This is an update to my previous review (please check under my username for the first one).
I visited Vladimir for a follow up on 14/1/17.
First things first, I see Vladimir as a thoroughly committed and extremely kind and helpful practitioner, he could accommodate my appointment for the same day inspite of my flight delays making me lose the scheduled one. If I need to rate Vladimir, I would go for 5/5 but then this review is mainly for the AtlasProfilax as a treatment and I shall try to be as objective as possible.
I went for the follow up in Jan, as advised by Vladimir to have a second look at the following symptoms, which emerged/worsened after the first treatment.
After a detailed discussion and physical examination, I was suggested to go for the repeat treatment as it would help alleviate most of the below issues.
For each of the below symptoms, here's the status as on 3rd day post the follow-up treatment. I understand it's too early and I am willing to wait and monitor these closely, would update again if there's any further change observed:
a) Rib cage pressure:
Before the follow-up: Rib cage pain/pressure (6/10), started on 15th Dec'16 after the first treatment. Affects sporadically at night after 3-4 hours of continuous sleep.
After the follow-up: Slept good for the first night, however the symptom resumed, with no change from the second night.
b) TMJ:
Before the follow-up: Left lower jaw pops out, immense jaw pain, daily terrible headaches/migraines near temples, back of left eye, either side of head.
After follow-up: TMJ worsened further. Left lower jaw displaces considerably (instead of just popping), right jaw goes out of alignment leading to teeth grinding and clicking of right jaw. Jaw pain and TMJ related headache revisit after every meal activity. Going for soft foods (rice) to help control the pain/headaches.
c) Immense neck pain and tension near the base of neck
Before the follow up: Head seems to sit forward on shoulders with immense neck pain and stiff muscles around the base of neck connecting to the upper back
After the follow up: The pain seems to be resolved post the follow-up, the head still feels to be sitting forward on the shoulders though. I would give it some time to realign and see whether the pain returns (as the pain initially emerged after about 2 weeks post the first AtlasProfilax treatment)
d) Upper back pain
Before the follow-up: Upper back pains (5/10) after about 2 hours of desk work, probably a result of neck sitting forward on shoulders. This pain emerged after about 2 weeks post first AtlasProfilax treatment.
After the follow-up: No upper back pain for the first two days, however the pain revisits on the 3rd day (holiday with no desk work and just cooking and TV watching) but is still manageable so far (3/10).
e) Right hand goes numb with sporadic tingling
Before the follow-up: Right hand goes numb frequently with sporadic tingling around wrist.
After the follow-up: This has worsened quite a bit which concerns me deeply as it's my active hand and affects my work.Constant pain (6/10) around the elbow joint with associated numbness (3/10) and pain around wrist/fingers (3/10). The pain is constant whether it's at rest or at work.
f) Fatigue, mind fogginess and dizziness:
Before the follow up: Daily experiences of body fatigue and occasional bouts of mind fogginess and dizziness
After the follow-up: No fatigue, mind fogginess and dizziness observed during the first 3 days post follow-up.
g) Muscle soreness and spasming:
Before the follow-up: Post 2 weeks after the first AtlasProfilax, muscles around neck, upper back, thighs and calf started spasming and all muscles tend to be pretty sore and fatigued
After the follow-up: Except for the neck muscles near the skull (where the instrument was used), no muscle soreness or spasming during the first 3 days post follow-up.
h) Right leg numbness/pain:
Before the follow-up: After 5 weeks post the first AtlasProfilax, the right leg first started spasming followed by pain (7/10) and numbness.
After the follow-up: Post dinner on the first day after follow-up, the right leg started spasming leading to persistent pain (6/10) and numbness.
i) Knee calf and hip pain:
Before the follow-up: Frequent pain in knee, calf and hip
After the follow-up: No pain in knee, calf and hip in the first 3 days post follow-up.
g) Neck range of motion:
Before the follow-up: Neck rotated freely on both sides, improved lateral flexion, forward flexion and extension
After the follow-up: Neck rotates freely towards right side but rotation towards left side causes pain in the right chest and shoulder blade. Lateral flexion towards right side is restricted, while the lateral flexion towards left side, forward flexion and extension are the same as earlier.
It's too early to understand whether the follow-up was helpful but as of today, I am mainly concerned with the worsening of symptoms wrt TMJ and right hand pain/numbness. read more