Testimony of Yanic, owner of the Kinesis Center

Above all, take care of your back.

I had a bout of back pain this year. On December 25, I locked my lower back and had to be immobile for a week. I couldn't move anymore. How it happened? I've no idea. I shoveled a bit outside, everything was going well. I came home and sat down on the couch. That's why I wasn't able to get up. Definitely, shoveling was the last straw!

There were several changes in 2017 that caused an overload of work and stress for me. Obviously, the accumulation of all this led to my downfall which occurred during the Christmas holidays. During this forced rest, I had no choice but to take a break from my usual activities because I was unable to stand or even sit. The advantage was that I was able to catch up on some sleep and watch episodes of my favorite series! It's now been a month since all this happened. I'm doing much better, but I'm still a little fragile.

The two things that have helped me a lot are rest and treatment. On December 28, three days after the accident, I went to see physiotherapy. I was given an anti-inflammatory treatment which allowed me to have more comfort when sitting and lying down. The physiotherapy treatment therefore allowed me to sleep well. On January 2, I went to get osteopathic treatment (because I was supposed to work the next day). I had already canceled my appointments the week before so I had a big day coming up and I could only sit for a short time, not able to stand. The osteo treatment did me a lot of good. Since there was less inflammation, the structures moved much more easily and that allowed me to be able to function, fortunately. Since that time, I have had another physiotherapy treatment, two acupuncture treatments (the acupuncture really helped things along) and another osteotherapy treatment.

I am not a doctor or pharmacist, this is a testimony and does not represent instructions from a health professional. I wanted to share my experience with you because these alternative medicines (physiotherapy, osteo and acupuncture) have really helped me and so many others as well. I also had relief from my medication, muscle relaxers (Robaxacet) and painkillers (Alleve). I'm not a pro-pill person but I see the usefulness and necessity of traditional medicine in some cases, like mine. It allowed me to sleep well and function at work. However, knowing that the sensations are modified when taking this medication, I do not do any excessive sports or movement to avoid further injury. Today, I hardly take any more and I am very close to normality. It took a long time, but the results are there. So the combination of alternative medicine and traditional medicine is very powerful. Be sure to consult your doctor before taking anything.

Since my return to work, the majority of the clients I have treated have come for lower back pain and at the Kinesis Center in general, the majority of clients who come to consult are there for back pain. With my experience, I understand exactly what people go through when they have lower back pain and the advice I give my clients makes even more sense.

Here are some tips to avoid a major episode of back pain.

Sleep is essential, otherwise we do not recover.
Don't let stress build up. Try to have at least one day a week where you can take stress off from work;
Maintain your flexibility and strengthen your body. Try to stretch two to three times a week so that your back structures are not compressed;
Hydrate well since the intervertebral discs are not very vascularized and are nourished by water. For an adult, it is recommended to drink between 1.5 to 2 liters of water per day and this when not doing any physical activity;
If you are going to do an activity (such as shoveling), make sure you warm up well and stretch before and after.
Get treatment regularly. Don't wait until you're in bad shape. Prevention and maintenance are the key to well-being.