Client of the Month
I had chronic low back pain for a year and I was worried about the future. I went to see a few different people with only short term relief. I went to Elevate Physical Therapy and Fitness 4 months ago and I am happy I found them. Their approach is unique and inspirational. They use a combination of education, data, and individualized exercises. But this is not your ordinary exercise. I found out that the exercises I were doing were helpful initially but were not hard enough to make the final changes I needed. These exercises challenged me every week and I noticed a big difference after a month. Now I am back at work without pain. I feel stronger and more confident in myself.
Derek
Client of the month: January 2020
Goal: Work without pain
Barrier: Chronic low back pain
Background
Derek is an energetic and entertaining master woodworker that developed low back pain 2 years ago. His low back pain slowly went away after a few months. Unfortunately the pain came back a year later. This time the pain did not go away.
“I had chronic low back pain for a year and I was worried about the future.”
He was diagnosed with sciatica and chronic low back pain. His MRI images found disk herniations. He went to multiple professionals without a major resolution including a physical therapist, chiropractor, D.O. and up to 50 massage therapy sessions.
He was losing hope because the symptoms persisted and he was having trouble working. His physical therapist provided a few exercises for him to do which helped but to a small degree. His chiropractor adjusted his spine but the symptom relief was short term.
At this point he was worried about his future.
“I went to see a few different people with only short term relief.”
The Plan
First we used our dynamometer to test his baseline lift strength. We wrote a 12 week program to improve his baseline strength. We chose exercises that challenged the painful movements including lifting from the floor.
Initially he was skeptical because he tried using exercise to improve his symptoms in past. However he quickly realized that his prior exercises were not hard enough. To create strength changes, patients need to perform at least 60% of their maximum. If we use his initial dynamometer strength reading, 60% of 180 lbs is 108 lbs. He was surprised at two things: how strong he was and what it takes to make strength changes.
“These exercises challenged me every week and I noticed a big difference after a month.”
This is common for most people. There are studies that found that most people are not challenging themselves enough to get the benefits from strength exercises.
We challenged him for 12 weeks and he improved his strength by 150 lbs. His initial isometric strength test was 180 lbs with pain and now it is 290 lbs without pain. He is able to lift items at work easier and with minimal flare ups.
Second we talked about graded exposure. We explored the notion pain does not always equal tissue damage especially the farther that person is from the injury date. This helped him gradually pace himself back to working full time with less symptoms.
Success
His pain went down from moderate-severe pain 25-50% of the day to mild pain once a week.
“I am back to working without pain. I feel stronger and more confident in myself.”
Elevate helped resolve the patient’s future uncertainty and helped him go back to his normal life.
