Beth (as we will call her) was an energetic nurse in her mid-thirties with two young boys to chase around. She was an elite runner in her early twenties, but these days walking a few blocks was a painful chore and picking up her kids was nearly impossible. Pregnancy had done a number on Beth…twice. She had endured the slow nine months of body changes. She had powered through the labours and deliveries and ended up with two lovely little boys to watch grow and thrive, but her body as a result decided to stop cooperating with her desired lifestyle. She went from competitive running, to running a few times a week with discomfort, to just chasing her kids around in pain, to simply walking being a painful task in a period of just a few years.
When Beth first walked into my office she had “tried physio, massage, chiro, core training, prolotherapy and IMS” for her back problems with mixed success. IMS (intramuscular stimulation) had provided her with the most relief, but she still sat in front of me with a dysfunctional body so she obviously needed something more or different to help her get her body back. Her goals were simple: walk without pain, play with her toddlers and generally live an active lifestyle. I had to push her to include running on that list because she had resigned herself to the idea that she would never run again at the age of 37.
To look at her, Beth was a thin, lean looking runner with a big smile on her face and a positive attitude, even though her body had crapped out on her. She appeared to have all the pieces, so why was she still having so much trouble? Therapists had massaged her, needled her, stretched her, cracked her and strengthened her but she still couldn’t even walk without significant discomfort in her back. Read More