Dustin’s Journey
How Dustin Overcame Chronic Back Pain To Sleep Better And Move Comfortably Again
Dustin’s Story
In Dustin’s Own Words — His Journey From Years Of Constant Back Pain To Sleeping Better, Traveling More Comfortably, And Enjoying Everyday Life Again.
How long did you wait before deciding on physical therapy and what was the obstacle?
Far too long. I was a mechanic for years and it was just an acceptance that this was the way that my life was going to be. Finally my wife had come here and raved about how much you guys had helped her with her knee. She was tired of me always complaining and popping Advil, so she told me to try physical therapy. Personally, it wasn’t much of an apprehension about coming in and trying it. I just never really thought of physical therapy as a route to treating back aches. I tried multiple chiropractors and some of it worked but nothing was lasting.
What was it and how bad was your problem prior to receiving physical therapy?
It was just my back, from years of being a mechanic, hunched over, and then going to an office job, which in some ways is just as bad. I got to a point where movement was a problem, sleeping was a problem, you’re always just kind of aching. I travel a lot for work now and I was on the airplane and about 45 minutes to an hour into the plane ride I’m like “Hey I gotta get off this plane” because I just wanted to move my shoulders and back. Now I can comfortably ride for several hours.
What was your pain preventing you from doing?
Sleeping. For me, it was just so long that I’ve been dealing with it. There were definitely times where I’d be playing with the kids and laying on the ground and I’d be like “ahh I gotta get up now..” and that was always a challenge.
What would you say to someone who was experiencing pain but skeptical about physical therapy?
Don’t wait. It’s probably a lot easier to address when it’s just moderate rather than severe and your spouse is dragging you and forcing you to go. If I could’ve done this a few years ago before it really started to progress, some of those areas where tension and knots had just been sitting there for years, it probably would’ve been a lot easier to get rid of those had they not gone untreated for so long.
Out of all the things that you enjoyed about coming to Preferred Physical Therapy, what did you enjoy the most?
I really like the staff to be honest. Everyone’s just super friendly, upbeat. The conversations between everybody and the comradery is really cool.
What were you wanting to achieve and did we help you to achieve it?
Being able to sleep all night is really nice. But for me, it’s just not having that constant aching pain, burning in my back anymore. I got as close to achieving my goal as I possibly could.
What to Watch Out For
Recognizing these symptoms? You may benefit from physical therapy.
Pain Details
Pain Scale:
7 out of 10
Description:
Burning at the base of the neck, popping in the shoulders, pain and achiness in the mid-back, and sensation of an ice-pick in shoulder blade when at its worst
Visits:
Worse With
Better With
Now Watch the Video to Hear the Full Story…
Hear directly from Dustin about his experience at Preferred Physical Therapy.
