Lujean


My name is Lujean. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia by Dr. Richard Call, a rheumatologist, in 1986. I was 27 years old and had four young boys to raise. I had also suffered a significant injury in my lower back that year which has continued to bother me for 20 years. During those 20 years I have learned to manage my symptoms quite well, though the chronic pain and fatigue never completely disappeared. I got involved with the Arthritis Foundation and ran Fibromyalgia Support and Self-Help Groups for several years until I eventually went back to school and got a degree in social work. I lowered my level of physical activity and eventually gave up many enjoyable activities with family and friends.

In June of 2005 I traveled by car from Utah to Sacramento and backing a three day period. That trip started a sequence of pain in my shoulder and neck as well as my lower back; particularly the right buttock area. The shoulder pain was resolved with massage therapy, but the neck problem did not improve and the right hip and buttock area continued to escalate to the point of constant pain that started shooting down my right leg.

I was referred by Dr. Call’s office to the Nexus Pain clinic and received testing and steroid injections for diagnosis as well as treatment. An MRI revealed a bulging disc at L5 and S1. The injections failed to provide relief, so Nexus referred me to Dr. Knudsen and the Back Trainer Institute.

After 20 years of doctor visits, tests, therapy, medication, stress management and even surgeries, I was skeptical that any treatment would provide relief and I was afreaid I would have to turn to surgery.

I am very pleased to report that Dr. Knudsen’s treatment has had phenomenal results in an amazingly short period of time. I started to feel significant relief within the first week of treatment. Through Dr. Knudsen’s unique biofeedback system, using real-time ultrasound, I learned to release the muscles I have been using incorrectly and strengthen the deeper core muscles appropriately. I can adjust my muscle tension during car travel as well as in my chair at work to avoid the cycle of pain and muscle tension that would previously plague me, in spite of medications and various treatments.

The ASTYM procedure, using special instruments to break up muscle fibrosis, got rid of layers of muscle knots that had persisted through years of physical therapy.

Dr. Knudsen’s method of teaching specific exercises to isolate and strengthen specific core muscles is easy to understand and remember because he gives each patient a binder with written instructions and a journal to track their own progress and identify patterns of problems or successes.

My experience at the Back Trainer Institute has far exceeded any hopes I had for pain relief and improved daily functioning. My discomfort has been diminished by roughly 95 percent and I no longer have pain shooting down my leg at all. For the first time in years I have been able to participate in sporting activities with my family. Words cannot express how much this means to me!