Donella's Story - Low Back Pain Journey
“Working in healthcare opened my eyes to how people destroy their own retirement by not taking care of themselves. My goal has always been health first so I can live my best life as I age. Align has made my life better and easier with more strength and flexibility.”
Before Align
“Before Align, I had regular low back pain. The pain started during a vacation where hotel parking was extremely tight and I heard a pop while getting out of my car. I could barely walk to the health clinic the next day for pain medication."
"It became bad enough I chose to do physical therapy and then a steroid injection in 2005. The pain was definitely affecting my enjoyment of golf and other activities. My body was not limber and I always failed the flexibility part of my work health check ups.”
Making A Change
“Each time I played golf, my body was so tight and in pain. I love being active outdoors and I didn’t want to be stuck at home doing very little. I had exercised and worked out my whole life, so didn’t really know what else to do. I felt physical therapy wasn’t that helpful. I started doing weights to work on my core which helped a lot and let me be active again.”
What Do You Love About Align?
“I like the small group atmosphere and being coached to do everything properly. I really enjoy having Jaylee tell me what to do and I like being pushed to max out the workout. I have been most surprised at how much we work on eccentric movements and areas that I never focused on while at another gym with or without a trainer. I am much more flexible and pain free. I also have knowledge on what to do on my own when issues show up.”
From The Coach
Coach Jaylee: “Donella came to Align after her friend, Nancy, who is also an Align client, encouraged her to seek help with her low back pain. Donella walked in with a disc bulge at L4-L5, however her disc bulge was not the root cause of her pain. Donella had a twisted and unstable SI joint (this is where your hips connect to your spine)."
"When this joint is rotated or out of alignment, it puts a ton of unneeded load into the low back. When the low back has to go through daily movements with extra load, it gets very angry. This is why golfing and daily activities were painful for Donella. It wasn’t her back’s fault. We needed to address the root cause.”
“We started by realigning Donella’s SI joint, improving the flexibility of her hips, and most importantly increasing her strength areas in the weakest stabilizing muscles first, and then strengthening her entire musculoskeletal system. Donella is a wonderful example of fixing the problem and staying strong before her pain turned chronic and life altering."
"A lot of people live on rotated and unstable SI joints for years. This leads to one problem turning into multiple problems. Donella sought help to fix the root problem before it became a larger issue. She is strong and can golf, hike, and bike without pain. She can enjoy her retirement knowing she’s strong enough to handle whatever comes at her.”
