Low Back Agony
Three years ago I was fairly certain that by now I would either be in a wheelchair or that I would be using a walker on a regular basis. For thirty years my lower back had been getting incrementally worse. I had been x-rayed, cat scanned, punched, poked and prodded. You name it, I tried it.
I have had numerous shots in my back. Some worked for a few days, some as long as two or three weeks, some not at all. I have undergone physical therapy many times, the good intentions of the various trainers involved notwithstanding, there was never even temporary relief. I have consulted several chiropractors, it feels great while they are working on you, but by the time you are back in the car, your back hurts. I have meet with various surgeons. In addition to the fact that you have a fairly long recuperative period (usually six months or more of lifting nothing heavier than five pounds) they will not offer any guarantees, actually it’s quite the opposite and there is a very real possibility of you ending up in worse shape than before the surgery.
Due to the recommendation of a friend, I called Rick Bovee at Brighton Personal Training and after an initial interview, I decided to agree to a trail period of three months.
Rick and his staff were very cautious as far as pushing me too fast too soon. He established a regular routine of custom exercises that were specifically designed for my conditions. I was a little intimidated as I never really worked out in a gym before, I was worried about how to use the equipment, what settings to use, what weight etc. Not to worry, they do all that for you, they are with you every step of the way.
At the end of the trail period, we (I say we because you do have to do the work) had eliminated 70-80% of the pain. I could work, play golf, walk the dogs, in short, everything that I wanted to do and be relatively pain free.
I had lost 7-8 pounds, gained a fair amount of muscle, improved my posture and my golf game.
I continue to work out at BPT today. I have continued to improve and now feel that I’m in better overall shape than 90% of my contemporaries.
