Some background: I used to be very active, skydiving, scuba
diving, rock climbing, motorcycle riding, hiking etc. Then I found
myself relegated to watching TV and sitting around.
I had multiple compression fractures in my T-8 vertebra which
required surgery to fix. In addition I have ruptured discs and spinal
stenosis at that level as well. With massive nerve pain and chronic
muscle cramps in my back I have been on heavy medication while going on and
off disability over the last few years.
When I started working with Oscar and Angelica in September I
was on disability and sleeping about 20 hours a day due to drugs and pain.
Oscar has worked with me to increase my flexibility and strength. The most
amazing part for me is that unlike regular physical therapy I actually feel
better while doing the exercises. No more increased pain to try to get
better (which always seemed a bit odd to me).
I was able to get totally off pain meds and back at work full
time by early November. I am much better and well on my way to full
recovery. Last night my wife and I went rock climbing at Planet Granite in Belmont and I am
feeling fine. I was able to do some easy routes and belay for my wife.
My lowered back pain is due to the exercises and great help
from the San Jose
branch of the Egoscue Method Clinic. We are very excited to explore and see
what activities I can handle. The good news is that if anything messes me
up I know the stretches and exercises to make it feel better.
I highly recommend to anyone suffering from chronic pain or
limited mobility to give the Egoscue Method a try.
Ty
Freiberg
I have found Egoscue Method to be remarkable effective. A few
years ago, I saw an orthopedist, who said that I had a spondylolisthesis in the lower lumbar vertebra.
What he told me boiled down to "put up with the pain until it's too
much for you, then we'll operate". Last March, I had reached that
point. I could not stand up straight, and standing was very
uncomfortable. If I took a wrong step, or made a wrong motion, the pain
was so intense that I would fall to my knees.
About that time, one of my friends sent me the Pain Free
book. In three weeks, the majority of the pain was gone, and never
returned. This is not to say that the problem was corrected - far from
it. However, if things hadn't gotten any better, I would have been very
happy.
I continued the therapy from the book for another month or so,
at which time I found the San Jose
clinic. Once I started treatment, my back started to get much better -
fast. Every time I thought I'd reached a plateau, I would make another
significant improvement. Today, eight months later, I am pretty much
without pain. My range of motion is very much improved. I can even run
without discomfort - something I haven't been able to do for years and
years. I can tell that my condition can still be improved, but I would say
that I'm now back to "normal", or somewhere close. I certainly
plan on continuing the therapy.
I am so impressed by the method, and by my therapist, Oscar
Gonzales, that I have been buying the Pain Free books, and giving them to
anyone who might need it. I've had several people contact me with sincere
thanks for the improvement they experienced. Three have started to go to
clinics. I'm now starting to study anatomy, with the goal of becoming a
qualified therapist by the time I retire.
Paul
Porter
