I repeatedly asked my physiotherapist to treat my leg, but he refused, telling me my back was causing issues in my leg, not the other way around.

I continued to get worse. Then my MRI results came in. It showed re-herniation of the L5 disc, right side. I had to see a surgeon. I told my doctor that I wasn’t having another back surgery. He tried to comfort me by explaining how good surgeons are today and how they don’t have to open me up like last time. I didn’t care. I wasn’t having more back surgery!

He referred me to chiropractor Dr. Rebecca Henry. “If she can fix me, she can fix you,” he said. My doctor is the smartest man I know, so I left his office, fired my physiotherapist and went to Dr. Henry’s office to book an appointment.

From the very first session, things began to change. When I tell people that, they don’t believe me, but it’s true! After the initial assessment, she went to work on my right hamstring (the back of my leg) with her hands. Over the next several months, three times a week, she used different muscle-release techniques on both the front and back of my leg.

Later, we moved on to the Graston Technique, another way to help stimulate muscle healing, and lately to a laser for deep-tissue healing in areas I still won’t let her treat by hand. I remember asking her later on what made her treat my leg when everyone else assumed all my symptoms were back- and disc-related.

She said, “Because you said so, so what would it hurt?” Dr. Henry also gave me homework from the very first session: those dreadful transverse activation (deep core) exercises. Again I had a flashback. I was given those exercises right after both my back surgeries to help with recovery. I do those exercises every day without fail. I am determined to spend the rest of my life getting better.

Want to learn more? Visit me at www.felycefitness.ca.