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Derrick* remembers getting his first football when he was 5 years old. It was a birthday present from his father, who immediately took him outside and showed him how to throw a spiral. In that moment, Derrick fell in love with the sport and went on to play competitively for many years.
“I started out in the Pop Warner youth league, played all through high school and ultimately became a starting running back for a small college in Texas,” shares Derrick, now 45. “Unfortunately, I blew out my knee during my sophomore year. That was the end of my football career. Not even a semi-pro team would take a chance on me with a bum knee.”
The damage caused by playing football stretched beyond Derrick’s knee. He also suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery as well as damage to his lower back. In recent years, Derrick’s back problem has become his greater burden.
“Over the years, my back pain grew worse and worse,” Derrick laments “Then, last December, it became so bad that I couldn’t walk more than 30 yards without having to sit down. It kept me from working out and playing golf and often kept me awake at night. The pain was easily a nine or 10 on a scale of one to 10.
“Eventually, the pain even made sitting uncomfortable, which affected my work as a software engineer. That’s when I started looking for treatment options. I did a Google search and found Coastal Chiropractic in Melbourne. It offers a comprehensive protocol for back pain tailored to your specific condition, so I made an appointment for a consultation.”
Moving Matters
At Coastal Chiropractic, Lee Smith, DC, discovered several herniated discs in Derrick’s lumbar spine. Dr. Smith further explained how Derrick’s football injuries sparked a deterioration of those discs that resulted in the discs shrinking from their normal height.
“Discs maintain their height and elasticity throughout life by moving,” Dr. Smith maintains. “When people suffer an injury to their back and their bones stop moving properly, those discs don’t receive any hydration. They literally begin to deteriorate and wither from lack of movement.”
Injury is not the only cause of disc degeneration and back pain. Dr. Smith notes that normal wear and tear and the natural aging process can trigger the process as well.
One reason is that after the body’s growth process is complete — usually about age 21 — blood flow to the discs and their supporting ligaments and tendons naturally decreases, affecting their strength. That’s why even nonathletes suffer from back pain.
At Coastal Chiropractic, Dr. Smith has a remedy for this kind of back pain. It is a comprehensive protocol that begins with nonsurgical spinal decompression.
“Nonsurgical spinal decompression creates movement by gently drawing the bones apart and then relaxing them,” Dr. Smith explains. “This brings fluids and nutrients into the disc. It also takes the pressure off the spinal nerves and eases pain. And it is all done very softly and slowly; there’s no pushing, pulling or jamming. It’s a very simple and comfortable treatment.”
Spinal decompression is delivered through a computer-operated table that the patient lies on. One advantage of the decompression table used at Coastal Chiropractic over the tables used at other practices is that it can be adjusted to target one side of the patient’s body.
“If a patient has right-side sciatica with back pain that runs down the right leg, we can bend the table to the left,” Dr. Smith notes. “That opens up that right side where the nerve is being pinched and unpinches it, easing the pain.”
For some patients, nonsurgical spinal decompression alone can alleviate the pain. But for those with more chronic conditions, Dr. Smith typically suggests a second phase of Coastal Chiropractic’s protocol: chiropractic care.
“Chiropractic gets the bones moving again,” Dr. Smith informs. “It’s like exercise. Once you’ve got your body into shape, you don’t have to do as much to maintain it. Once we get the patient’s discs happy with the nonsurgical spinal decompression, we keep them happy with routine chiropractic adjustments.”
The third component of the comprehensive protocol involves two pieces of equipment patients use at home. The machines are the Anodyne Infrared Therapy System and the ReBuilder™, which employs electricity to stimulate nerves and muscles.
“The Anodyne Infrared Therapy System uses infrared light to increase blood flow and generate more blood volume in the targeted discs,” Dr. Smith says. “It actually helps to create new blood vessels to rehydrate the discs.
“The ReBuilder does three things: It helps to regenerate nerve tissue that’s been damaged from the discs pressing on the nerves; it strengthens muscle lost due to lack of movement; and it relieves pain.”
Dr. Smith assures that the home treatments are easy to perform. Patients are thoroughly educated on how to use the equipment.
“The treatment involves placing small pads on certain areas of the body, based on the patient’s condition,” the doctor describes. “The pads conduct the infrared light and electrical current used by the machines.
“As patients have their morning coffee, they can complete one of the treatments, and as they’re having their evening meal, they can do the other.
“It takes just 20 minutes per session, and patients experience a pleasant feeling during treatment. Not every patient needs the Anodyne or ReBuilder, but we do recommend them in severe cases.
Every case is different, Dr. Smith stresses.
“We evaluate each patient’s symptoms and condition independently and then decide which treatments work best for them,” he reports. “This comprehensive protocol contains everything to achieve the best-case scenario for each patient’s damaged discs.”
Dr. Smith and his colleague at Coastal Chiropractic, Brandon Bond, DC, collaborate to make sure patients achieve the best outcomes from the protocol.
“It’s a Miracle”
Derrick’s disc problem was deemed chronic, and his pain was severe and debilitating. Taking these factors into consideration, Dr. Smith recommended all three components of Coastal Chiropractic’s comprehensive protocol that began with 24 sessions of spinal decompression. Derrick completed those sessions in January.
“It was amazing,” he raves. “About halfway through, my back started to feel a lot better, and by the end I felt almost no back pain. Now, my pain is a one or two at the most, which is significantly improved over the nine or 10 it had been.
“Since I began the protocol, I’ve been able to sit and walk without pain. I feel so good that I feel like I could run the entire length of a football field without having to stop.
“Without the intense pain, I’m working out and golfing again, and I can sleep at night with no problem. It’s a miracle the difference these treatments have made in my life.”
Derrick credits the provider who treated him with his excellent recovery.
“Dr. Smith is an incredible doctor,” Derrick enthuses. “He knew exactly what my problem was and how to fix it. He’s also very friendly, down to earth and extremely knowledgeable.
“He explained my condition and the treatment in terms I could understand. I highly recommend Dr. Smith and Coastal Chiropractic to anyone with back pain.”
*Patient’s name changed at his request
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