Dear Mik:
A few words of appreciation!
When I first came to you, I had been miserable for over six weeks with a pinched nerve near my right shoulder blade. The pain ran clear down through my elbow and lower arm, ending in a tingling sensation. It also affected my ability to grasp small objects firmly enough with my fingers.
I had been twice to an orthopedic M.D. who took an x-ray and said the trouble originated in the upper spine, in the neck region. His solution was a shot or cortisone in the area of the greatest pain, repeated on the second visit, neither of which had any beneficial effect. At the time of the second visit he said he would not know what to do except to refer me to a physical therapist if the second shot did not work.
In the meantime I decided to try chiropractic and a visit to you. Your diagnosis of the source of the trouble was the same as the orthopedic doctor’s; your x-rays were more complete, and better yet, you were sure you could help me.
But what really won my confidence in your integrity was your attitude or philosophy that the patient also had to take on responsibility for their recovery, and that you would only take on those who were willing to make a commitment to do the prescribed exercise as directed. This should be the trend in treatment of illness (or in acquiring “wellness”) – that the patient be taught and encouraged to participate and take on responsibility for recovery. (I almost forgot to say that I’m completely over pain in my neck, back and arm.)
I am also very thrilled about an unexpected “fringe benefit”, although it is hardly “fringe”. When I came to you, I had been having trouble with my left thigh for over a couple of years, which was gradually getting worse. The hip socket would slip in and out many times during the day, and even at night when I moved or changed position in bed. The pain was only for a second, but enough to make me give a little scream as it happened. I had been to another orthopedic doctor about that also a year before. He also took an x-ray, but could see nothing that might cause the trouble. His advice was to wait and see if it got worse. The adjustments on my spine and the exercises have slowly but steadily cured this! Walking is again a pleasure instead of a chore, and the dull ache in my thigh that would develop during any long walk is gone. And, I don’t have to go around startling others and myself with a yelp over a slipped something-or-other in my hip socket.
Thank all of you, and of course thanks and appreciation of your skills. You are all really nice human beings.
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