Sue Bailey

Housewife

Herne Bay

Age 58

I have suffered with back trouble for a number of years. I have been to see my doctor on many occasions and was given pain killers. I was told I had sciatica which would go away with time. It got that unbearable on a couple of occasions that an emergency doctor needed to be called out to help me deal with the extreme pain in my back. The answer was always in the form of an injection, yes, he gave me cortisone injections.

In addition to the lower back pain, I was also suffering with groin pains, pins and needles in my foot and I sometimes had weakness and lost control of my right leg. I could never walk very far.

I think my doctor got fed up with me in the end, and so, arranged for me to have an MRI scan. It took several weeks for the appointment to come through. This was the first time my back was going to be examined properly. I had problems for a long time, and yet no-one had examined or checked my spine at all.

Whilst waiting for the results of the MRI scan to come back, I went to Debenhams in Canterbury shopping one day, where Dr Farthing and his Clinical Assistants were doing a community spinal screening. (Thank goodness!!)

I booked an appointment and had my spinal health check with Dr Farthing soon afterward, but delayed my results with him until I had the results of my MRI scan (I am so pleased that I did this). The MRI scan only showed the lower part of my back where the pain was. Dr Farthing however, did a thorough examination on my entire spine.

The results of my MRI scan showed that the disc at the base of my spine was worn, and my doctor explained how the disc worked. He said the solution was, if I was in great pain I was to have another injection or as a last resort - surgery!

So I went back to Dr Farthing to get my results of his examination and x-rays. His diagnosis was very different. Vertebral SUBLUXATION was his conclusion - Six of them, two in my neck, one in my mid-back and three in my lower spine - all in phase 2-3 degeneration/spinal decay. The interesting thing is this: If I did go down the medical route for more injections and surgery (which probably would have caused more complications), what would have been done about the other areas of my spine that needed attention but were not giving me any obvious symptoms yet?

I was shocked and upset at hearing the results, but knew what I heard from Dr Farthing made perfect sense.

So here I am some five months later and I want to share my story for the benefit of others who may be suffering as I have done in the past. I no longer have groin pain, no pins and needles and I can now go out for walks again (I regularly walk from Reculver to Minis Bay and back, which is a three hour walk!).

Until I met Dr Farthing I didn't know about the problems in my neck or my mid-back, because I didn't have any pain in these areas. However I could hardly turn my neck left or right. Now I can almost spin my head all the way round. My friends laugh at me when I tell them my eyesight has also improved, because they do not know about the vital connection between the spine and nervous system. So I'm going to have a sight test to prove to them it has improved. There are so many people who have not been educated about a healthy spine and nervous system. They need to hear and understand the importance of it instead of waiting for their health to deteriorate and end up relying on drugs and surgery.

SUBLUXATIONS!

I had never heard of them before and I definitely did not know how they could affect my health in such a major way.

If only someone had told me earlier?

I recently had to go back to visit my GP. We discussed my back and I told him how well I was doing under Dr Farthings care. My GP was very interested and asked me to get a letter from Dr Farthing to understand. If our own Medical Doctors don't understand, how are the general public meant to understand?

This is funny, well not so funny: When I went back to see my GP, he told me that I would be able to have the results of my MRI scan on my next visit. I reminded him that I had indeed had my results some months ago. This does not make one feel confident in the system.

After scanning Dr Farthing's letter, my GP told me that there was nothing wrong with my back and the problem was with the disc at the base of the spine. Maybe it was wrong for me to assume that my GP understood the spine and knew that the disc lies between the spinal vertebrae, and therefore misalignment of the vertebrae (vertebral subluxation) would cause harm and weakening to the disc in between. He also diagnosed 'wear and tear' due to my age, right there on the spot! I couldn't believe it. I had been told before that age is often given as a 'throw away' diagnosis, but never thought it was true until now.

SUBLUXATIONS! I had never heard of them before and I definitely did not know how they could affect my health in such a major way. No-one knows when this is going to happen, so please tell a friend or family member as soon as possible to have their spinal health check. I know that I still have a long way to go with my adjustments and the base of my spine will not be 100% but I do firmly believe that I am on the mend and in the right place to carry on getting better. If only someone had told me earlier?

One last thing, when I come here to the Ideal Spine Centre for my adjustments, I feel as though I am coming into a family atmosphere. All the Clinical Assistants are just great and as for Dr Farthing, well what can I say!

A big thank you for listening and helping me. I've put all my faith into everyone here. Thank you