Dr. James is an amazing healer.
My problem:
I have a herniated disc and have exhausted pretty much every non-surgical option western medicine offers - steroids, physical therapy, massage, muscle relaxers, facet joint shots, epidurals, selective nerve root blocks, and trigger point injections. While the trigger point injections helped, my back is still weak and susceptible to bouts of extreme pain if I do the wrong thing.
Well, a couple months ago I did the wrong thing. I tried doing some fast yoga that involved no warm up stretching and tweaked my back BAD. It felt like my spine was being compressed in a vice. It was a few days before my birthday, and I had planned a trip to Joshua tree for the upcoming weekend. I was hoping to at least be able to walk around, but couldn't imagine what to do for relief.
Enter Dr. James.
I found Dr. James on yelp and can't say how lucky I feel. We did an initial consult, where I told him what was bothering me, and about my past issues and treatments. He asked me some questions, and I could tell by what he asked that he really knows his stuff. He wrote his dissertation on herniated discs!! I could tell I was in good hands when he told me that. Because I'd had acupuncture before, and because of the upcoming weekend trip I had planned, he did his full treatment routine on me the first time (usually he just does acupuncture the first time to see how his patients handle it).
The treatment:
I've never experienced anything like Dr. James' treatment style before. First, he does the acupuncture. I know some people are scared of needles, but acupuncture needles are thinner than a sewing needle and really aren't a big deal. Just feeling around my back, Dr. James could tell what needed to be done. So he did the acupuncture combined with heat from a lamp. After that he did what I'd compare to a quick sports massage, really digging into the spots that were killing me. I'd been getting massages every week, and Dr. James massaged a spot in my back that my massage therapist sometimes can't even get to! After massaging the tight muscles, he then did an adjustment of my back and ankles.
Conclusion:
It was intense, but I kid you not - by the time he was done my spine didn't hurt!! I couldn't believe it. In all the treatments I've undergone for my unrelenting back pain, this is the only one that has helped me in such a short amount of time and with no negative side effects! He's treated not only my back, but also tight muscles in my entire left leg, from my hamstring to my calf (these no doubt contribute to my back issues).
If I had to do it all over again, I would have gone to Dr. James first. I can confidently say if I'd seen him first, I would have saved a lot of time and money on unnecessary treatments. read more