Chelsey K, 2019

Here is a patient story where MDT COULD NOT rapidly change pain. And it has been said there are “MDT patients and then there are Non-MDT patients.”  MDT is by far the best approach at managing EVERY patient. It allows us to quickly sort out who will respond rapidly versus those who will need more time. It allows us to weed out non-mechanical patients and get them to the right next step when PT is not the answer. Here is Chelsey’s experience with a lumbar extrusion:

When I came to see Lee, Surgery was all I thought to relieve the most pain I ever felt in my life.  With everyday life and my new 8 month old baby I was unaware that all these factors were contributing to a herniated disc in my back.  My calf was in severe pain from the disc pressing against the Sciatic nerve running down my leg.  I was in severe pain for 2 weeks.  As a mother of 2 and an avid gym goer I felt helpless, thank god I had my husband and family to help me.  But I would like to also thank my doctor & Lee Poston of Therapeutic Associates of Maui, they believed that with right pain medications & physical therapy that I would be back up to par and surgery would be the last resort. On initial exam, Lee let me know the “toothpaste might be out of the tube.” He sent me away with a test to confirm and on day 2 we confirmed based on my response. My doctor later ordered an MRI which confirmed what we found in PT.  I was determined to get back up.  I worked with Lee on how to manage my pain conservatively. Once we were able to get the excruciating leg pain under control, he taught me how to know when pain was acceptable and I could get back to the gym versus pain that was telling me to stop.  The support and  follow up from Lee gave me hope.  After 2 months, 6 visits, phone calls, emails, texts with Lee guiding my home program, I’m proud to say I’m 90%.  The pain in my calf is minimal & numbness is decreasing.  At this point I feel more knowledgeable of how to handle this issue and tackle it head on and I know I can continue back to 100%. And more importantly, I now understand how to prevent this from happening again. Because Lee let me know recurrence rate with LBP is very high. But when you know how to frequently check your spine mobility, you can stop the pain from coming back.   Thank you Thank you…I can’t say it enough.

Chelsey K.