After years of suffering, a retired educator finds an answer with FDA-approved treatment.
During his 39-year tenure in public education, Joseph Lesak served in several capacities for two Midwest school districts, at one point filling one of those district’s highest post.
“For the last 12 years of my career, I was a superintendent of schools,” says Joseph, who began his career in education at Evanston Township High School in Illinois and closed it at a school district in Mentor, Ohio.
On his way up the educational ladder, Joseph taught for seven years, then transferred to the administration side, where he served as a vocational director, school treasurer and business manager before taking on superintendent duties.
While at Evanston High, Joseph taught college-level accounting and shorthand, a method of rapid writing using abbreviations and symbols. Shorthand was used before digital recording devices became common to document an individual’s speech.
“Back then, we did some groundbreaking things with computers,” Joseph reveals. “When IBM came out with its 1401 computers, we actually had some students programming them. It was groundbreaking because very few people at the time understood computers and the programming languages. It was a very exciting time.”
The 1401 was IBM’s second successful commercial computer. The affordable model became popular with small businesses during the 1960s.
“When I was teaching, we did team teaching. We had 110 students at one time in a class, and there were three teachers. To grade everything, we used a computer. Students programmed the computer to make that task easier for the teachers,” Joseph continues.
“Around that time, however, US involvement in the Vietnam war was escalating. It was unfortunate because many of the students that graduated from the high school were eventually drafted and sent to Vietnam.”
“With my pain level decreased, I’m able to do things I used to avoid.” – Joseph
Joseph, 87, spent time in the service as well, serving in the Army from 1954 to 1956.
“I was part of a construction crew that was sent to the Arctic to install an early warning signaling system,” he details. “We put radar stations up there to detect any missiles from Russia flying over the Arctic and headed into Canada and the United States. This was during the peak of the Cold War.”
It was his time in the Army that led Joseph to enter education as a career. It was not his initial choice, but being exposed to other educators changed his mind.
“While I was in the Army, I happened to be stationed with several teachers who were drafted at the same time I was,” Joseph recounts. “I wanted to be an aircraft mechanic. However, those teachers convinced me that I should try the field of education, so I did. I liked it. For 39 years, I liked it.
“The youngsters were my favorite part of the job, especially those in high school because they represented our future. I always wanted to give them the best guidance I could.”
Neighborly Advice
While Joseph’s career didn’t require him to do much heavy lifting, he did some lifting while helping a friend move some 30 years ago. That friendly favor resulted in an injury to his lower back that triggered years of aggravating pain.
“I clearly remember trying to pick up a piece of furniture and my back suddenly starting to hurt,” Joseph recounts. “I was laid up for a day or two after that. I couldn’t even get out of bed. Then, the pain went away, and I forgot all about it.
“As I got older, though, my back started to hurt again. The pain would go away, and a year or two later it would come back again. I eventually started visiting a chiropractor, and that helped, but the pain has been almost constant for the past three or four years.
“It wasn’t a shooting pain that ran down my leg or anything like that. But it was all across my lower back, and it was often a seven or eight on a scale of one to 10. Sometimes, it was even worse.
“As bad as it was, I didn’t let it keep me from walking or anything, but getting out of bed in the morning was something else. I like to play golf, but with my back hurting, I had to give that up.”
Joseph also likes planting flowers in a small garden next to his home. A few months ago, while tending to his blooms, his back pain flared and he was forced to stop.
“My neighbor came over and said, What’s the problem here? I said, My back has been hurting me so I’m taking a little rest,” Joseph shares. “Then she told me all about her experience at Back Pain Institute of West Florida. She said, If it wasn’t for the people there, I wouldn’t be able to walk. I thought, If their treatment helped her, I’m going to give it a try.”
Back Pain Institute of West Florida, which has offices in Bradenton and Sarasota, is the practice of Craig S. Aderholdt, DC. At the institute, Dr. Aderholdt provides the most advanced treatments for severe pain.
One of those treatments is VAX-D® therapy, a patented, FDA-approved medical decompression technique for alleviating pressure on spinal discs. Dr. Aderholdt is one of the few doctors in the country who offers VAX-D, or vertebral axial decompression.
“When Joseph came to our clinic, he was suffering with a very painful lower back condition resulting from herniated and bulging spinal discs,” recalls Dr. Aderholdt. “Based on our findings, I recommended VAX-D therapy.”
Proven Successful
Dr. Aderholdt emphasizes that VAX-D is not a traction device. It works differently and achieves substantially better results.
