I recently had an encounter in my office which reminded me why I started to develop my couples-based approach to back pain in the first place…
About three months ago, I was working with a new patient who had been suffering with low back pain & sciatica. She had started to have issues with her blood pressure, and her internist wanted her to stop using anti-inflammatory medications- which were really the only drugs which had been providing her relief. He was concerned about the effect they were having on her kidney function, and consequently, her blood pressure.
I really gave some thought to her situation- she was in pain, she couldn’t take the only meds which were really helping her, and she had blood pressure problems.
From the back pain standpoint, her issues seemed pretty straight forward- she had some problems with the movement of her sacrum, which were surprisingly easy to treat. In about four visits, I had restored normal function to her sacrum and reduced her sciatica & back pain symptoms. I then invited her husband to join us for her next visit, and taught him some simple sacral mobilization techniques which I asked him to do daily. He had some trepidation about trying to do these techniques, but he left my office pretty much convinced.
There is an interesting phenomena which occurs whenever you manipulate the sacrum- you can stimulate the parasympathetic portion of your autonomic nervous system, and the result can be lower blood pressure.
Well, after a few weeks of working with her husband, her pain had improved significantly, and when she went to her internist he found that her blood pressure had improved, and he wouldn’t need to add any additional medications. As a bonus, her husband, who had felt helpless to provide his suffering wife with any relief, now felt empowered by his ability to help- and they felt closer than they had in several years.
Donna & I drank the bottle of wine they gave me as a thank you gift last night.
I love when I am able to help my patients with their pain, but there is something so gratifying about being able to pass on this ability to a patients loved one. Ongoing pain can have such an adverse effect on a couple, and sometimes giving a partner or spouse the ability to provide relief can help their pain as well as their relationship. And in this instance, there were even greater reaching benefits.
Sometimes, I really love my work.
Thanks for visiting, and be well!
-Andy
