A friend of mine was at work the other day and mentioned her dad was coming to town from BC for her son's graduation. Reluctantly, she started her story with sooo... my dad dropped a bomb on me last week. Myself, waiting for what this "bomb" might be, intently listening - she replies with, 'well my dad has stenosis, he has had surgery and it didn't help. He has done all the things, physio, chiro, acupuncture, massage. He has been suffering with pain for years with no relief, pain medications do not help, they just make him a zombie. He feels that this is no way to live. He is considering the MAID program because his quality of life is just so poor with all of his pain."
As I widen my eyes, I Said "oh shit, lets get him in today in my schedule! Is he here? If he's in town already we will get him in." She said I scheduled him in with Structural Integration and Massage here at the clinic as well. Obviously my thoughts immediately were, "good. but let me at this guy. There is no way nobody could help this man."
What is the MAID program? Let me spell it out for you, Medical.Assistance.in.Dying.
Its a program for those that are found eligible to receive assistance by a medical practitioner in ending their life. Ummm... what? How is this individual so poorly managed that they no longer want to be on this earth with friends and family.
Challenge. Accepted.
I meet my new patient. A 79 year old man with a smile on his face hoping and praying for a miracle.. or maybe in disbelief because he is unsure of what sort of treatment he might receive as 12 hours away from here no one could help him. Either way, I didn't ask him. I just knew what I was thinking, I was preparing for a mentally and physically draining treatment.
Ok old man, lets talk. My first impression? This is a young spry man still enjoying his youth. He doesn't look bent over from stenosis, no cane, no walker. So tell me, what's going on?
The initial - for those not into 'nerding out' about the physio details, skip this section!
Subjective facts:
Stenotic surgery 5 years ago, laminectomy 3 levels - L3, L4, L5. (ok, so REALLY this man isn't really stenotic anymore if they technically "surgically corrected" the problem-however he felt no significant change from the surgery).
Numbness on standing, full foot/ankle (glove). weird. right? not plantar not dorsal, the whole foot. Use to take 10+ minutes to start, recently takes just seconds.
Pain down left leg. relentless. The only one that has touched this pain was chiro - however they pushed it to the calf not back up to centralize it. Hmm.. interesting.
Did Physio did manual therapy? yes.
Walking - improves.
Standing - worsens
Laying on back or stomach improves.
Well, that doesn't seem completely indicative of stenosis.
(As a reference - I do not go through the whole body and test every little thing - most patients tell you where to treat them, you just need to listen - in this case, I didn't have to waste a bunch of time "testing." I knew what I had to do).
Lay down sir, LETS GO.
Dear Physio or practitioner, this one is for you. Do not be afraid to get in there and cause some pain if the client can handle it. It hurts for the patient to be stuck or muscles / fascia to be tight and restricted. They need you to RELEASE IT.
We were taught "do not hurt" in school. There is a difference in causing harm versus hurt. That can be a post for another time.
Alright, in a combination of techniques, my favorite being the CMR - Cross Muscle Release as I like to call it (again, that creation is for another day) the calf, hamstring, glutes, and back was released in prone - laying on the stomach. Great, done. I was appalled on how bad the muscle and fascia was restricted in the glute especially. Did anybody even get in here? Glute Medius and Glute Minimus are KNOWN for referring down the leg. Things haven't completely release, however it is enough to perform the most important aspect of the treatment. Moving the pelvis. That's right. It is central to a lot of pain symptoms in the body. Stay tuned for that conversation as well. I guarantee you, you wont want to miss it! Ina quick flip we releases some hip flexors and then we are done. 20-25 minute treatment, all hands on, primarily muscle/fascial releases, some pain, no tears for my imaginary tear jar though - he did very well with his treatment!
The moment we were waiting for - the stand. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. 5 minutes had past and no symptoms into the ankle. some soreness in leg but not the constant pain that was relentlessly there.
Walked to the front desk. Nothing.
Well, have an awesome day! Thanks for coming in, I'm glad I could help - lets see what the next couple of days bring.
Curious enough - 5 hours later - I HAD TO MESSAGE MY FRIEND. She had been reluctant to message me (she didn't want to bother me now that I was off work). She started with OMG!!!! She proceeded to tell me that he walked downstairs from the clinic, walked 5 laps around the kitchen island in complete disbelief. Typically by 1-2 laps he would be in pain so this is good. Real good. He wasn't even sore yet from the treatment. Impressive.
Forward to 2.5 days later - 1 Physiotherapy treatment, 1 Structural Integration treatment. I see this young fella back at the clinic for a massage this time. His face lit up when he saw me come around the corner - smiling ear to ear. He was happy. he was ecstatic, most importantly - the man had HOPE. In summary, the last 2.5 days he went for a walk with his wife, cried in disbelief, walked around with his grand kids, took in the graduation activities, all while taking no zombie pain meds and feeling relief. I saw my friend and she hugged me.
What did this hug mean for such a short treatment and taking the time to fit her dad in and treat him properly? It gave hope, it gave happiness, it certainly gave life as he was thinking about the MAID program. As heart breaking as this was, it meant more life for her dad. Just think, no one could give him relief? Some practitioners looked at his age and said there is nothing I can do for you - you're old. This is so heart breaking for me. I almost cried hearing about the happiness, joy and hope they all had again. I helped. I made a difference. In just a short amount of time, I have changed the quality of life of this individual significantly. These hands help others, I am passionate about what I do, and I am not afraid to inflict pain to release something so stuck that it could save someone's life.
How did I learn the techniques I know? I experimented. I was not afraid. I took a chance. Just like I am now, writing my thoughts, hopes, dreams, experiences and advice with my somewhat poor writing skills and likely poor grammar.
In conclusion and to end this story my intrigued followers, DONT.BE.AFRAID.
-KR.