Bob the builder:
I treated a recent patient of mine, Bob (not his real name of course), for a very typical low back problem. After four treatments of the normal stretching, pulling, manipulating, pushing and bending he improved to perhaps 60-70%. We unfortunately could not breach that final 30%, which would have returned him back to his normal quality of life. He has tried the usual therapies in the past and they too were getting the same sort of results. We were all hitting an invisible wall it seemed.
So on one of his treatment I sat down pondering his situation/condition. He was your typical stiff builder type with very little flexibility and had been suffering with low back pain on and off for 1-2 years. No neurological symptoms or anything else untoward. I had been treating a lot in his upper back, rib cage and breathing mechanics too. On the third treatment I looked at his legs and feet. Always there was an improvement, but never beyond that 70% mark.
On the fifth treatment I was working on his lumbar spine (low back) when I noticed how stiff it was considering he had had four treatments earlier of stretching, bending and all the above. It suddenly struck me how odd this was and so I decided to re-read his medical notes, starting with the list of his operations and medical conditions. This was when I came across his appendectomy (removal of his appendix) some years earlier. So I sat him down and checked his abdomen. Sure enough he had a lot of tension around the cecum (beginning of large intestine and appendix. I treated this area very simply and then stretched toldt’s fascia on both sides. When I had finished completing these 2 easy techniques the patient remarked on how relaxed his back felt. [The picture on the left is an overview of the large and small intestines. The picture below is a close up of the cecum and appendix; the appendix being held by the metal tweezers].
Sure enough he came back to his next treatment nearly 100% better; the best he had felt since the beginning of his low back problems. Although this has been a great success, it has also been a solid reflection. I almost missed this because I assumed he just needed a good stretch and manipulation, which in most cases is exactly what this type of patient needs. But it was that feeling I felt in his back that just made me very uncomfortable, as if something was wrong. A back that is stretched and manipulated regularly for a few weeks should change in vitality and composition. This back however stayed the same since the first treatment. Something completely different needed to be done.
In another blog that will follow shortly in the next few days I will explain the mechanics of what happens to the body after an appendectomy and the reasoning to why this caused Bob a lot of back pain for a year.
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