“For many patients, chiropractic adjustments alone can relieve their pain,” he explains. “However, for select people with conditions such as sciatica or herniated, bulging or degenerated discs, VAX-D therapy has proven extremely successful.”
The doctor reports that VAX-D is effective at alleviating low back and neck pain. It also helps with numbness, tingling and pain that radiates down the arms and legs.
Because Joseph had significant low back pain that affected his activities, he was considered an excellent candidate for the therapy.
During a VAX-D session, the patient relaxes on a comfortable, computer-controlled table and is secured by a pelvic belt or patented cervical collar, depending on the area being treated.
“You lie down on your belly and the machine gently pulls you,” Joseph describes. “The machine separates itself and essentially separates your spinal column a wee bit every time you go in for a treatment, which takes about a half-hour.”
Carefully specified tension and pressure changes guide the use of VAX-D, allowing the therapist to focus decompression at the level of dysfunction. The computer program enables the table to make subtle but targeted movements that create a powerful vacuum within the disc space. This vacuum gently draws the disc back to its proper orientation, pulling in nutrient-rich spinal fluid and stimulating repair cells that effectively mend the disc.
“No other treatment can create such a powerful vacuum,” Dr. Aderholdt contends. “There are imitators, but VAX-D’s vacuum effect is the most powerful. That is what makes VAX-D such a valuable tool for pain relief. Further, VAX-D doesn’t allow the muscles to contract the way other machines can. In fact, it is the only nonsurgical treatment that has been clinically proven to reduce disc pressure to negative levels.
“In my opinion, VAX-D is one of the most effective nonsurgical medical treatments for low back pain, neck pain and sciatica. This innovative technology is one more tool I can offer patients as we work toward relieving pain and maintaining the health of the lumbar and cervical spine.”
“VAX-D is one of the most effective nonsurgical medical treatments for low back pain, neck pain and sciatica.” – Dr. Aderholdt
Studies show that VAX-D has been effective in treating more than 88 percent of patients, Dr. Aderholdt testifies. Many patients report a significant reduction in back or neck pain after only a few treatments, although Dr. Aderholdt stresses that actual healing takes longer because bulging or herniated discs require a series of sessions to fully reposition.
“Some patients think they will get relief after a handful of sessions and they can just quit, but that’s not the case,” he emphasizes. “Patients must follow through with all of the required treatments to get the full benefit.”
Another advantage of VAX-D is that it can eliminate the need for surgery.
“Many patients with severe back or neck pain want to avoid surgery, and that is something VAX-D allows,” Dr. Aderholdt confirms. “With surgery, there is the potential for serious complications, including bleeding and infection. Because VAX-D is noninvasive, those complications are avoided.”
“Very, Very Satisfied”
Joseph’s VAX-D therapy at Back Pain Institute of West Florida is ongoing, but he’s pleased with the results so far.
“VAX-D therapy has really helped me a lot,” he enthuses. “My pain level is down from a seven or eight to a five out of 10, which is tolerable. It doesn’t hurt as bad when I get out of bed. That’s the worst time because I’m in one position all night, and when I get up, my back has to move. That’s when it really hurts, but the pain has gone down appreciably.
“With my pain level decreased, I’m able to do things I used to avoid. I can water my flowers without hurting. Before, when I picked up the watering can, the pain was something else. I can also do some trimming of hedges and things of that nature. But at 87, I don’t do a heck of a lot, especially down here in Florida where it gets so hot.
“My pain isn’t totally gone yet, but I’m not finished with the treatment process. Hopefully, by the time I’m done, I’ll be at least 90 percent cured. I’m so happy my neighbor told me about her experience at Back Pain Institute of West Florida. Because of that, I went to the institute and I’ve been very, very satisfied.”
Joseph hasn’t resumed playing golf yet because Dr. Aderholdt advised against it while he’s still receiving treatment. Joseph does enjoy painting, however, and does most of his painting in acrylics.
“It keeps me off the streets,” he jokes.
The retired educator gives Dr. Aderholdt and his staff high grades for their skill and kindness to their patients.
“I’m very impressed with Dr. Aderholdt. He’s very professional and is a very caring person. I could tell that immediately when I met him,” Joseph raves. “I’ve had three sessions with him, and they were all very productive.
“The staff is A number 1. They’re very professional and kind. I could sense that right off the bat. The institute is not too big. It’s just the right size because every time I go, I never have to wait. As soon as I get there, I sign in, and before I sit down they say, You’re next.
“I absolutely, 100 percent recommend Dr. Aderholdt and Back Pain Institute of West Florida to anybody with back pain.”
