The importance of listening to my patients hit me full in the face this week.  On Monday, I had a new patient present with horrendous low back pain.  He had been to an Emergency Room the previous day, was examined, sent home, and told to take high doses of Ibuprofen.  He came to see me the next day because despite being a tough-as-nails saw mill worker, he could no longer tolerate the pain.  Although I see people in terrible pain each and every day I am in the office, this person also presented with........

• BILATERAL SCIATICA:   Any time SCIATICA is bilateral, it starts to raise a red flag.
  

• SADDLE PARESTHESIA:  He had abnormal sensation on the inside part of his legs that would come in contact with a saddle if he were riding a horse.

• TESTICULAR ANESTHESIA:  He could not feel his testicles. 

• ANAL ANESTHESIA:  He could not feel it when he wiped his rear end. 

• ANAL LEAKAGE:  He was leaking feces ---- and could not feel it happening. 

Any one of these is a potential Red Flag, but when put all together it is like a huge, glowing, UFO camped out just over your house.  I gave this individual a letter outlining my findings that took me two minutes to scrawl on office letterhead.  I also told him to go to a different Emergency Room and give the letter to whomever they came in contact with first --- immediately.  Mind you, I did not actually do an examination on this person.  There was no need.  I simply got this information from what he told me during a three minute consultation. 

I wrote on the letter that I believed he had CAUDA EQUINA SYNDROME; a serious condition that requires immediate surgical intervention. The cause of the Cauda Equina Syndrome?   After having an MRI done, they discovered a tumor pressing on his spinal cord. 

His wife called our office yesterday and told Tracy the story, who then relayed it to me.  He is scheduled for surgery later this month.  Needless to say, she was extremely grateful we actually took the time to listen to them; and then she thanked us for going out of our way to help him get the help that he needed. 

Interestingly enough, I had another patient whom I examined yesterday and who will start her Decompression Protocol on Monday.  She was excited because someone had actually "examined" her in a thorough fashion as opposed to a tap of her reflexes, bend forward, and here's a prescription for pain pills, muscle relaxers, and anti-inflammatory drugs.  Unlike him, I am completely convinced she is a GOOD CANDIDATE for Spinal Decompression and will get dramatically better with a good SPINAL DECOMPRESSION PROTOCOL.

What criteria do I use to determine if someone is a candidate for Spinal Decompression Therapy?  This is a great question.  And contrary to what some might think, just because you're alive and have a wallet, does not make you a candidate.  So, what exactly are the criteria?  When you sit down with me in my office so that we talk face to face, we will go over your history and tests.  It is there that I begin to get an idea of whether or not Spinal Decompression Therapy could possibly benefit you.  In order to make this determination, I have to first find out things like......

-How long have you had your back problem?
-Is it getting progressively worse?
-Do you have a family history of back problems?
-Did you injure your back?
-If so, how and when?
-Describe the pain.
-What makes the pain worse?
-Do you have trouble sitting?
-Do you have trouble sleeping?
-How has this problem affected your life?
-What have you done to ease the pain?
-Has it helped?
-Have you been on NARCOTIC PAIN RELIEVERS?
-If so, how long?
-Have you been on ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS?
-Have you had STEROID INJECTIONS?
-If so, how many?_
-Have you taken Muscle Relaxers?
-What have your doctors actually diagnosed you with ---- SPINAL STENOSIS, BULGED or HERNIATED DISCS, DEGENERATIVE DISCS, FACET SYNDROME, SCIATICA, or something else?
-Have you been through Physical Therapy?
-If so, how much / how long?
-What did it entail?
-Have you been to a Chiropractor with this?
-Have you been to a specialist?
-If so, was it a Neurosurgeon, Orthopedic Surgeon, Physiatrist, Psychiatrist, etc?
-Have you been to a "Pain Clinic"?
-If so, what did they do for you there?
-Has a physician recommended that you need spinal surgery?
-Have you had any X-rays taken?
-Have you gone through any Advanced Diagnostic Imaging (CT Scans, MRI's, Discograms, Meylograms, etc)?
-What does your MRI, CT Scan, or X-ray look like --- what did these tests reveal?
-How much DEGENERATION is present in your Spinal Bones and Spinal Discs?
-What are your expectations for SPINAL DECOMPRESSION THERAPY?
-If you were accepted as a patient, are you doing things that would sabotage a SPINAL DECOMPRESSION PROTOCOL and prevent you from getting better?
-Do you smoke?
-Are you diabetic?
-What is your daily activity level?
-Are you willing to do the exercises and other things that go along with OUR DECOMPRESSION PROTOCOL in order to get better?
-Are you overweight?
-If I accept you as a patient, are you willing to work at dropping some weight if that is what is required for you to get better (I WILL HELP YOU)?

