Case History - 50 year-old-woman
chronic hip and back pain

Lisa is a 50 year old special education aide at a local school. When she came to visit us she was experiencing severe hip and low back pain that limited her work, her exercise and her sleep. Her pain started in February 2009 when she felt her right hip suddenly lock tight. Believing a chiropractor may help, she began to see one twice a week for 20 weeks for aggressive chiropractic manipulation. With no relief, her pain became severe with one particularly aggressive manipulation session. It was then that Lisa turned to other practitioners. She consulted 2 other chiropractors and three orthopedists. She received two epidural steroid injections that worsened the pain for days after the injection. She was finally referred to a Physical Therapist that in turn referred her to Caring Medical for Prolotherapy.

Lisa first came to see us in December of 2009.

December 7, 2009: Lisa explained her pain as severe, located in her right hip with severe pain radiating down her leg and complete numbness in her right foot. She had decreased her exercise due to the pain and was having trouble sleeping. Dr. Hauser examined Lisa and determined that her pain stemmed from joint instability in her pelvis. The chiropractic manipulations most likely caused the instability to worsen, leading to more pain. Dr. Hauser’s suggested course of treatment was Prolotherapy injections to Lisa’s right hip and right low back, strengthened with odium morrhuate to create a greater inflammatory response. Lisa was ready to get started and received 35 injections to her right hip and 35 injections to her low back. She left with supplements to help with her healing and was told to do light exercise that did not cause any pain.

January 15, 2010: Lisa returned with great news – she had noticed major improvements, about a 75% decrease in pain. She told us that even her co-workers had noticed a difference in the way her pain was affecting her. She described her pain as “rare” and “dull”. The pain down her leg was gone and she had numbness in only two toes. She was ready for her second treatment, so Dr. Hauser used the same Prolotherapy solution as before with the same number of injections.

March 11, 2010: At Lisa’s third visit she reported continued improvements. Her right hip felt about 95% improved and her low back was about 40% improved. She had resumed exercise and felt best when she was cycling. She stated she was so much better than she had been a year ago and was ready to reach 100% healing. Lisa received a third treatment and was told to continue her supplements and exercise.

April 19, 2010: Lisa came to her fourth treatment a bit discouraged. She felt as though she had regressed in her pain, it was still less severe than her initial pain but she was definitely noticing a bit more pain with some tingling down her leg. We assured Lisa that this regression can happen, especially when patients begin to increase their activity level too quickly. Thankfully, a single Prolotherapy treatment can get the person back on track and even lead to complete healing. She received a fourth treatment and was told to do light exercise and continue her supplements.

August 20, 2010: After Lisa’s fourth treatment in April she was 100% pain free. She had a great summer, traveled to Kenya and went on two Safaris with absolutely no pain. As the summer came to an end, she began noticing some slight pain return. She wanted to have one more treatment before school started and her life became crazy again. Dr. Hauser treated her right hip and right low back. He suggested that she walk on the BOSU ball for 30 minutes a day to strengthen her right hip. He also suggested that she wear a stability belt when she knows she will be lifting any heavy objects at school or at home – the stability belt will prevent an injury that can cause the pain to return.

December 15, 2010: One year after her first visit we called to check on Lisa. “I have NO PAIN! My health, activity level, and life in general have seen major improvements.”  She was feeling great, pain free, exercising as she wished and sleeping great. She was thrilled with the progress she made and was referring everyone she knew with back pain to Caring Medical.

Lisa experienced the healing power of  Prolotherapy. And you can too! If you have nagging chronic pain then Caring Medical is the place for you. Give us a call to day to set up an appointment.