Solving the Pain Puzzle Case Study: Releasing Tigger
Hopelessness from Mysterious Stabbing Leg Pain & Numbness
Years later, in my clinic, he was seated across from me, telling his story of eight years of sciatic pain. The man who sat in the wrong chair for 30 seconds and was in pain for a week after. His arms were folded across his chest, his monotone voice ended with a drop in pitch, like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, saying “If it is a good morning, which I doubt
Al was a distinguished-looking 67-year-old in very good health, other than the feeling of numbness, offset by frequent stabbing pains, in his right leg. It was bad enough to send him to the emergency room on many occasions. His resigned, hopeless, Eeyore-like manner was the result of innumerable fruitless visits to a host of medical professionals. Cortisone shots to reduce a bulge they’d found in his spinal discs had failed to help him, as did surgery to remove some bone and part a spinal disc. This offered relief for about six weeks. Then his pain returned, never to leave again.
Al struggled on. He had more tests to make sure the nerves exiting his spine weren’t
pinched. They were not. He was eventually told by a doctor….
