CHRONIC NECK PAIN AND THE VA
Not that the VA is all bad, but the only group that I see more heavily medicated than veterans are those living in nursing homes. This individual was no different. He told me that he literally has a box of pain med prescriptions in his house that he has never opened (he has refused to take them even though they keep sending them to him in the mail). He was tipped off that THE DRUGS might present bigger problems than they were worth after the VA made him sign a piece of paper saying that he was aware of their “Addictive / Habit-Forming” nature. Oh; I almost forgot to mention that this person told me that all of this happened after receiving lots of x-rays, an MRI, and several other tests. He was told that his problem was DJD, and that the only option (other than a lifetime of drugs) was surgery. They also told him that there was a 90% chance of failure if he went through with it. Like so many people who do not know where to turn, he eventually ended up in my clinic.
The ROM IN HIS NECK was almost zero. And if he tried to turn his head at all, he had severe, nearly debilitating pain shoot up into his head and down between his shoulders. I quickly determined that he had mass quantities of SCAR TISSUE in his cervical spine (SCM and traps). After about 10 minutes of Tissue Remodeling, he was virtually pain free, with an almost perfect Range of Motion in his neck. I then adjusted him and told him to come back if he ever needed. His visit to my office cost less than $100.00 and he left with great (and immediate) results. The American taxpayer spent well over $5,000.00 on this man’s problem for something that did not work at all. No wonder the Veteran’s Administration is going broke.
Why am I telling you this story instead of having him talk to you himself on VIDEO? Great question. As I have said before (HERE), only a small percentage of the patients we ask to do videos for us ever do one. He was one of those old timers who thought that talking to a camera was goofy. He simply wanted to get back to his fishing boat. Can’t say that I blame him.
