Wednesday, March 5, 2014

"You turned my world upside-down," he told Dr. Sheena. "Nothing will be the same again!"


I am a 41-year-old healthcare worker who has spent more than half of my life in the healthcare field helping take care of patients with a multitude of health problems.  I have seen how medications work and many of their side effects.  I myself  have seen and been treated by medical doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, urologists, emergency room physicians, hypnotists, massage therapists, surgeons, vascular doctors,  physical therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, and even a few personal trainers.. etc...I have been in 4­-5 car accidents with the typical pulled muscles, sore back or neck and even some fractured ribs as well as a broken clavicle.  I have suffered from depression, insomnia, anxiety, blood clots, hypogonadism, irritable bowel, and gastric reflux to name a few ailments.

Most recently I had been suffering from severe pain and muscle spasm in my neck and involving my right arm.  I had already missed 3 weeks of work, and was beginning to feel helpless.  I had an xray showing severe degeneration and malformation of my C4-C6 vertebrae.  Not only were the muscles spasming but the nerve involvement from my neck left me immobile at times and in severe shooting/stabbing/tingling pain in my right shoulder/forearm and fingers.  Temporarily relief would come from laying in traction to elongate my spine and from using all sorts of things like ice, heat, tylenol, ibuprofen, muscle relaxers, toradol injections, and lidocaine injections into the muscles to release the pressure.  This started on Jan 11 2014, became worse on the 16th and by the 19th I knew something was terribly wrong.

I knew where back and neck pain led, and I knew about spinal fusions and operations on the spine and where cervical spine injuries could lead me.  I feared the worse and after 3 weeks of being treated by my amazingly positive and encouraging physician;  I was on a waitlist to get into see a physical therapist with the earliest appointment Feb 25th which was almost another 3 weeks away!  I had a friend who was helping me around the house and he could see the pain and discomfort.  He called upon one of his friends to help me--a massage therapist from Sonoma, named Joshua Morello, CMT (jm.massage@comcast.net ).  This is was the beginning of relief for me.

Josh is hands down the best massage therapist I have ever had work on me.  He came to my home with his table and I had a 2 hour massage.  He found places and knots that I had struggled getting therapist to understand or acknowledge.  He previously worked at a Chiropractic office before going into massage and he told me I really needed to be seen by a chiropractor due to his findings and my symptoms.  He gave me great tips on how to deal with some of the pain and the spasm, and I began my search for a local Chiropractor.

Having had been to a Chiropractor before, and not really looking forward to having someone hold my head, tell me to relax, and then SNAP (paralyzed for the rest of my life or dead!!--ok that is a little extreme, but it was what I was thinking--); I wanted to research this very closely before continuing.  Then, I came across Dr. Sheena Boyd, BA, DC in Vacaville, CA and her website www.kindgentlechiropractic.com.  Once I read “Feel the results, not the adjustments”, I had made my decision.  She saw me the next day and assessed my situation, evaluated my spine as well as my lifestyle and medical history and told me she would put together a plan for me and let me know if she could help me or not.  That was on a Thursday, and I was to return the next day to discuss my treatment plan if she could help.  I left in pain, but hopeful and anxious to see her again.

        The next day changed my life possibly forever.  When Dr. Sheena saw me on Friday, I came in holding my arm in an outward rotated position to try to relieve the spasm and numbness, my neck hurt to try to lay flat, and I could barely get comfortable.  After she assessed the situation she did the adjustments on my neck, back and spine without snapping!  I stood up from the table, and reached for my arm in anticipation of the pain;  the pain was gone.  The rush of emotion was overwhelming and I cried; right there in her office a 41 year old man cried.  I had felt so helpless and desperate and now hopeful and encouraged.  I had found the treatment for me.

          I know that the medical field frowns down on Chiropractic care, and I know the struggles this field has had to fight (check out the documentary “Doctored”).  I realize that it may not be for everyone, but I returned back to work 2 weeks later.  I am sleeping, I am the happiest I have ever been, and I feel a new excitement for life that I have not had in a very long time.  All of this, without medication!!  I know that there is still much more work to be done, and I'm not to expecting to be normal overnight;  but continued work with Dr. Sheena, Joshua, and letting my body naturally heal itself is the path I have chosen for me.

        And by the way, Dr Sheena uses an Activator for my adjustments and I no longer fear the“snap, crackle, pop” of my neck.

Thank you Dr. Sheena and Joshua

-Mr. JK
Vacaville, CA

Call Dr. Sheena today (208) 557-3640