Alternative to Back Surgery

Torn Discs Can't Stop Her
Special needs teacher gets pain fix with with an alternative to back surgery

By Ellie White-Stevens

With a full schedule, Furnetta Phillips opted for an alternative to back surgery to keep her from slowing down. Between her days working as a teacher of young special needs children, and afternoons and evenings owning and running a personal training studio Furnetta estimates that she works between 70 and 80 hours each week. And she's studying for her master's degree in Abnormal Psychology.

"I was doing a lot of lifting, pulling, pushing and tugging. I've always been active. I teach special needs children in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades. I'm bending over a lot. The chairs are low and there are hard cement floors," said Furnetta.

This is why Furnetta went to Dr. John Thomas, D.C. "I had been a patient with adjustments. I had messed up my sciatica. It went away with adjustments. Then I quit going and ignored the pain that eventually came back."

Furnetta was working with some 25 clients in her personal training studio, heading into the school year and going through a divorce. Life could not have been busier.

Ignoring the Back Pain and the Sudden Decline

But then, as Furnetta was simply trying to get out of a car, something in her back went. "By Saturday, I couldn't walk," said Furnetta. "I immediately called Dr. Thomas. We had a few adjustment sessions, but it wasn't working." Dr. Thomas sent Furnetta for an MRI. She had three torn discs.

"It didn't surprise me. I knew what my level of physical activity was. I knew I was neglecting my adjustments. When I had the lower back pain, I was just ignoring it."

"Furnetta's a very type A personality and has been in the fitness arena for a very long time. In the past she had responded to chiropractic treatments. We did the MRI and found three herniations. She was in bad shape. L4 had a protrusion type of herniation. L4-L5 and L5-S1 had annular tears in both," said Dr. Thomas. "The insurance company wanted me to have surgery. Dr. Thomas told me about IDD Therapy® and what it does. He told me about its results versus surgery. I didn't want to get cut," said Furnetta.

Alternative to Back Surgery

According to Dr. Thomas, IDD is a proven, medically advanced, alternative to back surgery for lower back and neck pain. "This is one of the most sophisticated approaches I have found to safely, comfortably and non-surgically treat the cause of back pain due to conditions like bulging and herniated discs, sciatica, postsurgical failures and degenerative arthritis," said Dr. Thomas.

"The reported results are impressive. Two clinical studies show that 86% and 92% of people get relief from their pain, respectively. They require less medication, so fewer side effects. IDD Therapy® permits them to enjoy normal life activities again," said Dr. Thomas.

Furnetta opted to begin IDD Therapy®. While IDD Therapy® is calibrated to keep the targeted area from muscle spasms, Furnetta had three levels that needed treating, L5, L4 and L3. She experienced discomfort at the start of her treatment. After the L5 treatment was complete, Furnetta had significant relief, even though she had two more levels to go. "By L4 it was all better. L3 was a breeze."

What is a torn disc? Medical professionals would call this a herniated disc. In some cases, where fluid is starting to seep out of the disc, this is also called a ruptured disc. Spinal decompression with IDD Therapy® is the most effective treatment available for these kinds of disc tears.

Dr. Thomas gave Furnetta optimal guidelines for healing her torn disc. "I couldn't stand, exercise, stoop or bend. I had to take a week off. I had no resting period at school. It did a world of good to take time off," said Furnetta.

Recovery Time IDD Therapy® Versus Surgery

Compared to the downtime that surgery would have required, resting at home for a week while she began the IDD was a much better option. Also, she was quickly able to resume her busy schedule. She did take it easy in her personal training gym. "My clients are wonderful. They were so understanding about everything. I've told all of my clients. They know what I've been through. They know it works. I've had one client who went to Dr. Thomas."

"I've had no more pain. I just started exercising two weeks ago," said Furnetta.

Furnetta likes stylish shoes, but in her studio, she has athletic shoes with custom orthotics fitted by Dr. Thomas. "I had gotten wrong orthotics from a podiatrist. That probably contributed to my problem. Dr. Thomas refitted me."

Besides promoting good health and nutrition to her clients, Furnetta is a runner, who is looking forward to her next 5k. She has had Dr. Thomas do muscle stripping for her, a somewhat painful, but effective means of ridding muscle adhesions in physically active people.

Furnetta's most recent visits with Dr. Thomas have been focused around strength and conditioning her back and abdominals.

"I would recommend Dr. Thomas. He's so kind and humble. He has the personality to deal with people and understand his patients. He really cares. He's a very good doctor."

Concluded Furnetta, "What I've learned is don't take the little pains for granted, especially if you are engaging in regular physical activity. Before you opt for surgery, give that treatment a try, because it does work. My back was in bad shape. I could not walk." Now she's getting ready to run.

Besides treating all manner of back pain or a torn disc, Dr. John Thomas specializes in sports and personal injuries without the use of drugs or surgery. He teaches methods of eliminating harmful toxins from the body for the prevention of disease. In practice for over a decade, The Running Doctor, Dr. Thomas, runs marathons and follows his own good guidelines for health and nutrition.

For more information about the services of Allied Healthcare Clinics and to schedule an appointment with Dr.Thomas, call 770-460-1911.

- Ellie White-Stevens is the Sales and Marketing Director for Allied Healthcare Clinics.

About Allied Healthcare Clinics