Steve the Golfer
Golf enthusiast Steve thought his playing days were gone for good after being laid low by sciatica.
For nine months, even walking the dog or climbing stairs became a painful challenge – so swinging a golf club was out of the question.
But after a course of specialised treatment at Buxton Osteopathy Clinic, he’s living life to the full again.
“I’ve been to Portugal to play golf, played at home, walked the dog – done all the normal things in life. It’s been fabulous,” says Steve, who runs a financial planning consultancy.
Such a complete recovery had seemed unlikely when he was presented with conventional treatments for the condition, caused by a trapped and bulging disc in his spine.
“It was like having a really bad toothache, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he says. “My GP had given me some painkillers, but they didn’t help. So I had an MRI scan and paid for a private consultation with a back surgeon. He recommended cortisone injections and, if that didn’t work, surgery. I didn’t fancy either.”
Steve did some research and found IDD Therapy, and discovered that treatment was provided by Phil Heler at the Buxton clinic. It was a bit of a trek from home in Stoke-on-Trent, but he could combine appointments with visits to daughter Isobel, a university student at the Devonshire Dome campus.
“Phil checked my MRI scan and said I was suitable for the IDD treatment. I ended up having 21 sessions,” says Steve. “It got better for a while, then I went playing golf and it came back again, so I carried on with the therapy. I had my final treatment on a Saturday, and by the Monday morning the pain had completely gone – and it hasn’t come back.
“Phil had made it clear that there were no guarantees, but IDD Therapy really did work for me,” says Steve. “I was really worried about back surgery because of all the risks, so I’m glad I didn’t have to go through that. The therapy didn’t hurt in the slightest; I’d recommend it to anyone. It isn’t particularly cheap, but it’s worth every penny.”
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.