There are times that the solution to a problem is not one that you would expect. Our bodies speak to us, but unfortunately they don’t use words. They use physical cues like pain, tingling, fatigue, etc. It’s our job to watch for these cues and do our best to deduce what our bodies are trying to tell us, and then reply with a viable solution to the proposed problem.
Since she was 18, Amanda Hedges has been in severe pain. She has had pain in both sides of her hips and no one was able to figure out the cause or provide a solution.
“I ached every day and some days the pain was unbearable,” Hedges said.
Desperate for an answer, Hedges made a decision to go under the knife.
“I decided to have exploratory surgery to see if doctors could find out what was wrong,” Hedges said.
Unfortunately, the results of the surgery revealed nothing, and the pain that was in her hips came together to connect in her lower back. After visits to a few orthopedic surgeons and a rheumatologist that were unsuccessful, Hedges decided to start over completely. That’s when she heard about Dr. Ryan Porterfield.
“My husband had him as a client,” Hedges said. “I heard good things about him.”
So Hedges made her first appointment with Dr. Porterfield, owner of Porterfield Family Chiropractic in Valparaiso. He did a thorough consultation with her, conducting an examination, asking lots of questions, and taking x-rays.
“I’m glad he took the x-rays and did a thorough exam,” Hedges said. “He made me really confident in what he was talking about and he walked me through the whole process. Dr. Porterfield is pleasant to talk to and it’s been a great experience."
What Dr. Porterfield found was that Hedge’s spine was not correctly aligned with her hips and her pelvis was not aligned evenly. Hip misalignment can be caused by injury or abnormalities in the surrounding muscles, tendons, or ligaments. This misalignment can pull the pelvis out of position.
Dr. Porterfield started Hedges on weekly appointments and after only a month of therapy she began to notice results.
“I have been seeing Dr. Porterfield for about a year now. It’s taken some time but I feel much better,” Hedges said. “I still experience pain here and there, but it is much less frequent.”
If you are having problems that don’t seem to improve with surgery or pills, or you haven’t tried that route yet and you want to avoid it, perhaps you should try a chiropractor. Give Porterfield Family Chiropractic a call and find out if chiropractic care is right for you.
*Please note that the author is not a doctor, and before you try anything new and different with your health you should consult a real doctor.