Massage & Bodywork

May | June 2014

Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/296580

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 33 of 141

I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 31 TABLE LESSONS best practices Reclaiming the Body By Douglas Nelson "This is a very complicated situation. I just need to know if you would be willing to take on something this unusual." After I assured Mrs. S. that I appreciate complex cases, she went on to explain the details of her odyssey with pain after suffering a whiplash injury more than a year ago. The trepidation and fear in her voice was obvious. "My husband and I moved here from Israel about a year ago. This is all new for us: different job, different culture, and a whole different life. Even the weather is not what I am used to. I had never seen snow, let alone had to drive in it. One day, while driving in a snowstorm, another car slammed into the rear of my vehicle. The impact caught me totally by surprise. At first, I did not feel injured, but my neck became very sore about 48 hours later. For the next two months or so, my neck, shoulders, and arms were very painful. I often had tingling sensations down both arms, which was very disturbing. "The worst was yet to come. One day, I suddenly felt searing pain in my lower back. Soon after, I felt tingling sensations in the front of both legs, which the doctors have told me is from a disc problem in my lower thoracic spine. The tingling has persisted to this day. As time has gone on, I feel like my legs are wooden and stiff—like they do not belong to me. To make matters worse, about six months ago my family and I were in another accident, sort of." "How do you 'sort of' have an accident?" I asked. "My husband was driving, and my two children were in the back seat. A car approached the intersection too quickly, headed right toward my door. The car hit us, but the impact was actually very slight. No one in either car was hurt, but I was in intense pain by the next day. The pain has been bad ever since. I can't explain why I hurt so much afterward; I think it was perhaps a form of posttraumatic stress."

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Massage & Bodywork - May | June 2014