First Post

[Arbee]

Hi,

First post here. Sometimes you read something that makes so much sense it's almost embarassing. Thanks Dean for the common sense and the book. While it is frequently dangerous to trust "Internet advice", for those of us who like to research it is a godsend, because the people who should know better and advise us often don't seem interested in "fixes" for things, just "ongoing treatments that generate cashflow". A bit harsh, but you do wonder sometimes.

A quick summary. Mid-fifties now, played squash for some 20 years and did weight training, lugged music band gear around since I was 14, fell off a ladder and landed in a plastic crate butt first at about 35. All good so far, just a little sciatica to show for all of that. Wind forward to ten years ago, trying to complete mature age study and travelling about 50,000Kms a year in the car for work so lots of sitting. Got out of the shower one day, bent down to put my socks on and wham - felt like someone shot me in the lower back. Sudden ruptured disk and others seriously bulging was the diagnosis (L4, L5, S1). At least the rupture fixed the sciatica! After the pain started to settle down everyone wanted to have a go - chiro's, physio's etc. It was only after I said "stop" that the pain started to ease. After a couple of years I was able to function fairly normally but still nervous about doing too much as sudden pain and muscle spasms continued, frequently without warning.

In the past couple of years my back has been gradually getting worse and worse again to the point where I could barely get out of bed some mornings. For someone who loves sailing, among many other things like long brisk walks, this was becoming a real problem. Too young to be getting old.

Went to the doc (GP/naturopath) and had a CT scan. "Significant disk degeneration and some stenosis of the nerve canal on the left side". Total advice - "short walks three times a day, no more long ones", ignoring my question "how do I fix this permanently?". Digressing slightly, I had a similar issue with gastric reflux a few years ago - "take this expensive acid blocker for the rest of your life and you should be OK". I was convinced the drug was causing mild depression and researched the issue. I ended up trying a zinc supplement after the research and recommendation by a naturopath/GP. All symptoms of reflux disappeared forever within just a few days. I really felt like punching the original specialist who obviously had no idea or no interest in a permanent non-pharmaceutical solution.

I've had Dean's book for just over 2 weeks now and only doing the basic exercises so far. Read the comment "the back is not as fragile as you might think" and realised that had become a real issue for me as I was treating it as too precious because of the ongoing sudden spasms and pain.

In only 2 weeks of exercises the pain on one side has kind of moved to the middle and almost gone. My flexibiliy and mobility has already improved out of sight and I think "why didn't someone recommend this 10 years ago?". I'd also swear I have started to regain a few millimetres in height that I lost after the disk rupture. So simple and so obvious.

Will let you know how things proceed longer term but thanks again for the common sense. So far I'm very optimistic and the result is nothing short of remarkable in such a short time. "Rebuilding" rather than "fixing" puts it into much better perspective. Reading the book has also given me a few clues to how poor my posture has been my whole life. Also trying to drink plenty of water and keep the weight down.

Thanks again,

Robert (Melbourne, Australia)

[Arbee]

I've been doing the exercises for 5 months now, progressing to the advanced ones, and really don't know what to say. If I really push things I can still feel where the underlying problem is, but otherwise pain and spasm free for a couple of months now. I can sneeze, cough, sail, lift things (without going too far too fast) and get out of bed in the morning without wondering "how is it going to be this morning?".

This book should be permanently available in every bookshop, is it a personal choice to limit distribution to this site Dean?

I'm hoping that if I continue with these exercises that my back will, over time, start to repair the damage to some extent (now that it has a fighting chance!).

Anyway, thank you Dean - the transformation has been nothing short of extraordinary!

Robert

[Arbee]

I know I'm resurrecting an old post but after nearly 4 years of euphoric normality (and continued exercising throughout) I've hit a slight speed hump. This year has progressively seen me get weak knees and pelvic area to the point where if I'm standing or walking for more than about 15 minutes my knees (both) start to buckle and I lose sensation in my pelvic floor area. Sit down for 10 minutes and I'm fine again. Not sure what I've been doing wrong (perhaps walking about 150km around Europe in 3 weeks wasn't such a great idea!) but will need to revisit the doc, and the book, and re-plan. But, there is no pain, just weakness after a while if I'm upright. Perhaps L3 is now involved (was L4, L5, S1 originally) but we'll see, fingers crossed.

Best wishes for 2014!

Robert