Yes, it's a long list of questions.  But my reputation is on the line.  I do not want people starting this program who are not likely to get better!

Spinal Decompression Therapy is a revolutionary treatment that involves providing intermittent traction to problem areas of the spine.  This therapy HAS BEEN SHOWN EFFECTIVE in relieving back pain, neck pain, as well as arm and leg pain (SCIATICA). Developed about 20 years ago, it has grown tremendously in popularity as more and more patients not only realize the therapy's benefits, but are also becoming increasingly aware of just how many SPINAL SURGERIES ARE ACTUALLY FAILING.  Non-surgical Spinal Decompression is effective, backed by RESEARCH, low cost (less than 3% the cost of most spinal surgeries), FDA cleared, and very safe with an extremely low risk profile.

WHO MIGHT BENEFIT?
Patients with chronic back pain, chronic neck pain, or leg pain may benefit tremendously.  Some of the most common problems that may be helped by Spinal Decompression Therapy include

• LUMBAR DISC HERNIATION
• CERVICAL DISC HERNIATION
• FACET SYNDROME
• FAILED SPINAL SURGERY
• RUPTURED or BULGED DISCS
• DEGENERATIVE DISCS
• DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE
• SCIATICA
• SPINAL STENOSIS

Spinal Decompression Therapy has saved many people from spinal surgery. According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, surgery is no more effective than more conservative treatments, including CHIROPRACTIC CARE, for patients with LUMBAR DISC HERNIATION causing SCIATICA.

However, there are some patients who are simply not good candidates for Spinal Decompression Therapy. The truth is, not everyone is going to be helped by this therapy, and if I know up front that it will not help you with your specific condition, I will tell you.  No hard feelings, but if I am not confident that we can help you, I will tell you so.

I have had distraught parents call the office wanting me to use Spinal Decompression Therapy to straighten their child's scoliosis.  I have had people want to use Spinal Decompression to help with butt and leg pain that I ascertained was PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME --- usually a simple fix ---- but not usually a problem for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression.  I recently had a patient who wanted me to do Spinal Decompression on her neck in regards to a "unique" problem she had dealt with for over a quarter century.  Her problem turned out to be FASCIAL ADHESIONS.  However AMAZING the results of Spinal Decompression Therapy may be for some people, it is not indicated for every person or every back problem.

The bottom line is this; if, after I evaluate you, I feel that Spinal Decompression Therapy will help you, we will move forward.  If I do not think it will help you ---- or if I think your problem would be better helped by another approach (or even another doctor), I will try and help you set up an appointment with them.   I have been in practice in Mountain View, Missouri for over two decades.  I have worked hard to build a good reputation.  Good results speak for themselves, and if I do not think that we can achieve good results with your specific problem, I will tell you up front.

On occasion I might do with you what I did with George Lawler.  George and his wife Dr. Martha are dear friends that I have known since my earliest days in practice.  I told George that because his back was so messed up with so many different problems at multiple levels, and because he had tried just about every conceivable treatment there is to try without any real long-term benefit, I honestly had no idea whether I could help him or not (I was leaning toward "not").  After discussing all of this, George wanted to give it a go.  So I started a DISC PROTOCOL with George, both of us realizing that it might prove to be just like everything else he had done over the previous 18 years.  Instead, the results were nothing short of one of God's Miracles (SEE GEORGE'S VIDEO TESTIMONIAL HERE). 

Some of the problems that would keep you from being a good candidate for Spinal Decompression Therapy include.....

• Pregnancy (Although it is not a "problem", being pregnant disqualifies you for Spinal Decompression Therapy.  While highly unlikely, the stretching could cause uterine contractions)
• Severe Osteoporosis (While I might not be able to actually decompress these patients initially, our WHOLE BODY VIBRATION THERAPY is backed by a significant number of studies that show marked improvement in bone density.)
• Cancer / Spinal Tumors
  
• Aneurysms
• Certain Rare Disease Processes
  
• Certain Spinal Surgeries (Having pins, plates, wires, and screws in your spine might disqualify you as a Spinal Decompression Therapy patient, but it might not.  Come in a talk to me ---- and bring your X-rays and tests.  We will look at them and go from there.)

If you have read the RESEARCH and feel that Spinal Decompression Therapy is the one thing you have not tried, but need to ---- call us today.  Tracy will schedule you for a completely free, no-obligation consultation with Dr. Schierling.   We will sit down together and go over your previous history and test results, and figure out whether you are a good candidate for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression.  Our phone number is (417) 934-6337.