Julie (name has been changed) is a 58 year old woman who has a 3 year history of on and off low back pain that seems to be getting worse. She is frustrated because she feels like every time she feels a little better, she hurts her back again with “just a simple move”….the most recent was picking up a dish towel from the floor. She has started to become afraid of movement and unsure of her abilities. She is taking Aleve and muscle relaxers even though she doesn’t like to take medicine. She has been in physical therapy before but states she felt like it was a “mill” and she wasn’t really getting anywhere because the pain still came back and she never felt confident that she would be able to do things without hurting herself again. She also has gone through menopause in the last 2 years and has noticed leaking urine (needs to wear a pad) and increased urgency over the past 3 months, but she states her doctors are telling her it is unrelated. She is looking for someone to really evaluate her and figure out what is going on, and motivate her on a path to improve her strength, stability, and body awareness to get rid of this chronic issue once and for all and bring her “back to herself”. She is normally very active and she is teary eyed saying that she feels like she can’t travel to see her kids, can’t walk for exercise, and can’t take care of her house and her family like she always has. Her goals are to be able to fix this problem so she can continue to be active, and to also connect the dots because she feels like something in her body is “off” but she feels that she is not being listened to in the medical system. Her mom was also very active and ran marathons until age 60 so she has always had a healthy mindset. Since beginning physical therapy, Julie has been able to get off all of her meds. She has had episodes of being fearful that her back pain will return, but has also gained understanding of her body and how to recognize patterns, how to balance activity, and how to rest when needed. Her body awareness, movement patterns, and posture have significantly improved, and she is able to tolerate a higher level of exercise without pain. Her core and balance are steadily getting stronger and she surprises herself with what she is able to do. She is highly motivated and definitely on a path of true recovery for longevity in movement. And most importantly, her confidence in her abilities is steadily increasing as she learns to trust and listen to her body.
JULIE's Story
Updated: Jan 16