Sometimes I fail

Yesterday I had to tell a new patient that I couldn’t

help him. It’s a tough thing to do, but it happens,

even at Denver Chiropractic Center; even with

Active Release.

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This particular patient was referred to me by

another chiropractor. He had low back pain

that radiated down the back of his thigh since

last November. He rated it as a 9 on a scale of

10 (10 is the worst). It started when

he was hiking in the Andes with a very heavy pack.

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This is a classic herniated disc.

When I treat disc cases with Active

Release, the goal is to relieve the tension on the

muscles that cross the involved joint.

I was his last hope. I worked on him for about 30 minutes.

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If Active Release is going to help, usually the

patient will feel a little better right away. This

man felt exactly that same. Considering that

he’d tried just about everything under the sun,

and considering that his pain had been the same

for 5 months, I told him he should speak to

a surgeon.

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I hate to do that, but sometimes giving a

person an honest opinion, even if it’s one they

don’t want to hear, is the best I can do.

I never try to work with someone if I don’t

think that I can help. Luckily, it doesn’t happen

often.

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This man was grateful that I was honest with him.

He left my office understanding why it was time to

speak with a surgeon. In the long run, he’ll

recover and move on with his life.

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Just thought I’d share that one with you.

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Glenn Hyman

Denver Chiropractic Center