This week, I thought I would share my own struggle with chronic back pain. Whenever I tell patients that I suffer from chronic low back pain, they are often surprised. I manage to do everything that most other people do, I even do a physical job—but pain has been a part of my daily life since I was 22 years old. To be honest, it’s not usually something I love talking about. I will tell patients about it so that they know that I understand (to some degree) what they are going through when they come into my office in pain, and I share it now because I am living proof of the effectiveness of Medical Massage Therapy.

When I was in college, I minored in photography. To help pay my way through school, I worked in several mall portrait studios. The last company I worked for, Sears Portraits, asked me to come down to Sebring (I was living and going to school in Jacksonville at the time) to train new managers and photographers for Sears Portraits in Lakeshore Mall. My parents have always lived in Sebring, so I jumped on it. Back then, we were still using film in the cameras—so the training was pretty brutal. You used to have to put your hands into this crazy sleeve-contraption and “feel your way” through changing out the film for their cameras. I got to where I could change that film out (blindly) in my sleep. It took days to train the employees—between changing that crazy film and filling out the paperwork to posing styles for children and families. To finish the training, we invited the public to actually come to the studio so we could practice taking family photos. It gave us time to smooth out any wrinkles, and they got free photos to take home. We did this for about a week, and after a few days of bending down to pose babies and small children all day (I had to be ready to help each new employee as they learned how to do this)—I was HURTING. I remember crashing onto the stockroom floor because I couldn’t keep standing.

When I got to my parents’ house, my Mom took one look at me and made and appointment for me with her chiropractor. (NOTE: I am not going to say his name because of where this story is going. But, let me say this: He is NOT the chiropractor I used to work with. I just wanted to clear up any coming confusion.) He was able to get me in the next day, and after he took some x-rays of my spine he told me that I had scoliosis. This was a red flag for me because I come from the generation of kids that had (what seemed like) monthly scoliosis checks with the gym teacher’s trusty ruler. I was always straight as an arrow. But, I figured that maybe the scoliosis was the new injury. I didn’t know a thing about spines or injuries at the time, so I decided to do whatever the expert thought best. (Never do this. When you see a red flag, please do not ignore it!)

The chiropractor had me lie on my side and then he started—how do I even describe this—clanging and banging on my lower back. I mean, forcefully and quickly thrusting my spine downward toward the table. From the first thrust, I knew that something was WRONG. I hurt worse than I had before! In fact, by the time he was done—I couldn’t even get up from the table. The pain was so bad, I couldn’t walk without a walker. I could not straighten my back. Sitting, lying, standing—nothing was comfortable. The pain was so bad—I could feel it in my sleep.

I ended up having to go to a neurologist, and after an MRI he determined that I had two severely herniated discs (L3/L4, L4/L5) that required surgery. He told me that I was suffering from nerve pain that would remain until the herniations were fixed. I will never know if these herniations were caused by the chiropractor I went to—of if what he did to me simply made them more severe. I had surgery in Celebration’s Florida Hospital—and for several years, I was pain-free. What a glorious feeling! (If you are pain-free, TREASURE IT!!)

When I was 26, I herniated those same discs (along with an additional one, L5/S1) while pregnant with my son. The discs could not be repaired until after I healed from having a C-Section, and so I had been in constant nerve pain for over 7 months. After this surgery, I still struggled with chronic pain. It wasn’t the SAME pain—the discs were definitely repaired—but I was hurting from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed. I tried several things—“pain management” injections, acupuncture, and even some LIGHT chiropractic (from a different chiropractor). Nothing helped. My Mom suggested I try Massage Therapy—and I had visions of wasting the day away in a spa. I wasn’t very keen on the idea.

One of my Mother’s best (and worst) traits is that she is very stubborn. She kept on me until I agreed to try Massage Therapy. She set me up with a massage therapist named Claire. She worked in a chiropractic office, so that made me feel a little better. During my first session, the massage hurt me so bad I CRIED. She was NOT my favorite person. I was sore for a couple of days, so when the pain lessened I thought at first that I was just feeling like I had before I entered her “torture chamber”. Then, I kept getting better. Within a week, I was definitely moving around easier. I decided to suck it up and sign on for a series of sessions with her. Within two months, my pain was at least 80% better. Those of you who suffer with chronic pain know that ANY relief is welcome. It is so nice now, having a place to turn to when my back begins acting up. When I am hurting, I know now that it’s time for a massage.

Claire used a combination of Deep Tissue Massage, Myofascial Release, and Trigger Point Therapy on me. When I decided to become a massage therapist, I made sure to study these methods FIRST because they were so effective. I have seen firsthand how Medical Massage Therapy, a combination of these and other modalities, can decrease and even remove pain in many instances. I love being able to offer this relief to my patients.

If you are struggling with chronic pain, I have been there. Let me help.

—Stephanie

Sharing is the kindest thing you can do!