Dear Gokhale Method Team, how are you guys? I hope everything is very well.
My name is Christian Declercq, I am 39 years old, I am a photographer and I am currently residing in Lima, Peru.
A year ago, severe discomfort began in my left sciatic nerve, due to a ruptured of a herniated disc (L5-S1) and intense pain led me to undergo to back surgery, specifically an L5-S1 micro discectomy. I took great care of my back with Redcord Neurac Therapy and Pilates, all year long I was doing very well, doing sports, mountain biking and soccer, with a couple of episodes of pain caused because of carry a lot of weight (my child and a heavy backpack)
And now in my annual checkup, my resonance shows that the disk (L5-S1) is broken again. Although I do not have the same pain, it bothers me a lot and limits me in many movements. Also every time I stand up from being sited or lying down, I feel like the vertebra or something returns in place with an internal sound.
The neurosurgeon tells me now that he has to put a disc prosthesis and two titanium screws to fix my vertebra to my sacrum. So, something tells me that that is not the right way, i don´t want to continue manipulating my body, that is why I am very interested in your opinion. What happens to that disc now, I can recover it naturally? Is possible to recover the lost space between those vertebras? I really interested to learn the Gokhale Method.
Waiting for your answer
Sorry for my bad English, is quite rusty. :)
Cheers
18 hours 41 min ago
09/05/2014 - 6:51am
Hello Christian – This is a big decision you are facing. You may want to look at www.healthoutcomes.org, where there are a variety of reports from people on which approaches helped them. Many people with pain caused by disc and vertebrae conditions report at least some degree of improvement with postural modification. Some report very good results with the Gokhale Method in particular.
If there is no urgency in scheduling the surgery, you could take the Gokhale Method Foundations Course and see what happens as you incorporate healthier posture into your everyday activities. If you got enough relief to decide you don’t need the fusion surgery, that would be a great outcome. Many of our students have had this experience. And if you do have the surgery, you may find that continuing to use what you learn in the course keeps you feeling strong and prevents future problems.
Esther Gokhale's book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, is a good way to start to learn about the method. Feel free to write again if you have more questions.
Doreen Giles
Gokhale Method Teacher