Kenny, a professional footballer, suffered back pain and sciatica during a match in early 2016. He was told by specialists to stop playing football and that he needed surgery to fix the problem. A friend recommended that he should go to The Physiotherapy Place to see Niall and try physio first. After receiving treatment, Kenny is now back playing football and has completely avoided surgery. Here is the story in his own words.
I developed an intense lower back pain whilst playing football in May 2016, which then began shooting down the back of my leg into my foot. I had to stop immediately and my club sent me to see an orthopaedic specialist who ordered an MRI. This revealed that there was a prolapsed disc in my lower back that was pressing on my sciatic nerve.
The specialist recommended surgery to resolve the problem but neither my myself nor my club could finance such a procedure so I ended up resting completely, hoping that the problem would resolve by itself.
After 6 months of rest from all activity the pain in my back and leg was still as bad as ever. I couldn’t bend forward without intense pain or sit for any length of time without the nerve being aggravated. That was when a friend recommended that I see Niall as he had previously had the same symptoms as me that Niall had successfully treated and hadn’t had any issues since.
The first time I saw Niall he diagnosed the problem, explained the treatment plan and began treatment straight away. He used IMS initially to settle the nerve pain down and I noticed an immediate improvement in my symptoms and my movement. After 6 sessions I was completely pain-free and could bend forward and touch my toes without any issues.
Niall then guided me through a specific exercise program to strengthen my lower back so that it could cope with starting to run again and eventually get back into football training. Throughout this process I didn’t suffer any relapses of my back pain and am happy to say that I am back playing football again symptom-free.
Niall is currently the only person in Scotland who is trained in Gunn IMS - a treatment technique that was developed specifically for chronic back pain and nerve pain. It is particularly effective at treating problems that aren’t responding to other forms of treatment and people are now travelling from around the country to get treated by Niall. It doesn’t matter if you are a professional footballer or a 60 year old gardener, