By Ihor Cap

Background to Problem
What prompted me to write this blog or testimonial of sorts? I wrote it so that others who are suffering from everyday back pain can benefit from my experience and know that there is a solution. For the last 3 or 4 years I had difficulty exercising, getting up in the morning, sleeping, sitting for long periods, lifting groceries or my children, doing chores around the house became inelegant, and sometimes even plain walking became awkward all because of my lower back pain. I was starting to feel old, even though I have two very young children. I just wasn’t my usual self.  I felt like my quality of life was being slowly taken away from me. Even my wife and children began to notice what I was trying to hide from them. “What’s wrong daddy?”, or “Why can’t you lift me up?” asked my child and “Do something about it”, or “Go see a chiropractor,” my wife would say. Naturally, I did not listen.

I sucked up the pain like a man is supposed to do, and the pain turned to throbbing which in turn led me to take more aspirins. I had a couple of bottles of those around in the medicine cabinet to spare so I would eat them like candy every day to deal with the pain. It’s not like I wasn’t physically active, I reasoned. My first 27 years I was very involved in various school sports and forms of dance, especially ballroom and Ukrainian folk dancing which are very rigorous. Although I admit I should exercise more than I do today, but my back pain has limited a lot of that lately. So what caused my back pain?

Many reasons raced through my mind. Was it all that previous physical activity? Was it the next 28 years of general inactivity related to sitting in a chair for long periods at a time and playing “armchair detective” or was it the daily bumpy bus rides to work caused by former Premier Doer’s street craters? Perhaps, it was just the accumulation of many life stressors that caught up with me over the years. I guess I’ll never really know.

Health Problems Multiply
I became desperate in 2009 when my first vein ruptured in my right thigh and I wanted to scream but didn’t. After all, I am a man, right? I went to see my family doctor at the local clinic, described the experience but the black and blue bruises on my thighs have all since disappeared. “Come back sooner next time”, he’d say.

Three months later my vein popped again but this time on my left thigh, and again I sucked up the pain like a man so my co-workers would not notice. This time I visited my family doctor the same day and he referred me to a specialist, in hematology. My family doctor did try though. He X-rayed me extensively, front, back, sides, legs and all, claimed I have bone deterioration although no one has ever shown me any visual evidence of such.  It has something to do with the red and white blood count, he surmised from my test scores. That is probably contributing to your bone deterioration, and hence from which your pain is derived.

I was surprised with the bold statements considering that no one ever reviewed the X-rays with me. Moreover, there is no history of it in my family and my dad will be 90 years old soon and my mom is 87, God bless both of them!   Was that normal for my age, I thought to myself? If I remember correctly, the family doctor did prescribe B-12 vitamins for me to control or delay further bone deterioration, if that makes sense, and wished me well.

I wasn’t happy with the “maybes” and “ifs” in the total assessment, especially after all the trouble I had gone through and because no one could help me with my back pain. So, whenever my family doctor wasn’t available, I would see the other doctors in the same clinic for a second and third opinion but they would just prescribe assorted pain killers that would, at best, have a temporary effect. No one ever recommended or suggested exploring alternative treatments.

The hematology specialist determined it was the aspirins that were causing me grief. I did not know that taking Aspirin in such large quantities over a period of some six months would cause my veins to pop. “Switch to Tylenol or Advil”, he said. Wow, what a revelation!  I was just glad to know it was that and not something worse. Now let’s return to my back problem, I thought. “So what’s wrong with my back doc”? He couldn’t say. All he could say is that my white blood cell count (WBC) was on the lower end and had to be monitored once a year unless something else came up. It was hard to say if this was my norm since he had no previous records for a baseline. However, the July 8, 2010 results did not worsen. The WBC Count in July was 4.1 falling near but not within the acceptable range of 4.5 to 11 again suggesting that the lower end blood count values may be normal for me. The WBC Count increased by .2 to 4.3 on my third visit with the Hematology expert on January 13, 2011.  July 22, 2011, my WBC count was 5.0 and winthin the acceptable range. The hemotology doctor was very satisfied with the result and so was I. He also determined there was no further need to monitor the situation. 

In the meantime, on July 26, 2010, my Urologist confirmed my family doctor’s suspicion of an enlarged prostrate. As best as I could remember, blood work PSA readings tested around 4.6 and the Urologist said anything over 4 is a concern. He said it merits further verification and monitoring, but decided to postpone treatment, if any, until my follow-up visit scheduled later in the year. On October 14, 2010 my PSA index dropped significantly to about 1.6, considered a very normal reading. In fact, I was shocked and extremely happy at the same time. The Urologist explained this phenomenon by saying results fluctuate occasionally and we will check again next October 18, 2011. Curiously, as a point of fact, I started my chiropractic care treatment in the beginning of August of 2010, three months before the 1.6 result. In the back of my mind, I wondered and asked myself “Could there be a relationship between the chiropractic care that I received over a 3 month period and my improved prostrate result”? I’m not sure of that, but it certainly merits further investigation. As you can see, I did finally see a chiropractor for my back problem, and I am so glad I did! Finally, things seem to be going my way. The October 18, 2011 indices continued to show stable results [PSA (Total) 2.14; and Free PSA 0.23]. PSA Total results below the 3.5 ug/L reference range are considered normal and Free PSA results less than 0.9 ug/L are also considered normal.

Chiropractic Care
Folks, there is help! After four years of running around in circles without any resolve, the pain was getting worse and I was desperate for help. As it turned out, the person I least wanted to see was the person that helped solve my problem. I met him, and his charming assistant, in the local shopping centre where they had an info booth and decided to stop and chat about my problem. She scanned my neck downwards and the computer monitor did show some problems in the neck area. The chiropractor on the floor further assured me his clinic is better equipped to do a complete body scan from all angles in order to do a proper diagnosis where we could discuss my problem at length. What have I got to lose, eh? Anyway, my wife was happy I made that appointment with the chiropractor. Now, all my hopes were pinned on this next visit at the clinic.

On July 29, 2010 I met both receptionists at the desk and engaged in some small talk with them so I could learn a little more about the service provided by this establishment. They were more than happy to oblige me. Then I read some literature about the nature of service provided, and learned some fancy terminology used by chiropractors before meeting with him.  The full body scans were unobtrusive and quick. The results on the color coded illustration showed multiple complications which stretched from the neck down to the lower back, varying in severity, but mainly concentrated in three areas, the neck, the middle of the spinal cord and the lower back. (See First Rolling Scan  in Figure 1 below)

On August 3, 2010, I participated in a 90 minute Question & Answer session with a group of clients was held with our better halves present so that both parties could receive the same general information followed by additional consultation specific to the spouse’s ailment and proposed treatment.

Topics covered were 1) the true definition of health, 2) symptom care vs. corrective care, 3) vertebral subluxation’s and how it interferes with healing, 4) normal vs. abnormal x-ray findings and 5) review corrective care plans. I liked this part since I would not have to repeat what was said at the session to my wife. She was kind enough to show up although I secretly suspect she enjoyed this part of the process more than I did.  After all, she knew more of the correct answers than I did. Other people asked questions that I could not think of on the spot too. So, we all benefited as a result by being better informed.  Care plan options were discussed. You decide which one of the options suit your budget.

I chose the one year long term care option because I wanted more than just back pain relief.  After all, it’s my health we are talking about. My health is important to me and my family. As I learned in the above information session, chiropractic care is more than just a series of “snaps, crunches and pops” and I wanted all the benefits promised by chiropractic care.

I experienced my first tears of hope, joy, and excitement at Dr. Tapper’s Clinic with my very first treatment. The effect was immediate.  My pain was gone instantly. My headaches have all but disappeared since. In fact, I used only 3 Tylenol pills during the course of my already 5-month treatment and experienced only two headaches. Dr. Tapper assures me I am one of the lucky ones in spite of my many years of neglect. Others may require longer periods of spinal manipulation to get the same result. I had scheduled three sessions per week for the first 3 months to be followed by two sessions a week the next 3 months after that. They decreased to one session per week after the third rolling scan showed significant improvement on Feb 3, 2011, see Figure 3 below).

Sometimes I get these minor lower back muscle spasms but Dr. Tapper says that is a result of the manipulations as well as the old subluxation that is habitually trying to find its way back to where it sat the past few years or so. With each and every session I felt less and less soreness. Had I followed the prescribed stretches right away, the occasional spasms that I would experience would have disappeared even sooner.  I now feel better, stronger and more confident than ever.  

“The power is on,” he says at the end of each session. Now I understand why. It’s like getting a boost of energy. Well, if my family members noticed the new and refreshed me, so did my co-workers. Several of my work colleagues noticed my upbeat attitude and were pleased to see my health improve.  My co-workers are a caring lot. I got my quality of life back. Like someone clicked the restore button on the computer.  Thank God for Chiropractors and the likes of Dr. Tapper! 

Dr. Tapper operates a state-of-the art health chiropractic clinic in Winnipeg.  Dr. Tapper Rocks! After all, of all the doctors I visited, he is the only one that provided relief. He is a very gentle soul, boyish in appearance but above all, he is a professional. He is a warm person with a calm demeanor about him which any patient will appreciate. In no time you will sense he does what he does best. He is concerned about your total well-being. If you are experiencing headaches, and lower back pain chiropractors like Dr. Tapper work to remove these subluxations. He performs a series of non-invasive spinal adjustments and manipulations to free your spinal system of such stress.  

So, why wait a minute longer? Don’t suffer needlessly like I did. Do it right the first time. Go see your chiropractor immediately and get your life back.  Above all, do not just continue ignoring your pain.  A chiropractor can help you.  Find one in your town. If you do not have a chiropractor and live in the city of Winnipeg, book an appointment with Dr. Tapper right away. Also, check out his web site which is full of information about chiropractic care, patient education and wellness tips that you could use immediately. See what he can do for you!

Clinic information further below.

Author Information:

Ihor Cap is a web author at http://articlesandblogs.ezreklama.com.

Figure 1. Rolling Thermal Scan July 29, 2010

Figure 2. Second Rolling Scan as at October 28, 2010

Figure 3. Third Rolling Scan as at February 3, 2011

Clinic Information

Tapper Chiropractic
1325 Markham Rd.
Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3T4J6
(204) 275-5030
Email: doctapper@hotmail.com 
Web Site: http://tapperchiro.com/ 

MapQuest Directions
http://tapperchiro.com/_sub.php?code=008001000000000&page_ttl=Our+Location&kind=9

Wellness Tips

For Sitting, Standing, Working at a Desk, Lifting, Physical Activity / Household Chores, Using the Telephone and Resting or Sleeping wellness tips, see this page http://tapperchiro.com/_wellness_tip.php.