Recovering from chronic back pain
After years of back issues and bouncing around every practice under the sun, I suffered a significant back injury In 2017 which led me to the A & E room in excruciating pain and my legs partially immobile.
My injury was not caused by any high-speed car crash or spectacular extreme sporting incident but rather from life filled with constant back abuse from being involved in a physical, demanding job in an industry where thought about care for your body came second to a culture of “hardening up” and “pushing through to get the job done”. The significant part of this injury was not how the injury occurred but, that in one moment I was working fine and able bodied, and in the next moment I was bent over in excruciating pain, unable to have full use of my legs and the thoughts of what could be, was mind blowing..
After some treatment the injury was diagnosed as a severe muscle spasm in the lower back, the muscles had gone into “fight mode” and had contacted to protect my lower back and spinal cord. My Dr suggested that I get some treatment from a local osteopath to help with my recovery which I did, and it worked well.
Following this incident, you thought I would have learnt something, but once my mobility came back, I went back to my old tricks pushing the boundaries of my back limitations and abusing my body in my day-to-day life as if nothing had happened, but I never had full confidence in the strength of my back again following this incident. This then led me back to the Drs a couple of years later with more back pain and back to the osteopath. As my family had been receiving previous treatment from Kristin for other issues, my wife encouraged me to see her, so I made an appointment and went along. I told Kristin my story and in our first appointment she set about assessing my issue all the while taking the time to answer any questions I threw at her, she patiently answered them in a language which I could easily relate to.
The treatments were frequent and often, and slowly but surely, I could feel and notice an improvement in my mobility between walking into the appointment and leaving. She gave me exercises to improve my mobility, and the regularity of our visits became further in between as her treatment took effect. She discussed the next steps of long term back and body care and how each part of the body compliments and relates to each other, and that If I wanted to live a more pain free life then care of the entire body was needed. This led me to enrol in some group exercise classes at our local gym to improve mobility and core strengthening. Overtime I felt my body start to change, no longer was I struggling to bend over or walking stiff legged, my body started to feel better.
I have now pushed out my visits to Kristin to every couple of months or so for what we call “back maintenance or a Body WOF for better likening” so she can tweak the areas that need work and it’s also a good way to check in with an expert to make sure that I am heading in the right direction and more importantly my body is doing all the right things..
Kristin did say to me at one of our earlier appointments that “you need to buy in to caring for your body, there is no one-off fix and if you want long term results then you have to put in the work and care for your body each and every day”. Her words have stuck with me throughout, it is a lifestyle change that comes with awareness and education and when you understand what not to do, then you can set about getting on the road to healthier living and in by doing so, the results that you are looking for will come naturally.
Caring for your body is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and is often the first thing to be overlooked when life gets busy - For over 25 years I have endured and put up with back pain, and after being at the hands of Kristin’s care I can whole heartly say that she has changed my life. I am now living pain free and have more mobility and function that I have ever had. My body feels better now in my mid 40’s than it did when I was in my early 20’s.
I didn’t know what it was like to live a life pain free, but now I do and there is no way I will ever go back to old days or my old ways. This is all down to Kristin’s treatment plan – she is a true expert at her craft.
I’ve often referred friends to Kristin, and they all come away saying the same thing.
