So I have shared part of my personal health story with some ups and downs of my experience with traditional medicine, but I haven’t shared how Myofascial Release made such a big impact on me. 

While I finally found relief from my chronic pain for a couple of years, “Life Happened” and my lifestyle was catching up with me and taking a toll on my body.  I sat at a desk all day in a stressful leadership role in an insurance company.  I worked 10-12 hours a day tied to my phone and computer.  I wasn’t exercising anymore and I had put on a lot of weight. My back and neck would bother me periodically, but the back pain was continuing to progress significantly.  

With my love of camping in the BWCA, I was noticing that it was getting harder and harder to physically do that trip.  Yes, I was getting older, but honestly, it was getting extremely uncomfortable laying on the ground. I was tossing and turning constantly.  My hips would hurt when I laid on my side.  My low back would hurt when I ...

So there I was, I had failed several weeks of PT, painful injections that didn’t offer any relief, and I was still in pain.  I was so frustrated.  Why were things that were supposed to help me, end up hurting me?

Since I wasn’t getting any better, my doctor decided to have me consult with a physician with a more specialized kind of therapy, Physiatry.

I was evaluated by an MD, my x-rays were reviewed, I was told I had something called “talus torus” affecting my feet, where I would walk on the outside of my heels and throw my hips off balance.  I could look at my shoes and see where my shoes were wearing off just as the doctor had said.  He also explained the effects of spondylosis in greater detail.  It was a little scary, but it was also something that could probably be managed with the right kind of therapy. 

I had several more rounds of a more specialized PT, with someone with knowledge on how to treat my specific issues.  Most of my back, hip, and SI pain went away, with occasio...

I wanted to share a little more about my personal journey and what went wrong when I went to PT for my back and hip pain. 

First off, I’m thankful my doctor recommended therapy before considering injections or expensive tests.  Most do not do that.  Unfortunately, the person I went to see for PT was not a good fit for me and my problems.  As I went from one appointment to the next, my pain would shift.  One day it would hurt mostly on the left, and then another day, I would feel pain shift to the right side.  Some days it was my hips, others, it was my low back or SI area. 

We’d try this exercise and that exercise, and nothing seemed to help. When I told the PT the pain was shifting, she acted like I was making it up.  Like the pain couldn’t possibly shift from the right side to the left side. I felt like an idiot, but the pain really was shifting all over the place. 

MY THERAPIST GAVE UP ON ME! 

Not knowing what to do, she referred me to another PT to be fitted for a back brace an...