♦      Maria’s Odyssey of Pain      ♦

Everyone’s story is unique.  I don’t pretend to know your pain.  But I believe that my experience gives me some insight and empathy.  I also hope that my success in eliminating my pain can translate into the same success for you.  Thank you for allowing me to share my story in my first blog post.  I look forward to hearing yours. – Maria Foster

I, Maria Foster, was a chronic pain sufferer.

By the time I was thirty I sought treatment with an orthopedist because of pain and constant discomfort in my left knee. Officially told that her knee was ‘deranged’ I was given a diagnosis of chondromalacia, a long word meaning that the cartilage in the knee was abnormally soft. Over the next few years meeting with doctors, the diagnosis was upgraded (or would that be downgraded?) to osteoarthritis and degenerative joint disease. Radiographs (x-rays) showed arthritis flare and the formation of osteophytes (bony growths) along with decreasing space between the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone).  My knee was getting ever closer to being ‘bone on bone.’

In my journey to find pain relief, the advice I was given fell into one of three categories:

1)      Strengthening – She was given various exercises that were supposed to stabilize her knee joint and especially strengthen her inner thigh muscles. (produced only moderate changes)

2)      Medication – On bad days – take Advil.  When it was worse than bad, I received a prescription for ibuprofen in higher doses than was available over the counter. (Twenty years of Advil might reduce day to day pain, but could cause some serious gastrointestinal problems)

3)      Surgery – “Hang on until you’re fifty”, one doctor said, “then you’ll be eligible for a knee replacement.”(What?! Waiting years and years for a surgery did not seem like the most proactive course of action.)

None of these options were particularly appealing.

What’s a person in pain to do? Where do I turn?

So, I  began looking for options.  I discovered that Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) allowed me to stop taking ibuprofen and did improve my overall health.  But one day the acupuncturist made an offhand comment about how her right knee would end up being just as bad as her left knee.  It was shocking to realize this professional didn’t think she could truly make Maria better.  She believed that Maria’s knees would continue to deteriorate, even with continued treatment from her.  Acupuncture was a better choice than Advil, but it wasn’t really helping the joint heal.  (Note:  Maria still sees an acupuncturist, just not for joint or muscle pain.)

Then Maria started having episodes of acute low back pain. 

• I strapped a heating pad to my back.
• I did a lot of stretching.
• Finally, not sleeping at night, I reluctantly went back to the doctor and tried muscle relaxants and pain medication. They worked, but it was really just a short-term solution. The thought that I might become dependent on pills to be able to sleep was also frightening.

It was around this time that Maria really considered the possibility that she might end up a cripple.

I was making my living painting houses and enjoyed the physical activity.  But when movement stopped, it felt how uncomfortable. Cold or damp weather bothered the knee. Perhaps a more balmy climate for my pain relief? One night sitting on the couch, I realized I was a human shark – thanks discovery channel! Remember when scientists used to believe that a shark had to keep moving to stay alive?  I needed to keep moving to stay out of pain.  But no one can stretch 24/7.  And when do you sleep?

That’s when Maria fell off a ladder.

Landing on her side, not the knees was good, but within three days of the fall, her right knee (supposedly the good knee) had swollen up to resemble a fair-sized grapefruit.

• The doctor drained fluid and I was advised to stay off of it and rest.  Minimal change.
• The physical therapist tried taping the patella (kneecap) into submission and also provided new exercises which unfortunately did not produce the desired results.
• The orthopedist suggested a surgery called a Tibial Tubercle Transfer.  Maria was still ten years shy of that magic age for knee replacement, so decided to go through with the surgery.

Tibial Tubercle Transfer is a pretty invasive procedure that is supposed to better align the patella (kneecap) so that the joint will function better.

• A portion of the tibia (shin bone) is cut, moved and screwed back in.
• It meant staying off of that leg as much as possible, wearing a brace and going through physical therapy.  It meant missing several weeks of work and a total recovery time of many months to regain full function and strength.
• Just a few days after the surgery, Maria was at home doing her prescribed exercises when she felt a horrible crunching in her knee.  X-rays confirmed what she intuitively knew:  the kneecap was right back where it had started.
• The surgery did not produce the desired outcome in terms of aligning the kneecap.  The knee did feel better, but Maria had been resting it extensively for weeks and she had to wonder if she couldn’t have gotten the same results with just the time off.
• When the doctor suggested she schedule her left knee for the same procedure Maria knew that it was time to run from the orthopedist’s office.

At this point in my journey to find pain relief, I was managing the knee pain through acupuncture and exercise.  The knees weren’t feeling great, but at least it was familiar.  The back pain episodes weren’t too acute or too frequent.  It was ok, but not great.

Then her left heel started hurting. 

She decided to try a podiatrist.

• The podiatrist prescribed more physical therapy, which did not appreciably help.
•  Maria also was wearing a boot to bed at night to keep her foot immobilized while she slept.
• The physical therapist suggested an x-ray to see if her legs were different lengths (they weren’t).
• Wearing off-the-shelf orthotics just resulted in fairly severe back pain if I quit using them.
• When the podiatrist suggested that surgery might be an option, I knew it was time to move on.

Next it was a chiropractor.

The first time at the chiropractor’s office Maria was absolutely appalled at her spinal x-ray.  She had no idea that she had that much unhealthy curvature in her back.  But the chiropractor didn’t seem fazed by it at all.  He kept pointing out little specific spots between vertebrae where there was some deterioration and talking about how to address it.  Maria felt like there was a bigger picture missing, but didn’t know what it was.  Still, she decided to give it a try.

Shortly after starting chiropractic care, the practice was sold to a young couple.  They measured Maria for custom orthotics and suggested that she see a massage therapist before her chiropractic appointment to try and improve the outcome of the treatment.  Maria was so tight that the woman generally had difficulty adjusting her and usually had to call in her husband to help.  Maria did find a massage therapist and enjoyed the sessions, but didn’t feel that they really made a substantial difference in how she felt.  In addition, sometimes after being treated in a prone (face down) position, she would have trouble getting up off the table.  The adjustments didn’t seem to make much difference with the heel pain.

So here was Maria in her early forties, still a chronic pain sufferer.

She had tried some version of all of the following:

• Heating pads
• Stretching
• Pain medications (OTC and prescription)
• Muscle relaxants
• Acupuncture
• Orthotics
• Braces/tapings/boots
• Surgery
• Physical therapy
• Chiropractic
• Massage
• Exercise
• Rubs/balms (Biofreeze, Tiger balm, etc)

To be honest, I had pretty much given up hope of getting rid of her knee and back pain, but she was still searching for pain relief for her heel.  Maria met a gentleman who had developed his own style of focused muscle work.  It wasn’t perfect, but for the first time she felt that a real positive change had occurred and that maybe there was actual hope of getting and staying out of pain.

Perhaps the muscles were a key.

And maybe seeing the body as a whole, integrated unit, rather than just a series of parts was also essential.

As a first step towards understanding and eliminating her pain, Maria went back to school and became a Registered Massage Therapist. Even before completing her massage coursework I investigated continuing education opportunities and was introduced to PUSH^SM Therapy. Committing whole-heartedly to the PUSH program allowed her to find permanent, sustainable pain relief.  It also gave her the opportunity to help others do the same.

Maria is often asked, “Who works on you?”  The  answer is pretty much “Noone.”  I rely on other health care professionals for guidance, but I don’t rely on anyone for ongoing treatment for pain relief.  That is her responsibility  – every day – in how she uses her body.

I used to be a chronic pain sufferer.

Thank you for letting me share my story with you.  I look forward to hearing from you and assisting in any way I can.