Back Surgeon Thought Surgery To Fuse My Vertebrae…

I have always been active. I taught aerobics in my twenties, competed in multiple bike and running races, ran 2 marathons—one at the age of fifty, Crossfit, bootcamp classes, Pilates, yoga…

Last April, I found myself sitting behind my computer with a heat pad in constant nagging back pain. Prior to this I’d been diagnosed with an L4/L5 slippage and arthritis—PT worked at first, but then it didn’t. Chiropractor worked at first, but then made it worse. I sought the opinion of a back doctor/surgeon who suggested cortisone shots and eventually, he thought, surgery to fuse my vertebrae. I thought, this can’t be happening to me.

And then I remembered a woman I met who had terrible back issues, but found relief from something called Myofascial release and Craniosacral therapy. I did a search on my insurance website trying to find a physical therapist who specialized in this and came upon Eclectic Physical Therapy—which sounded right. This is how I found Ian RubInstein.

I was skeptical. All Ian did was place his hands under my back. How could something so noninvasive “cure” me? But then I felt the movement in my body—the forces within my body working to recalibrate the damage I’d done over the years from various falls/accidents, from exercise, from living—and I started to believe. Things started happening—my body began to return to homeostasis. It took some time, and as Ian says, any change is good. With each session I would tell him what was going on—sometimes the issues radiated from my hip, other times my back. He is a really good listener—and along with his treatments he prescribed various stretches to compliment the treatment. And then he recommended a supplement which worked like a charm. I just returned from a vacation where I hiked up and down very challenging, rocky and vertical mountains, and my back did not trouble me at all. Incredible. Months ago, had I taken a misstep on pavement, I would have felt a jarring in my back.

I feel my body getting stronger and my movements more forgiving. There had been so many things I’d been avoiding—not just exercise, but loading the dishwasher, cleaning the house---all of these activities with the potential to cause some sort of pain. I hadn’t realized how much, over time, I had just accepted as fact—getting old and having to accept these limitations. It doesn’t have to be this way! I now feel again this sense of possibility that had been missing from my life for quite some time.

I am so grateful for Ian’s help in recovering physically and mentally. LE K