SCOTT'S LOW BACK PAIN STORYThe creator of the S.M.S. Low Back Pain Rehab Treatment also had lower back pain from an injury. This is his story of recovery and how you can use his experience to help get yourself out of pain.
 I’d like to begin by telling you a story about myself. About six years ago, I was very active; working out and playing basketball 3-5 times a week. My workouts weren’t terrible, but they weren’t very good either. I would say they were your average gym workout. Very standard stuff that you see the typical person doing in the gym. In other words, nothing very functional and I had not even begun to deal with inflexibility, muscle imbalances or postural problems.
So, one day, during a basketball game, I got hit by a guy and felt a twinge in my lower back. It hurt, but I ignored it, another classic thing most people do when they get mildly injured. I continued to play basketball and it continued to get worse. One day, I decided to go to a chiropractor, because I really didn’t know what else to do. By the second treatment, I was barely able to walk and could no longer sit at all. In other words, the chiropractor made my back significantly worse. (I have since come to believe that chiropractors can help some people, but others, like myself, can get hurt by their manipulations. To me, it is a game of Russian Roulette with such therapy.)
Anyway, I was in pain 24 hours a day, had trouble sleeping and was spending all my time laying down, because I could not sit up. The pain went down my right leg (sciatica) and I was miserable. I finally went to a doctor and they did an MRI. It turned out that I had a 10 mm bulging disc between my L5 and S1 vertebrae. For those who don’t not know, 10 mm is considered to be abnormally large (most discs go out 4-5 mm ) to create significant back pain and sciatica. So, I was in very bad shape and had no idea of how to get better. I read everything I could get my hands on and tried all kinds of therapies, but nothing worked.
It was unbelievably difficult to lead any kind of life without being able to sit upright. I couldn’t drive, go on an airplane, go to dinner, sit at a desk. I never realized just how much we sit everyday until I wasn’t able to do it anymore. And living with pain 24 hours a day is an unfathomable misery. I never realized just how horrible life could be when pain was a constant companion. I decided I would have to keep trying to find an answer that would let me start living again.
Eventually, I went to a world renowned fitness specialist and he suggested that I had some postural distortions that were placing significant pressure on my lower back. He suggested I start changing the way I move and strengthen the weak muscles, stretch the tight ones and see what happens. A whole new world opened up to me in terms of knowledge. I never thought that my posture and muscle imbalances might have caused, or at least significantly contributed to my pain.
I was shocked at how weak and tight my muscles were in the areas the fitness specialist had pointed out. In the beginning, I was amazed at how little weight I could lift without making my back sore. But, as time went on, I slowly strengthened my core and other areas. I also dealt with the postural distortions and inflexibility issues that were putting pressure on my lower back. As time went on and my flexibility and posture improved, the pain continued to decrease.
Within about 6 months, I was feeling solid again. I was able to move freely and without pain. I could bend over and touch my toes and no longer had any pain running down the back of my leg. I could sit for any length of time without fear and was very soon at the stage where I could play basketball again. Today, I workout almost every day, play basketball as well as a wide variety of other sports and have absolutely NO pain whatsoever.
When I look back at my recovery, I am so thankful for what I learned and so very grateful for the opportunity this injury provided me. For now, not only could I keep myself in prime working order, but I could begin really helping others. I got my certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and began training clients. I worked at what is considered the best gym in the America (Equinox) and helped many clients rapidly improve the quality of their lives. I now train clients independently and continue to witness one life-changing success after another.
I can honestly say that I fully and completely attribute my recovery to the ideas based in this system. I developed it over the years, taking bits and pieces from all the modalities that work in one area or another and creating new exercises when I needed them. I believe that sticking to any one system is usually a bad idea, because they are too entrenched in one way of thinking. In reality, every person is unique and a fitness program should reflect that with some fluidity and flexibility.
Look: I know this program works. Not just because I use it on myself, but because I trust it for my family, my friends and my clients. Those who have tried it have all reaped tremendous benefit from this system. I am certain that if you commit yourself to this new program, you too will see just as quickly and as clearly the dramatic improvements in the quality of your life.
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Low Back Pain Blog
