Carlsbad Cyclist Low Back Pain Gone, Life Restored
My name is Gerald and I am a 58 year old guy who is about 6 feet 6 inches tall. I played both high school and college basketball. One day about 36 years ago, I went up for a rebound during a game and hurt my back. For the next ten years I tried to keep playing ball, running, jumping, etc., but I would suffer extremely painful acute back spasms and miss 1-2 weeks of work every year due to the pain and loss of mobility. Finally, in 1980 I gave up all running and jumping and decided to concentrate on cycling and hiking, two sports that have less pounding on the frame. Since 1980 I have cycled about 135,000 miles and been on many backpacking trips in the Sierras. However, in the last year or two the stiffness in my back every morning was getting worse. I was spending about 2 hours every morning using heat, ice, exercises, etc to get to the point where I could stand up straight and not walk around looking like a Cro-Magnon man, all hunched over.
I had been seen by several MD physicians. They prescribed muscle relaxants, wet heat, rest, ice, traction, and physical therapy. My diagnosis was “degenerated discs”, and luckily did not involve the need for surgery. I basically gave up on the idea that physicians could help me, because that was my experience. The last time I saw a doctor for my back was about 1984.
With my back getting worse in the mornings, I was ready to try chiropractic. I have worked my whole life as a medical professional, and didn’t really know anything about chiropractic. Dr. Michals ad in the newspaper got me in his office. Dr. Michals agreed that my problem was related to the degenerated discs, but told me he could over time return me to a better, less painful, more mobile life. I decided to give him my trust and cooperation, and that decision has been a good one for me.
I have been feeling probably 90% better for several months now. Morning back stiffness is gone 5 minutes after I get out of bed, if it’s there at all. I have only had about 2-3 days where I felt a back spasm at all, and they were minor and did not last more than a few seconds. I truly feel that I had allowed myself to get all out of whack over the years, and I was trapped in Subluxation City(it’s a BAD part of town). I thank and credit Dr. Michals for my improvement.
Now my wife Wanda is a patient too. This summer we have hiked and biked all over the place. Backpacking in the Sierras, the Grand and Bryce Canyons…..all without pain or getting stooped over.
I have expanded my awareness of chiropractic care, and do believe it is very helpful in many types of conditions. Previously I relied upon (and spent my career in) traditional medicine entirely, and now realize that was a mistake on my part.
Can Chiropractic Help Bell’s Palsy?
In the summer of 2003, I woke up one morning, went to the bathroom and felt a tear running down my face. I went to wipe it and I couldn’t close my eye on my left side. I tried and tried, but nothing happened. I started to realize that my left side of my face wasn’t moving at all. Later that day I went to the doctor and he told me that I had, “Bell’s Palsy.” He said that it was a viral infection and that he had no idea what causes it and how to cure it. He said it may go away a year from now or never go away. He put me on Steroids to help with the infection and told me to contact the National Paralysis Center in San Francisco. The lady I talked to told me the same thing the doctor told me. I became very scared, nervous and upset that I would have to live with this for a year or longer. I felt embarrassed and frustrated that there was no cure for this infection. I was referred to Dr. Michals by my wife, who was already under his care. After a consultation, Dr. Michals researched Bell’s Palsy and Chiropractic care and found several cases of successful treatments. I started seeing Dr. Michals about three times a week. After the second or third adjustment, I started to feel a tingling sensation in my face. It felt like when your arm falls asleep. With every adjustment, I saw slight improvement in my face. I stopped taking the steroids that were prescribed. I could move my eyelid, my mouth and got my self-esteem back. After about six weeks, I was fully recovered and forever grateful towards Dr. Michals. I became a true believer of chiropractic care and wished I had started earlier in my life. I believe if it wasn’t for Dr. Michals, I would have endured a very lengthy recovery process and probably would of not been fully healed. I hope my experience will help others to try chiropractic care. I am forever grateful towards Dr. Michals for his help and friendship.
– JUSTIN ERWIN
Headaches Gone!
When I was about six years old, I hit the roof of our van while going over a speed bump. It wasn’t enough to send me to the hospital, but all the same it hurt. The next few months I started to feel some changes. I would have headaches so severe, “I would lay in bed screaming.” Next came a severe pain in my right eye. It got so bad, that I could not even see. I lost feeling, mobility, and all the things I used to do as a child. I went around giving excuses to even the smallest of exercises, but the truth was it hurt too much to even play tag. This went on for about twelve years. Can you imagine never being able to run around with your friends?
During this time I went to several different doctors. Pediatrician after pediatrician could not find “anything” wrong with me. We even went to a bone specialist. All of them said that they, “could help the problem.” One even suggested that it was psychosomatic and that I should be seen by a psychiatrist. During that time I took about everything under the sun for the pain: Alleve, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, you name it!
Finally, mom came home with one of doctor Michals flyers, I was not pleased. I was VERY against chiropractic care. I told her that I didn’t think some crummy chiropractor would fix what not even a bone doctor could find! She said, “Well you have a choice, I will do what ever you want. You can go to Dr. Michals and get examined, or you can live with the pain and possibly miss the answer.” I thought about it for about a week before I finally agreed.
The first time we went in I already had a set description of Dr. Michals, “rich, won’t take the time to answer questions, won’t help.” I was wrong. The moment we came in I felt like he was actually listening to what I was saying. He took some x-rays and found that I needed a lot of work. He said that I was one of many with this type of problem. So, at long last I had physical proof of what was causing my pain. He said that I needed to be adjusted to fix the problem.
Again, I didn’t believe that it would help. As a result when my turn came I spent about 15 minutes crying. You see, I couldn’t take any more pain, I just couldn’t. I finally decided to do it, with a lot of embarrassment. When it came time to adjust my neck, “I didn’t fell a thing.” I have been coming to Dr. Michals for about three months now, and do you know in that time my pain went away. At one time I actually thought something was wrong because I didn’t feel any pain.
All of my symptoms are gone, I don’t even have to take any pain meds! Now I can play almost all the sports I want. And all because my mom took the time to read a yellow flyer.
Are you suffering like I did? If so, try chiropractic care. If it can help someone like me who had no hope of ever getting better, how will it help you?
Alisha E. from Oceanside
