“I felt like I was one of those people living an independent life. I worked hard and did a very physical job. An array of hobbies kept me reasonably fit. I can say I didn’t have the most nutritional diet, but then again, I didn’t think it was that bad. I had my own house. I had a great girlfriend. But, all of a sudden, I injured my back and my world changed. I picked up a box, turned slightly and inevitably strained my lower back. This led to two years of incorrect posture alignment that put more pressure on my muscles and spine. This continually worsened the problem which led to chronic sciatic pain and muscle spasms. Like many people I didn’t think to treat the problem until the pain became unbearable. In the later part of my 20s I felt like I tumbled from a healthy, strong 6 ft 5 active male to a crippled individual who suffered from bouts of depression due to the excruciating pain I often awoke to. I had to sometimes walk without using force on my right heal. I had to turn down awesome job offers which could have opened many doors to many different opportunities. I lost my fitness, my strength, my confidence and inevitably my job, my girlfriend and my house. My back injury led to some of the worst years of my life.
At its worst, my injured back caused me to have 8 months off work and numerous visits to the doctors. I ended up on Tramadol and Oramorph which are both very strong pain killers. I self-funded a course of Chiropractic treatments costing over £1000. I also went for Physiotherapy treatment every 2 weeks. I had tried 3 different Physiotherapists and also used the NHS for a short while in the hope to find the best care I could possibly receive so I could get back to work and lead a normal life once again. As you can imagine I was very stressed; I was spiralling into debt as I couldn’t work, but still paying for treatments to find a solution to my health, alongside my mortgage. I was soon to lose my house which I had owned for 10 years. Times were bad. Rock bottom.
I had a bad back for 2½ years. The chiropractic treatment felt like it had no benefit; I would say 1 in 3 times the physio eased the pain for a few days. I had an MRI scan on my lower back and there was nothing structurally wrong. Which was good news. But at the time I was so confused as to what was really wrong.
After what seemed like a life time trying to find helpful treatments, I had given up and accepted that I would just have to live with a bad back. ‘I could just settle for the painkillers masking the discomfort, right? I can just accept lesser paid, less strenuous jobs, right?’ I almost learnt how to be falsely happy as I’m sure 1000s of other people do when they suffer life stresses, and in my case, a knackered back.
I bumped into an old friend, someone who I used to work with. We exchanged stories of our bad backs. We had both tried countless solutions. However, his back was vastly improved after working with Evan, Gym Instructor and Back Specialist who had trained him to full recovery.
I’m not going to lie, I felt I had exhausted all angles of finding a solution to gain full fitness and I was pessimistic about meeting with Evan. But I decided I had nothing to lose, so went to see if Evan could help.
My first impressions of Evan was that he was a completely professional, knowledgeable and approachable advisor. Evan listened carefully to how I obtained my injury and after a full consultation and analysing my back he explained how I had been compensating my injured muscles with poor posture. He explained he would help me by aiding my spine alignment and mobility. Evan spoke with confidence, and pointed out some keys facts about my lifestyle and posture that he suggested I change gradually. He advised a complete plan that he altered as my posture and core strength improved. I can tell you first hand, Evan’s plan simply changed my life. Now this may sound naive of me but I always thought people went to the gym to gain muscle and improve stamina. I was surprised how many other people were just like me, who went to the gym to try and sort a bad injury.
My first session with Evan consisted mainly of light stretches, spine mobility and some core work. I was not only shown what exercises to do, but educated on what each exercise or mobility movement was for and why we do them. Once Evan was happy I was doing the routine correctly, I followed a back care programme which consisted of the same routine 4 days a week for a 6 week time period. When I started these exercises, it was very uncomfortable and I did doubt whether I was going to do more injury to myself. However after 4 weeks I did notice I had become more flexible and Evan reassured me that this was normal and reminded me that full recovery wouldn’t happen overnight. After 3½ months, I simply couldn’t believe it. I could now turn over in bed and had was regaining confidence in my life. I was coming out of depression, which was caused primarily because of the back problem in the first place. It was truly amazing. I felt stronger and began to regain confidence in all aspects of my life. Evan then introduced a nutritional diet plan which I’m sure was also an aid to gaining full fitness. Evan was always there to help me and constantly emitted positive vibes.
It’s now 2 years on since my first session with Evan. I feel great. I’m a fit young human being, my back is superb. I am so grateful I came across Evan because I really don’t know what I would be doing today. I have now moved to Cornwall, I cycle, surf, have a physical job again and I am once again enjoying my life. Out of all the treatments and money I have spent on my lower back, out of all the Doctor visits, Chiropractor clinics ,Physiotherapists sessions and Sports massage relieve I have experienced I can honestly say nothing was better than the back care programme that I received from Evan. I still practice the last daily mobility routine that Evan set me as part of my maintenance programme. I personally believe that if you are prepared to take on board Evan’s advice, put your trust into his expertise and put in the time at the gym, you could once again lead a happy and fulfilled life. It was a great programme and Evan gave brilliant, one-to-one, individual advice. I now feel educated on how my body works and more in-tune with myself. I am eternally thankful to Evan for helping me solve an injury and indirectly help me get my personal life back on track.
I share this story with you in the hope that if you do ever suffer a back injury you know there are solutions. Don’t give up. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”