One of the toughest aspects when talking with someone with chronic pain is feeling their sense of defeat and doubt. The hardest part of helping people with chronic pain is getting them to believe they can still heal their pain. Fear is a big obstacle here. Fear of being let down, fear of hurting themselves, fear of spending a lot of money on another dead end, and fear of getting hopes up only to be dashed– again. All of this contributes to doubt that anyone can really help them. After all, haven’t they visited the best specialists in their fields?

I don’t blame people with chronic pain one bit for their doubts. So many doctors, specialists, therapists, and other practitioners haven’t been able to help them–why should I be any different? They’ve been in pain for so long, it must be permanent–mustn’t it? If there was something new under the sun, surely the word would have gotten out by now–wouldn’t it?

Besides, there was an X-Ray or MRI with a disk bulge, herniated disk, spinal stenosis, degenerated disk, arthritis, or any number of other diagnoses that showed exactly why they have pain. There’s a physical thing causing their pain–they actually saw it!

But is that structural issue really causing their pain? If that was the case, why didn’t surgery help? Why did the pain pop up somewhere else after the surgery? Could it be that the same issue that caused that structural problem is also causing their pain? Could it be that the structural problem seen on the MRI or X-Ray is separate from the issue that is causing the pain? Could it be that the structural problems are instead a symptom of the underlying roots of their pain, borne out in a physical form?

I believe the roots of back, neck, or other types of pain are usually separate from these diagnoses. I believe these root causes create these diagnoses. Here’s why. If these problems were really the source of people’s pain then I shouldn’t be able to make anyone painfree because I’m not a surgeon. How could I possibly help someone with spinal stenosis without correcting the spinal stenosis? The same goes for disk bulges, degenerated disks or any of the other diagnoses mentioned above.

But they do become painfree. They are able to resume their normal life again. In fact they are able to do much more than they could because they are armed with knowledge of their condition and what makes it worse or better. They have the tools to fix themselves instead of being dependent upon me to fix them. Everyone has the ability to fix themselves. The only thing they’re missing is the knowledge to do so.

That’s where my books come in. You are now closer than you’ve ever been to fixing your chronic pain. I know this sounds presumptuous but it is true. My books will teach you to understand your pain from an anatomical, biomechanical, and movement-based perspective. Though it may sound difficult, it is all quite simple. Don’t worry, I won’t overwhelm you with boring technical jargon. I’ll explain it just as I’m explaining this to you now. Besides, I have video clips on the Fixing You website of all the exercises in my books to make sure you get it right. And I am always here to help.

Those of you with years of chronic pain, believe you can be fixed. Know that the answers exist to eliminate your pain. Instead of relying on someone else, rely on yourself. My books will give you the tools to do so.  Suspend your doubts for just a little while. If you have reached this website then you are closer than you’ve ever been to fixing your pain–for good. You can do it!

Many of my patients have diagnoses such as bulging disks, herniated disks, spinal stenosis, spondlyolisthesis which supposedly are causing their pain. But after 2 or 3 treatment sessions most people feel significantly better. So either these problems are corrected or they haven’t actually been the culprits for back pain. I wonder which it is?

My name is Rick Olderman. I am a physical therapist, personal trainer and Pilates instructor working in Denver, CO. I’ve worked with countless patients and clients with back pain and wanted to share some observations which help me treat pain more efficiently and effectively. I’ll also cover weight training, cardio and Pilates concepts.

Currently I’m working with a woman with severe spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), spondylolisthesis (small spinal fracture) and an extra lumbar vertebra. She has been in pain for more than a decade, has been to specialists, therapists, accupuncturists, Pilates instructors -you name it. In three sessions her pain was 75% relieved and now rarely returns. We are just beginning on a weight training program and she’s eating it up!

It didn’t always work out this way. Often it was hit or miss whether I could help my back clients. However now I’m just over 90% successful in eliminating back pain these last few years. There’s no weird technique involved, instead I apply my understanding of anatomy,biomechanics and function to help people. In fact I rarely do any hands-on work aside from assessments. My approach is to teach people to fix themselves, thereby ensuring the fix will be longer lasting than by passive means such as adjustments or manipulations.

In the next posts (this is the first blog I’ve ever done), I’ll go into more detail as to how I look at the body and treat it as well as how I apply that to Pilates and weight training. I’ll be curious whether anyone actually reads this so if you are, please drop me a line and let me know. If there is something you’d like to discuss specifically (including other topics or injuries of the body), let me know that too and I’ll try to help you with it.

Thanks,

Rick