So my patient was having a problem. Pain in the morning within his low back especially in the AM hours when he woke up. The pain was described as “intolerable”and “stiff” and this prevented him from sleeping more than a few hours a night without waking him up. He was having a hard time dressing, biking, and spending time with his kids. The low back pain became so intense that his ability to work became increasingly difficult.
The patient had been to his primary care and orthopedic doctor who had diagnosed him with arthritis at the L3-L5 vertebral levels. He was told to take prescription steroids and rest so that is what he did. He was also given a prescription to see a physician who specialized in spinal injections.
But…after the bout of oral steroids the patient felt worse with increasing pain that was getting worse. He was not sure how to proceed and was not given any other direction.
The patient looked on the internet and had stumbled upon the PTN website. After seeing the blog on 4 Tips for Managing Low Back Arthritis in Pittsburgh, PA the patient began performing the exercises and immediately started having relief. Knowing that if a few simple exercises and other treatments could potentially reduce and/or eliminate his low back pain, he was definitely willing to try anything natural.
The patient then called our office and set up an appointment. He was not aware that he could have come in directly without a referral. He was also not aware that his insurance would pay for most of the therapy.
After about an hour of a detailed examination of the patient’s low back he received a biomechanical diagnosis that included improving certain segments of his lumbar vertebrae, increasing the flexibility of his hamstrings and hip flexors, avoiding certain postures, and activating certain muscle groups. The work would take a few weeks.
The patient was amazed that this process made him 100% pain-free and restored his ability to play with his children, exercise to his previous ability, and to work without limitation. The patient learned that his lifestyle could become drastically better even with the arthritis diagnosis. The result was achieved by a sequence of specific events that required repetition.
To this day the patient hasn’t needed our help again for this condition and this is exactly what we were planning to achieve. Most of the time there is a conservative solution to low back pain that has not been explored.
