Around 2013, a client [for the sake of confidentiality, I will call him James] came to see me who had fallen off a horse, hurting his sacrum, low back and hip. The chiropractor that James was seeing at the time, recommended that James should see me because he knew my treatment specific background, and my work ethic for results. It must be noted that before James came to see me, he suffered through several months of physical and emotional pain.

After discussing the particulars of the event, and getting some past history and a firm commitment to healing, we began mapping out a course of action. Pretty much, he was to see me 2x/week for the next 2-3 months, and would continue to see the chiropractor for the necessary adjustments. We would assess along the way, and at the end of the 3 months approach more sessions if needed.

James was in his mid to late 40’s, he was a high school coach and had a very active lifestyle. Outside of work he was usually juggling plenty of projects, along with spending time with family and friends. However, James had this cool, low key, casual demeanor about him that was saddled with a high energy get-things-done attitude. This would often bring out a no nonsense, impatient need for results. Just the right client for the type of therapy I was providing!

The first couple of months went by with some noticeable improvement in movement, decreased pain levels, inflammation, etc. Towards the end of the third month I could sense James’ impatience. He really did not have to say anything, but he looked at me and said quite frankly, “I feel like there has not been enough change with the amount of time spent!”. I knew there was going to be more care required, but I wanted to acknowledge James’ comment. As I did, I began to pose a couple questions: on a pain scale of 1-10, one is nothing at all and ten is excruciating, what was your pain level when you first came to see me? ”8-9”!, he said. Where is your pain level now? Oh, about a 6. Ok, with just that one indicator alone, you have actually made some progress!, I said.

There is so much more to his journey, but assuring James that his recovery is a process, and reminding him that he did fall off of a horse, James began to appreciate the first couple of months. Further, as he committed to the next few months, I could see him not only valuing our time spent, but also James’ realization that our continued sessions were well worth reclaiming his high energy, active lifestyle.