Helen the Shopkeeper

Longnor General Store owner Helen had been prescribed painkillers that didn’t work but had been told that her condition wasn’t serious enough to warrant surgery – not that she could have taken the time off. She was coping in the shop by sitting down when she could, or leaning on the counter when she couldn’t. There was no prospect of relief until a friend told her about a treatment offered at Buxton Osteopathy Clinic.

Helen took to the computer to research the IDD Therapy provided by clinic owner Phil Heler. Deciding it was worth a try, she booked an appointment online.

Phil’s initial diagnosis, that the bottom vertebra in her back was compressing nerves and causing the severe pain, was soon confirmed by an MRI scan. It uncovered spondylolisthesis, a degenerative condition more common in women than men.

Helen had just started the IDD treatment when a Longnor friend offered further reassurance that she was doing the right thing. A keen runner, Heather had been put back on her feet by the therapy after suffering a crippling slipped disc.

“Heather told me it was amazing – and she was right,” says Helen. “I started to feel an improvement after the fifth session and now I am completely pain-free. At February half-term we went walking, we’ve refurbished the shop and I have been out in the garden. I’ve got my life back.”

Because Helen’s condition is degenerative, she continues with occasional treatment sessions at the Buxton clinic, which is the only centre in Derbyshire equipped to offer IDD Therapy.

“Before, I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t walk more than ten paces without being in agony, and that was on crutches,” she says. “The treatment isn’t cheap – but it’s a price well worth paying.”

In fact she’s so convinced that she recommended it to her mum Phyllis, who has back problems of her own: “She’s been four times and is already feeling an improvement.” It’s another success story for the clinic. Phil says: “It’s very rewarding to be able to help people who are in serious difficulty. IDD Therapy won’t cure every back problem, but where appropriate it can be very effective. It’s also a genuine, non-invasive alternative to surgery.”

IDD Therapy works by applying computer-controlled forces at precise angles to gently draw targeted spinal segments apart, relieving pressure on discs and trapped nerves and easing muscles and ligaments.