Well, I haven't exactly been keeping up with this blog, but I did want to close it out by saying that I had a very positive experience with the folks at the Spinal Relief Center of Redmond.
My problems are not miraculously cured, but I must say that my back is in a good deal better shape than it was when I went in to see these folks. I'm certain that there are lots of back problems that can be completely cured with this process. Mine just didn't happen to be one of them.
So, if anyone has hit this blog in search of a review of the spinal decompression process, my last word to you is that it is worth the time and money. Some of you out there may even experience a total cure. At the very least, I think you will feel much better, and we sorta have to take whatever we can get when we have these kinds of problems.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Did I Mention I'm Still Going to the Spinal Relief Center?
Well, I am. Let's see...it's June 22, 2009 and I started treatement in late September 2008. Am I cured? Well, I think that I have benefitted from the treatment, and I think I have learned a lot in terms of what muscle groups to target to keep strong to help support the back, but I do not feel as though all the problems with my herniated disks are cured. But I also know there are other forces at work - my hips being out of alignment, my foot being FUBAR'ed pretty bad, and well, just falling apart generally - so I don't blame the folks at Spinal Relief Center that I am not miraculously "fixed". In fact, most days, I feel ready for the glue factory. Ah...
Monday, February 9, 2009
Still Getting Stretched....
Just checking in with an update on the spinal relief treatments. They are still going on. Dr. Meadows and his crew have continued my treatments and make accommodations for my unscheduled absences. I think they're great. I believe that I am still responding to the treatment as my overall pain level has decreased. And this past weekend, I noticed that the pain had moved out of the back entirely. Quite the milestone. I now have pain deep inside my left butt cheek. Dr. Meadows did an adjustment today to free up - I dunno....something - and it helped quite a bit. He also showed me a stretch to use after walking which was profoundly painful to do. Of course, that made me happy because that meant that his diagnosis was right on.
So, anyone who is reading this - I would not hesitate to sign up with these guys if you have lower disk problems. (I think they even treat neck damage too, but I don't know too much about that).
So, anyone who is reading this - I would not hesitate to sign up with these guys if you have lower disk problems. (I think they even treat neck damage too, but I don't know too much about that).
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
January 7, 2009 - My Back Hurts....
**sigh** Well, I wish I were posting that all of my back problems were solved after 3 months of decompression, but they're not. I had a treatment yesterday, and the treatment itself hurt quite a bit, but that didn't concern me as they do, from time to time, get rather uncomfortable. Nothing that someone who has been living with chronic back pain can't deal with - but ranging from moderate to severe discomfort nonetheless. Anyway, after getting off of the DRX9000, I then did some Spine Force work, and went on about my merry way to work and so forth. I noticed throughout the day that I was starting to feel twinges of pain and had some pretty severe pain in my upper back that hadn't been there before. Now I'm not blaming the treatment for that part of it - that part could be that I have recently started playing video games again pretty heavily, so I dont' think the pain in my upper shoulder was because of the treatment. However - about the time I was ready to go to bed (which I'm very grateful for the timing here) I felt something change very quickly - like when you throw out a disk or something, and I was in heavy pain - like an 8 level pain. So I had the husband grab my ice-pack out of the fridge, and went to bed and lay very, very still on that ice pack until I fell asleep. I got up this morning and it was better, but still hurting. I rode the bus to work with it still hurting. And, as I write this post, I am sitting on an ice pack here at work in hopes that it will help cool-down these disks before I have to slog to the bus and ride back home.
I'm sure that Dr. Meadows will do something about it tomorrow. He's a pretty good guy and has always been very responsive to changes in pain. Maybe we did a little too much spine force. Who knows. But I thought I'd just chronicle that there has been no Miracle Max cure thus far.
I'm sure that Dr. Meadows will do something about it tomorrow. He's a pretty good guy and has always been very responsive to changes in pain. Maybe we did a little too much spine force. Who knows. But I thought I'd just chronicle that there has been no Miracle Max cure thus far.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Too Many Treatments to Count
Hi from the chair. Hmmm...I don't really know what to say on here anymore. It's very odd...I seem to get better, then I get worse, then I get better, then I get worse. I'm still getting great treatment from the folks at the spinal relief center. I went there yesterday for a scheduled appointment, and filled out my pain report sheet. I guess I am better than I was on my last visit, which was just two days before - but that seems to be the way it goes. whenever there is a weekend, my pain tends to go up. All I can figure is that it is due to the increased activity that is always part of my weekends.
