My mom's been complaining about her back for as long as I can remember. I just thought it was one of those things that happened to people when they got old (I was a kid at the time; my mom was 37, and that was of course, ancient).
^ Me and Dr. Kirschner in studio. No, he's not balancing a speaker on his head. ^
And yet, I've been gleefully without back pain...until recently. I'm just about my mom's back-pain age, and it's a little scary to me. I've always taken care to address these issues at the get go, and so I know to hop onto care right away and make sure I"m doing what I can to keep it from ruling my life. And I am. But that sensation you get when you go to reach for your own shoes and it takes extra effort, or when standing up is like unfolding a rusty lawn chair--well, you get the picture.
Which is why I am glad to know someone like
Dr. Andrew Kirschner, an osteopathic physician based in PA, whom I had
on my radio show recently. Dr. K says that people tend to just decide they have a bad back, and that that's what they have to live with. Not so. And the answer isn't just numbing your pain into oblivion.
Dr. K both treats patients AND educates them to proactively seek relief through lifestyle changes, and he's got a practical, real-world approach that I find appealing. The man also admits he sleeps on a
tatami mat, which I chided him about. Really? A tatami mat? I just thought, his poor wife. Wouldn't trade my pillow top for the world.
The lesson? Don't overidentify with your bad back. There are far more interesting things you and I both should be known for.
Terri Trespicio
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