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A Patient's Story Back pain and
diet
When people come to Caring Medical for
Prolotherapy treatment
for chronic pain, they may not understand at first how
diet
can play a
beneficial role in getting them to be pain-free. One
Prolotherapy
patient, Melinda, learned quickly how important a healthy diet plan is
to her overall health.
At 46 years of age, Melinda’s health was in shambles. She had
chronic back pain
that had lasted 13 years despite
massage treatments,
physical therapy, and
wearing a lumbar belt. She had severe heartburn and indigestion that
required her to take antacids and "heartburn" medications. Melinda also
had trouble
sleeping, sitting for a long time while at work, and moving
around due to her back pain. It was 24/7 pain!
In addition to all of this, Melinda was 50 pounds
overweight and unable to
exercise. Unless you have lived with this kind of pain and indigestion,
you may not realize how much of a toll living like this day to day
continues to take on your body, it is a viscous circle that continues to
result in more pain, less
sleep, less functionality, less enjoyment in
life!. Melinda knew this and was desperate for answers to her pain.
On Melinda’s second visit to Caring Medical for
Prolotherapy she read
about the
Hauser Diet and decided she wanted to give
Diet Typing
a try.
She wanted to heal her back and had goals of better energy, better
moods, better digestion, and improved overall health. On her third visit
to our office, she visited our lab for Diet Typing and food sensitivity
testing.
Melinda met with our nutritionist to review her Diet Typing results. But
before we could give Melinda her Diet Type, we had to look at her
current diet plan. Melinda tended to eat carbohydrates and protein at
each meal, but they were all from processed sources or restaurant food.
She also told us that she drank close to 144 ounces of diet soda per day
and only one glass of water. No matter what Melinda’s
Hauser
Diet Typing
would be, it was clear that she would need to start eating fresh foods
and wean off the diet soda as soon as possible. Her Diet Typing results
revealed that she had normal
blood pH
with fast oxidation (This means the person breaks down (oxidizes)
food too quickly. The recommended diet for this person is one that
contains larger amounts of foods such as proteins and fats that are
broken down slowly. This will help keep the person’s blood sugar
stable.)
Therefore
Melinda would need to increase her protein intake on the
Hauser Otter Diet to
balance her fast oxidizer physiology. Melinda left our office with many
changes to make, but with the motivation to make them.
About two weeks later we sent Melinda her food sensitivity results. We
explained that these delayed
food allergies cause inflammation and could
be contributing to her indigestion, heartburn, excess weight, and back
pain. She had over 23 food allergies ranging from common foods such as
dairy, eggs, gluten and beef to less common such as okra, kale, and
pinto beans. After we gave Melinda some alternatives to eating the
allergenic foods, she was off to increase her intake of fresh protein
and vegetables and decrease her carbohydrate and diet soda intake.
We kept up with Melinda each week over email to be sure that she was
able to make the necessary diet changes and to answer any questions.
With each email she told us that she was noticing improvements such as
decreased swelling, less pain, and weight loss. When she returned one
month later for her next
Prolotherapy treatments, she reported some major
improvements. She had lost 15 pounds and was considerably less swollen.
In fact, her hands, wrists, arms, face, legs, ankles and feet were all
less swollen. She had even lost a whole shoe size! She had no idea that
all of these food allergies were causing so much inflammation. As a side
note, this is one thing we see very often in patients with underlying
food sensitivities: the bloated look in their face and swelling in their
joints goes down after eliminating their specific allergenic foods.
Melinda also reported stable moods, less irritability, and better sleep.
She was able to say adios to the antacids, as her heartburn and
indigestion cleared up almost completely. Her
back pain
was improving
and she was able to decrease the frequency of Physical Therapy sessions
from twice a week to once every 10 days. She was truly seeing the power
of a proper diet plan as the
Otter Diet
helped to stabilize her blood
sugars and avoiding her food allergies prevented inflammation.
After two months on the Otter Diet and six Prolotherapy treatments,
Melinda was feeling a world of difference. In her own words, she had a
greater sense of well-being, much less pain, more energy, and her body
felt much more stable. After 13 years of intense back pain and other
symptoms, Melinda was able to turn it all around with a few months of
Prolotherapy and Diet Typing. We truly believe in the power of food and
proper diet plans. If you are ready to experience changes in your own
life, give us a call. We are ready to help you get on the road to
change.
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