Piriformis Problems

[Guest guest]

Greetings All ;

I'm new to this group but have been an avid reader of the various

thoughts , ideas and opinions that have been expressed over the past

few months . Most of these are very helpful and I thank you for your

help and guidance . This has helped me tremendously in deciding which

way to go as far as getting my hip fixed (THR or Resurf ). I'm going

to Dr. DeSmet March 3rd for the Resurf . Fortunately I've only had

the problem for 6 months but I figure I might as well get it done and

overwith rather than kick around with it . Life's too short to limp

around like this , especially when there's been a clean bill of

health up to this point .

Dr. Steve Vince has come up with some excellent advice and ideas

regarding this whole issue and I'm certainly planning on acting on

alot of them . There is , however a statement you have made recentlty

Dr. Steve that I'd like to comment on and I'm bearing in mind that

you state this as being in your experience . " Chiropractors and power

meds can help you cope with the pain but never actually fix the cause

and can wind up making things worse " This is in reference to

problems with the piriformis muscle .

This has not been the experience in chiropractic practice , as a

matter of fact results with this particular problem have been

excellent . This is not to say that there's 100% positive results ,

however , no treatment anywhere , any time could make that sort of

claim . Further ,there appears to be more than the piriformis problem

that may respond well to chiropractic treatment . Those post-op

patients that complain of various aches , pains , limping etc may

well respond to this approach . End of commercial !

I can speak with some objectivity & authority on this matter in that

I was a practising chiropractor for 42 years . I've been retired for

the past 5 years . So at this point you're probably thinking , " Well

how old is this guy " ? I'm 73 ! Will this give me the record as the

(ahem) most senior surfacehippy ? Not to worry ! As long as things

turn out well , as I feel they will under Dr. De Smet's care , then

everything is AOK .

Please keep those emails coming Dr. Steve , they're invaluable

Dr. Fred

[Guest guest]

> " Chiropractors and power

> meds can help you cope with the pain but never actually fix the

cause

> and can wind up making things worse " This is in reference to

> problems with the piriformis muscle .

Dear Dr. Fred :

My hip problem first presented itself in low back spasms. I went to

chiropractors for about 4-years with decreasing relief as is the

nature of progressive arthritis. I followed this with 8-years of

rolfing (integrated deep connective tissue manipulation) and yoga

with decreasing relief.

Following bilat surfjobs, I have continued with periodic rolfing and

regular yoga. This has produced progressivly increasing relief and

ROM. I now have the ability to " adjust " my spine using relaxation

and yoga.

Based on my own experiences, I concluded that Chiropractic only gives

temporary relief from the adjustment and does not help with " root

causes " , ie: pathological muscle memory. Therefore, regular

adjustments are required once the twisted muscles torque the spine

back out of whack.

I am not saying this is a fact, just my own conclusion. I would be

interested in your thoughts on this theory.

Also, congrats on being one of the most mature soon to be surfers...

although it sounds like you are too young for THR like the rest of

us.

Good Luck!

bilat C+ 07/01 Dr. S.