I have a chronic back problem. It's been there a while, about 13 years now. First time it happened was when I bent down to turn on a printer in the office (my first job out of uni). When I stood upright, I felt a funny twinge in my lower back. By lunchtime I couldn't really walk properly. My colleague had to wheel me out on an office chair, down the cargo lift to her car. The doctor gave me an injection and the pain went away. Over the years, there have been varying degrees of incidence. Each time I ended in a doctor's office because of my back, the attending physician would ask me if I felt anything down my legs, to assess if a spinal disc is out of place. They'd lift my legs up till my hamstrings stretched out and ask if there was abnormal pain. There was never any so no one really bothered going further with other treatments. I carry a bag of painkillers with me. Tramadol makes you feel floaty.
I did write a post after I ended up in hospital after an episode. First time it was that serious. The doc prescribed an MRI then and that conclusively identified the problem - spinal discs with bits of excessive bone growth (called spurs) pinching on nerves. Not slipped discs thank goodness. The doctors also said surgery would be too risky. They prescribed meds and 2 months with a physio. I went back to work after a week of lying down with a wraparound tummy brace. It was awful. The twinges of pain came back now and then. The physiotherapy really helped.
Between then and now, I would have about one bad episode every 8-9 months. One hip would be higher than the other. I'd hobble to my sinseh for a course correction. He'd pull and adjust my bones into their correct alignment after a few quick acupuncture pricks to loosen the hamstrings and nerves. Usually his fingers did magic and his advice bust my ego. Sometimes my back didn't get better for a while.
I have been at yoga for the last 7 years. Generally I think it helped my back. Sometimes it didn't. It was a strange dichotomy of actions and outcomes. I do not regret the time I put in but today I am not entirely certain the exercises I did on the mat were right for me.
About half a year ago, I met with a uni mate for lunch. We met on the street once and decided we'd have lunch soon after. Over lunch she introduced me to a physiotherapy clinic near my office. Literally 100m from my buildings from door. I pondered for a while and figured I should finally set things right. The painkillers, sinseh and yoga wasn't quite fixing the problem. So I walked into City Physiotherapy one evening and made an appointment. No looking back.
It's been sensational. Ms Karine Rogers has been the spinal soothing angel I've been waiting for, assigned to my rescue. The first thing Karine did was take out a blank sheet of paper and started asking questions. When did it start? What were you doing then? What exercises I did? What exercises made my back feel good? What yoga poses caused pain? Which didn't? How did I sit in the office? How's the chair? Did I walk around much throughout the day? Did it hurt when I bent forward? How about backwards and sideways? She corroborated what she inferred from the MRI scans, that I have trouble bending forwards and to the right. She taught me stretches that helped loosen my hamstrings and butt muscles. She taught me McKinsey exercises to help move my discs in the right direction, to alleviate the pinching. She would use her elbow and work the muscles around my spinal cord to loosen things up. I feel awesome after 45mins of pulling, pushing, massages and stretching. I look forward to going to these sessions.
At each session, Karine would ask if there was a time when I didn't feel any pain. It was a strange question. One usually remembers pain when it strikes, not when it doesn't. I, almost every day, would feel something. It wasn't always pain. It's usually a sensation, a feeling of something out of place. Today, I answered yes. Some time last week, I remember thinking about my back and voila! No pain. No sensation.
The physiotherapy is working. My sessions are down from once a week, then twice a month and now once a month. It's feels good to know that I can sort my back out before it comes anywhere near snapping. Real good.
I have one more session in December. It might be the last. Last of the best things I did this year.
I told Karine and the receptionists one time that they should be proud of themselves because they are literally ridding the world of pain. And I mean literally.
So I am not afraid to say I endorse City Osteopathy & Physiotherapy. They are located at 80 Robinson Road #17-01. Tel 6222 2451. They have another office in Turf City I think. Website http://www.cityosteophysio.com My first appt cost $150, subsequent ones $120.
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