But I'm not giving up. Dr. Meadows explained about not bending forward - and that it was a prohibition against not bending forward and twisting at the same time. And that the bending forward needs to be kept to a minimum by involving the knees to squat down when possible. I have been doing everything that I am told, and continue to do so. I am still walking between 30 and 50 minutes per day and doing my exercises as prescribed on the exercise ball.
Dr. Meadows is still seeing me and I am still getting treatments on the DRX9000 as well as Spine Force. I had a Spine Force session yesterday and I think I'm a little sore from THAT today. Hard to tell sometimes what is the original pain and what is additional muscle pain from the work you're doing. But, I have to say, that I still have that sharp, nerve-pain in my left buttock that was there on day-1 of my treatment.
My husband asked me a few days ago if I thought the treatment had helped me. I have to say that overall it has. I used to not be able to sleep when I went to bed without taking something to knock me out - take me under the pain. Now, I just go to bed and go to sleep. I used to not be able to sit up on the sofa without feeling intense pain for most of the time that I was sitting. That is no longer true. As a matter of fact, when I first started seeing Dr. Meadows and the Spinal Relief team, I was having trouble forming coherent thoughts because of the pain. THAT is certainly no longer true. But is the pain gone? No. Not yet anyway. I'll keep you posted.
But I'm not giving up. Dr. Meadows explained about not bending forward - and that it was a prohibition against not bending forward and twisting at the same time. And that the bending forward needs to be kept to a minimum by involving the knees to squat down when possible. I have been doing everything that I am told, and continue to do so. I am still walking between 30 and 50 minutes per day and doing my exercises as prescribed on the exercise ball.
Dr. Meadows is still seeing me and I am still getting treatments on the DRX9000 as well as Spine Force. I had a Spine Force session yesterday and I think I'm a little sore from THAT today. Hard to tell sometimes what is the original pain and what is additional muscle pain from the work you're doing. But, I have to say, that I still have that sharp, nerve-pain in my left buttock that was there on day-1 of my treatment.
My husband asked me a few days ago if I thought the treatment had helped me. I have to say that overall it has. I used to not be able to sleep when I went to bed without taking something to knock me out - take me under the pain. Now, I just go to bed and go to sleep. I used to not be able to sit up on the sofa without feeling intense pain for most of the time that I was sitting. That is no longer true. As a matter of fact, when I first started seeing Dr. Meadows and the Spinal Relief team, I was having trouble forming coherent thoughts because of the pain. THAT is certainly no longer true. But is the pain gone? No. Not yet anyway. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Spine Force
So I did manage to have two visits with Dr. Meadows and his staff last week - despite the fact it was Thanksgiving weekend. I went in on Tuesday, and when Dr. Meadows overhead me say that I was taking off the following day to take my daughter on errands on her birthday - I was told to come in then too.
On Tuesday last week, the 25th, I got worked on the Spine Force machine for the first time. This is after I had a just over a week of doing exercises on the exercise ball to strengthen the intrinsic muscles in my back.
This is a picture of a spine force machine, but it's not at the Spinal Relief Center. After reading up on them on the Internet, I see that they are used for muscle rehab as well as disk rehab. There seem to be a fair amount of them in California, but Rochelle (in Dr. Meadows' office) told me that the ones in that office there in Redmond were the only ones in the state of Washington. That's pretty wild. Hard to have the only one of ANYTHING these days.
Okay, about the Spine Force machine...hmmm...I've only had one session on it, so I can't say much other than the fct that it didnt' cause me any additional pain. It seems to be a lesson in not only working the intrinsic muscles, but controlling them as well. You are asked to pull or push on the handles you see there on the machine, and to do so in such a way that you achieve a specific pressure reading on the machine. Your success or failure is based on how close you can get to the mark and how often. Rochelle said that I did pretty well for my first time with a score of about 70%.
At the writing of this blog entry, I find that I've needed several pain pills this week. My back has acted up and decided to hurt quite a bit again. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I have to say that the overall pain level has increased to a 4, with spikes to 6 and 7 - and I'm back to being in pain about 40% of the time. **sigh** Don't know what to think about that. I sure want this treatment to work - and I am honestly trying to do everything in my power to help it. I am doing as I'm told. I haven'y gotten in my hot tub, I have walked and not on the treadmill, I've done the strengthening exercises - and yet here I am. Still in pain. It's much better than it was, but I'm still going to treatments, and I'm wearing my disc disctractor belt when I'm on my feet.
I have high hopes, but I'm skeptical. Okay...that's it! I'm going for another treatment on Tuesday. We'll see how I am by then.
