the tight tissue pulling throughout her abdomen and up into and under her ribs.
Jean said in all the years she has been getting weekly massage, no one has ever touched her stomach. In all the years that she has been seeing the chiropractor and other medical professionals, no one has ever mentioned the effect scar tissue has in the body.
Her session was much different than she expected, but the explanation of why her back was feeling the way it was, and why what she was doing wasn’t helping, it made sense to her. She had a look of amazement on her face afterward when her lower back wasn’t aching nearly as much as when she came in, especially since I never touched her back.
Jean is amazed that at her age (in her 80’s) there is something that can actually help her. She has continued with treatment and is diligent with her self care. And she is seeing change she never thought would be possible.
Back Pain Relief: We Can Help You, Too!
Do either of these stories sound like you? Are you suffering from chronic back pain? Don’t think that you have to live with unbearable discomfort and debilitating back pain. We can help you find effective pain relief and get you back into a lifestyle that you deserve – free from the torments of pain, mental anguish, and anxiety.
Myofascial Release is the fastest and most effective way to resolve and treat chronic pain. Myofascial Release therapy finds the root cause and ditches all unnecessary treatments and pills.
If you’re still unsure whether Myofascial Release Therapy is right for your situation, chat with us on a free call about the pain you’re experiencing, and get our tips and advice on the best way forward.
Alternatively, you can choose a 30-minute, face-to-face taster session at our Salt Lake City clinic. We’re ready to help you get out of pain.
To read more about Myofascial Release Therapy and whom we help at the Release Works Myofascial Release Therapy clinic in Salt Lake City, download our free report here.
Michael Sudbury LMT
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