I was an athlete in high school, primarily football. I was injured playing football and suffered from severe neck and back injuries that were never resolved and continued to get worse. The team covered the cost of treatments including everything from the doctor visits to physical therapy as well as all medicine. I soon realized after countless visits that it was not working. I was a young man, but I could understand that I was not getting better, but I was actually getting worse and taking serious medicine to ease the pain including narcotics. My mother suggested I try a chiropractor. My general feeling from talking to others was that option would not work and that chiropractors were not very helpful. After a month of getting continuously worse with sleepless nights, I heeded my mother’s wish and allowed her to make an appointment for me with the chiropractor. I was skeptical to say the least, and felt forced into it by my family. During my first visit with the doctor (chiropractic physician), I for the first time in months noticed some relief! Keep in mind that I was not completely better, but it did give me hope that it could come to an end. After 6 weeks and 20 visits I was back to normal, pain free and strong as ever. It dawned on me that the info I had been given about chiropractic had not only been misleading, but completely false. How could so many people be miserable and unhappy and in so much pain being misled so they don’t get the help they need. After talking to hundreds of people that held on to the same belief, I asked how they came to believe what they did about chiropractic and the response was always the same, “that this is what they had heard”. Always up for a challenge, I became the local voice endorsing chiropractic. I knew it helped, I knew it worked extremely well. I also knew that it would help others. I undertook a personal mission to spread the truth about chiropractic to others… at this point I had not even considered it as a profession, heck, I was only 17 and a high school senior.
Well, it has now been 90 days since my initial consultation with Dr. Kielur. I can’t believe I wasted 10 years of my life being in pain. My activity level has increased dramatically because I am no longer in pain. As a result, I have lost about 10 pounds and feel much healthier and have more energy. I will no longer let back pain control my life!
Thank you, Dr. Kielur, my family and I love you!
I woke up this morning and realized for the first time that I slept through the night. I have no idea how long it’s been since I had been able to sleep through the night undisturbed. A typical night for me has been that of tossing, turning, getting up and down, trying to make myself comfortable, usually with very little success. The next morning I would be tired, grumpy and disoriented. Until I had actually slept for the first time in a while, I had no idea what I had been missing. Granted, I was still in a little pain, but it was so much better than it had been before. Even a tiny little bit of progress gave me hope that this one day could be gone. I started to wonder to myself this morning, “how long have I actually been living like this and whether I was actually living… or just surviving?”. The doctor and staff had encouraged me to expect good results and be ready for it but I had heard that many times before and really didn’t put much thought into it.
On the second appointment we continued doing some of the treatment that we had done the day before with the exception that this time I preceded with them with anticipation and excitement instead of apprehension and fear. I have to admit I asked myself this morning why had I not done this 5 years sooner when I had first heard that Dr. Kielur was doing these procedures. I think that rather than focusing on what I didn’t do, I’ll focus on the fact that what I am doing is working now. The other thing that was exciting about Dr. Kielur’s office is it is located in the heart of the arts district downtown. There was plenty of parking which made it very convenient and I was able to pick a restaurant to meet my friends after my appointment. So, not only am I feeling better, but I’m also able to get back to doing things that I haven’t been able to do in a long time with my friends.
My first impression of the office on my first visit was one of comfort and ease. The girls at the front desk were very warm and friendly. I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive and this soft touch made me feel comfortable. I had already been to the office before so I was already impressed with the office decor and setting, but having the staff be so attentive was refreshing. I was mentally prepared to sit in the chair and wait for my appointment for at least a half-hour, this seems to be the norm at every other doctor I have went to. It was not so here; one of the young ladies proudly informed me that it was their goal to not have people waiting long for their appointment I was there about 30 seconds… (Okay, maybe a minute) before it was my time to go in. They were also extremely busy though; they must just be able to manage their time well. During the first appointment, I will not bore you with all the details of all the therapy I got, but the most impressive part of my visit was my encounter with the decompression table. The decompression table is responsible for those changes that take pressure off a bulging disc or help the process of healing a herniated disc. I quickly found out that the treatment was as painless and simple as I was promised. I just finished my first treatment, I was done in less than an hour and for the first time in 5 years I am excited about the possibility of getting better… I’ll let you know how it goes.
Once I had completed my paperwork, Dr. Kielur sat down with me and we went over my problem. We talked about the last several years. I realized that I had actually forgotten how long this had been a serious problem. It was great to sit with the doctor and have him review everything with me. I felt very comfortable and confident.
From here we took X-rays; the machine was very impressive. We saw the X-rays on TV almost instantly after I was finished. He even gave me a copy at no charge. However, I was shocked to see how bad things had become!
After we completed the X-rays he did an examination himself. It was nice to see him actually get into those areas I worried about. I had lost a lot of strength in my left leg; this was actually a real eye opener to me that I didn’t even realize was happening.
