“It’s always going to be like this”

 Gary* had done 2 hours of mowing on a blustery spring morning and just like he’d predicted, his lower back had ‘gone out’. Cometh the back pain, cometh the couch. Much to his wife’s amusement (and frustration) the rest of the weekend was spent migrating from bed to couch to fridge. Rinse and repeat. So, understandably, when he shuffled in to Brightside, Gary had the air of a man with a large dose of resignation and very little hope that his back would ever change. And, if he was honest, if physio could acutally help.

In fact. He was considering some surgery to ‘fix’ it. Here’s a cheery statistic: 80% of us will experience lower back pain at some stage in our life. Thankfully, most of us will never know the tender touch of a surgeon’s scalpel for back pain. Gary though, was desperate. He could see his life slowly ebbing away into the worn middle cushion of his couch and he was sure the next time he asked his wife to ‘help me put my underwear on’- she might well stuff them into his…mouth. So the ol’ slice and dice was looking increasingly attractive.

We didn’t do any voodoo with Gary. No chanting. No complicated ‘realignment procedures’ and no scalpels. It was simple. We loosened up his stiff bits (upper back and hips) and got him doing a select few strengthening exercises that were designed to increase his confidence and capacity.

Here’s the truth. 4 weeks in and he’s not there yet, Gary reckons he 55.8% better and has a way to go. But he’s putting his own undies on. And he’s got a cheeky spark back in his eye and that’s because he has hope.

 Helen is now taking new patients and she has over 20 years experience treating back and neck pain. If you want to mow your lawn without a couch collapse, book an appointment with us today.