Miles Davies

Age 19

CCTV Installation Systems Engineer

"My plan was to now put 110% into being healthy instead of 110% into being unhealthy."

 

I started giving my health a hard time (yes, damaging it) from a young age, by doing something most people consider a healthy pastime, i.e. riding stunt bikes. I would come home with the new injury of the week to show my mum. She would cringe and tell me I should look after myself more (Yeah! Like that was going to happen!). My life plan was simple. Ride bikes till I wasn't able to anymore. I was aiming for 40 and that was enough for me.

I was 110% into my biking and dragging my body through any pain that got in the way. But one day, in 2004, I was watching the bike racing on the Olympics, and I saw an opportunity to change my outlook on life and give myself some normal healthy goals. Watching the bike racing made me think that if I put the effort into road racing, rather than stunt riding, I could do well in that sport. I thought 'If you put your mind to it you will be good, whatever you want to be.' My plan was to now put 110% into being healthy instead of 110% into being unhealthy.

I heard about the Ideal Spine Centre and decided to attend for an assessment, as I was suffering with pains in my back, ankle and knee from a big fall. Dr Farthing told me that my spine was in a poor state, with whiplash in my neck and subluxation at phase 2 in the rest of my spine, 90% of which was from mountain biking. I was planning to just brace it up and carry on. I was also eating badly, never ate fruit, and binge drinking with my mates most weeks was a regular thing.

The only thing I didn't do was take medication, and hadn't done for many years. I had never had any positive effects from taking it so I saw it as pointless. I didn't trust the doctors and I think that the only reason my mind was willing to change was because my mind wasn't blurry from taking worthless pills.

Now a year down the road I have improved so much. I have stopped riding my stunt bike and very soon I will have a new racing bike, and the 2012 Olympics are just around the corner. My ankle and knee pain has completely gone and my back has improved so much. I'm eating healthy food, the best I can with my job, and eating fruit every day till noon (on the dot!). I have now stopped drinking, have a better outlook and respect for my health.

I have finally got myself a job as a Systems Engineer, which I'm enjoying so much, regardless of the long hours. My boss is very supportive of everything I do and I will get him in for a check-up soon (he is too scared to at the moment, probably of what might be found). My mum is so thankful to have her son back on the 'healthy side'. If it wasn't for my mum and Phil I would not have gone to the Ideal Spine Centre and I would have fallen back into the just 'heading for 40' mentality.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me get to where I am today, including Dr Christian Farthing, for teaching me so much, to the clinical assistants for putting up with me, and my mum and Phil for being so supportive. Thanks for today; the future is now much brighter.

All I can say to anyone trying to change their life for the better, is to learn as much as you can so you can retrain your body. Learn to give and not always take, give yourself goals, find people who inspire you and listen to more music, it gives you more of a chance to think about life.