Case Study: How This Active Woman Finally Cured Her Back Pain
/Our amazing 42 year old client, Erin had been dealing with lower back pain on and off for the past 10 years. She loves to be active but feels like the small of her back and occasional numbness down her leg keep her from the things she loves. On top of that, it is hard enough to find the time to be active since she is busy taking care of her children, ages 9 and 12.
Erin’s back pain started during her second pregnancy, and had difficulty sitting for long periods of time. She has discomfort when sitting for more than 30 minutes, even worse when it’s on a soft couch. Standing in one position is a lot worse versus when walking. About 2-3 times a year, she will have an acute episode where her back will lock up when bending or twisting down to grab something. When these episodes first started to happen, they would only take a day or two to resolve. Most recently, it was so bad that Erin had to go to the ER where they gave her strong pain medication. She then had to lay in bed for almost a week to get to a place where she could walk with slightly less pain.
Erin has tried both physical therapy and chiropractic in the past, but with limited results. She did not feel like her concerns were being addressed because the clinicians were so busy. She felt that the hands on care was extremely general, and not specific to the pain she was feeling. She then decided it wasn't for her. Although her pain was “always there”, she just decided to “suck it up” and stay active by walking 2-3x/week and her barre/pilates class 1-2x/week. Unfortunately after this most recent episode, she knew she needed to try something. Although extremely skeptical and through some convincing of a friend of hers, she decided to have a complimentary Discovery Visit at our office to find out if we would be a good fit to help her.
At her Discovery Visit, we were able to find out a lot more about Erin’s discomfort and how it has changed over time. She shared with us how her pain has truly affected her daily activities and even her confidence to try new things. We were able to pinpoint certain times of day and different motions that make the pain worse. She told us she delivered her second child via c-section as well which may have compromised her trunk strength.
Through a movement exam, we watched her different activities such as walking, bending, twisting, squatting, balancing and her sleeping position. We paired up some of the deficiencies we saw with her physical examination to evaluate strength, endurance, flexibility, mobility and range of motion.
Through one-on-one specialized care, we used hands on techniques for a significant part of Erin’s hour long treatments to loosen certain joints, tissues and muscles to get them more mobile. They had been stuck in these position for years, and it did not help that she exhibited poor posture especially when at her computer for hours at a time. We also worked on exercises that would help maintain her new found flexibility as well as strengthen and stabilize the surrounding areas. These exercises were progressed and geared towards her activities of walking and yoga.
Overtime, Erin started to gain an incredible understanding of how her body moves and the impact of certain weaknesses that she never knew she had. She appreciated the one-on-one care because she could stay in constant communication with her doctor instead of switching from person to person. She felt that it was the continued guidance throughout the entire process which allowed her to start to trust her body and doctor again.
There is no such thing as an overnight cure, just a well thought out plan executed over a period of time. It takes a commitment by the client as much as from the professional when regaining your independence. All in all, Erin was able to reach all her goals to stay mobile and active to restore her belief in health’s potential.
If you have any questions about your particular situation, please don't hesitate to give us a call at 626-365-1380 or email HealthFitInc@gmail.com.