The last part was a review of the films with Dr. Kielur. He helped me to actually understand what was going on for the first time. It all made sense! Decompression, Reduction, and Stabilization is what I needed. What I had been doing was not working – I had been going to my family doctor for too long with poor results which has been very frustrating.
Next Week: First Treatment
Today we had a new patient come to us that suffers from low back pain that radiates into her left buttock. The pain has gotten progressively worse over the past 5 years. She first felt pain during the pregnancy of her first son and thought it would go away. She revealed that during the past 5 years she has done less because of the pain, and because she does less she has gained weight. She stated that she is sleeping less at night and that when she is tired she hurts even more. Now that her son is 5 she picks him up less because he is too big and her back hurts too much.
She has tried massage, physical therapy, and even meds from her primary care doctor. They worked very little or not at all. The medicine made her sleepy and did not significantly help reduce the pain. Her doctor sent her in to get an MRI – She has a bulging disc. She is here at Mass Ave Chiropractic because she is afraid of surgery. She does not want to have it done.
Our first visit was a fact finding tour to see what is happening with this person. We want to find out:
- If we can accept her into care?
- If we can help her?
- If so… How long will it take?
- Is there permanent damage?
Find out next week what happens with Mom!
Is DRS for me? Many of you that suffer from low back pain or have loved ones that do can relate to this. Many times back pain is related to bulging or herniated discs. You may already know this. You may have already tried a lot of different methods to get better and it’s not working. At some point you may even get discouraged. You may have even forgot what its like to live a normal life. The best way to find out if DRS is for you is to be evaluated by Dr. Kielur. This is where you find out if we can help you. There will be a physical exam as well as a neurological exam. These will be done to determine how serious your problem is or how advanced it is. We take the extra time to ensure our patients are seen in a way that there is little to no wait time. It is important to Dr. Kielur that you do not spend a lot of time waiting to see a doctor. Once we see you the goal is to find out if you can be helped. If we can help you we give you a category of where you are in the scope of things. For example, a category 1 is a more basic case and a category 5 is the more severe of conditions. This is usually a more complicated condition that requires more time attention and skill. But the great and exciting thing is help for you. Remember that this is all we do.
Can I get help or relief for my back? Do I have to toss and turn every night? That is the most common question of back pain sufferers. The pain drives them and their families crazy. Millions suffer needlessly every day when help is right at their finger tips. In the past, options limited one to a series of options that many times ended in surgery. Undesirable as well as limiting, few had the results they hope for. Even the surgeons many times were disappointed with the results. A new diagnosis was born . FAILED BACK SURGERY . So often, less than ideal results led the search for a better wheel . Thus we have an exciting new option: DRS PROTOCOLS . With exciting results that open many doors for back pain victims, look for our next installment of this series on DRS PROTOCOLS on Monday August 30, 2010. If you require additional information on this subject, check out our web site at massavechiro.com. Have a great day look forward to speaking to you on Monday. Next week : Is DRS for me ?
For the millions of lower back pain suffers, there may be an answer to your chronic low back pain. Many of these patients recognize that their problem has been ongoing and getting worse for years. At some point, you got to say to yourself, “What would it be like to be free of pain?”
The process of helping a patient beings with a doctor trained in DRS protocol. There are specific guidelines on how to treat a patient, and specific protocols if a certain patient is a good candidate for our care. Most likely, the patient has a disc related problem such as bulging discs, dehydrated, or herniated discs. The principle of those protocols are relieving pressure off of spinal discs and thus relieving pressure off of the nerves.
There are specific sophisticated equipment designed at decompressing the disc. This is a non-surgical, non abrasive type of care. This treatment option is way more advanced than the adjustments form a osteopathic doctor or chiropractic physician. The end results are disc herniation decompression, reduction, and stabilization. DRS. The results are outstanding for even failed back surgeries. Reports have shown that those with as many as five failed back surgeries can expect improvement. For many it is the first break they have had in years.
While doing some research this morning we can across this exert from AOL Health:
“By one recent estimate, Americans are spending a staggering $86 billion a year in care for aching backs- form MRIs to pain pills to nerve blocks to acupuncture. That research found little evidence that the population got better as the bill oared over the past decade.
When the Institute of Medicine recently listed the 100- how-to-treat questions that doctors most need answered, back pain neared the top of the list.
Lots of things can cause chronic back pain, from arthritis to bone-thinning osteoporosis.
But those cushiony disks are a big reason. They natural thin and shrink with age. Sometimes they herniate, or rupture, so the gel-like center leaks and pressures a nerve. Sometimes a vertebra slips out of aligment. Sometimes the spinal canal painfully narrows, a condition called stenosis.”
