I received a call from a client I have worked on for years, “Val, my back is in a lot of pain, when can you come see me”? As always, when my clients are in pain, I take that very seriously and I got to him as quickly as I could.

When someone says they have back pain, there are so many varieties of back pain one must be careful about diving in.

Many people have tight hip flexors and glutes and once you work the area you can stretch them and provide relief.

Yet another source of pain can rear its ugly head. The dreaded disc injury.

When my client mentioned pain running down the leg and foot that was unrelenting no matter what…I decided not to stretch him. Besides having great intuition when it comes to massage and stretching, I also have enough experience to know that sometimes things aren’t as simple as they seem. Pain can come from all different parts of our bodies, and if I am not careful, I could end up hurting instead of helping someone. Before I did anything, I did some explorational work. When I lifted his leg and gently moved it, he responded with fear and pain. This signaled me to go no further.

 He planned a Doctor’s visit and some test. As a follow up to our appointment, I called to find out the results. My client had indeed ruptured a disc. This situation will require surgery to clean up the remnants of the disc that are pushing on his spine. I was glad I paid close attention and didn’t cause him more pain than he was already in.

At your service,

Valentina Boonstra