On Tuesday last week, the 25th, I got worked on the Spine Force machine for the first time. This is after I had a just over a week of doing exercises on the exercise ball to strengthen the intrinsic muscles in my back.
This is a picture of a spine force machine, but it's not at the Spinal Relief Center. After reading up on them on the Internet, I see that they are used for muscle rehab as well as disk rehab. There seem to be a fair amount of them in California, but Rochelle (in Dr. Meadows' office) told me that the ones in that office there in Redmond were the only ones in the state of Washington. That's pretty wild. Hard to have the only one of ANYTHING these days.
Okay, about the Spine Force machine...hmmm...I've only had one session on it, so I can't say much other than the fct that it didnt' cause me any additional pain. It seems to be a lesson in not only working the intrinsic muscles, but controlling them as well. You are asked to pull or push on the handles you see there on the machine, and to do so in such a way that you achieve a specific pressure reading on the machine. Your success or failure is based on how close you can get to the mark and how often. Rochelle said that I did pretty well for my first time with a score of about 70%.
At the writing of this blog entry, I find that I've needed several pain pills this week. My back has acted up and decided to hurt quite a bit again. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I have to say that the overall pain level has increased to a 4, with spikes to 6 and 7 - and I'm back to being in pain about 40% of the time. **sigh** Don't know what to think about that. I sure want this treatment to work - and I am honestly trying to do everything in my power to help it. I am doing as I'm told. I haven'y gotten in my hot tub, I have walked and not on the treadmill, I've done the strengthening exercises - and yet here I am. Still in pain. It's much better than it was, but I'm still going to treatments, and I'm wearing my disc disctractor belt when I'm on my feet.
I have high hopes, but I'm skeptical. Okay...that's it! I'm going for another treatment on Tuesday. We'll see how I am by then.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
We're in the Home Stretch Now . . .
but still no Hot Tub! Waaaaah! It's a cruel world, baby....a cruel world indeed. 
Well, it's been a few days since I checked in, and I was reminded of that fact when I went in for my treatment this morning. My back has been feeling pretty good (knock on wood), with the exception of some time this weekend when it hurt like all HELL because I guess I over-did it in the kitchen or something. Something like that... I had to make a CARROT CAKE...and some homemade white bread! I have stuffing coming up here at the end of the week and you can't just use any old crappy croutons you find at the store for Thanksgiving, y'know. So...I guess standing up in the kitchen, kneading bread dough and baking for three-and-a-half hours was overdoing it.
But the back held up until the very end of all that too. However, when I finally did sit down, it was telling me about it. ALL about it too. Other than that one day when I obviously did way too much, the rest of the weekend was a pretty low pain time. I was able to do pretty much everything I needed to do and the pain never got above a 2 or 3.
Dr. Meadows has changed my exercises and I started doing some strengthening stuff on the exercise ball this weekend. They look really simple, but when you concentrate and do what you're supposed to do, they get kinda hard. But I've increased my walking to 50 minutes a day (with doctor permission, so if you're reading this, Renee, you'll know I'm still doin' what I'm told!). And that's working out fine for me.
So not much to tell, other than the fact that Dr. Meadows also said that he was going to start me on the spine force machine on my next visit...I believe that's what he said anyway. Talk to you then!
Well, it's been a few days since I checked in, and I was reminded of that fact when I went in for my treatment this morning. My back has been feeling pretty good (knock on wood), with the exception of some time this weekend when it hurt like all HELL because I guess I over-did it in the kitchen or something. Something like that... I had to make a CARROT CAKE...and some homemade white bread! I have stuffing coming up here at the end of the week and you can't just use any old crappy croutons you find at the store for Thanksgiving, y'know. So...I guess standing up in the kitchen, kneading bread dough and baking for three-and-a-half hours was overdoing it.
But the back held up until the very end of all that too. However, when I finally did sit down, it was telling me about it. ALL about it too. Other than that one day when I obviously did way too much, the rest of the weekend was a pretty low pain time. I was able to do pretty much everything I needed to do and the pain never got above a 2 or 3.
Dr. Meadows has changed my exercises and I started doing some strengthening stuff on the exercise ball this weekend. They look really simple, but when you concentrate and do what you're supposed to do, they get kinda hard. But I've increased my walking to 50 minutes a day (with doctor permission, so if you're reading this, Renee, you'll know I'm still doin' what I'm told!). And that's working out fine for me.
So not much to tell, other than the fact that Dr. Meadows also said that he was going to start me on the spine force machine on my next visit...I believe that's what he said anyway. Talk to you then!
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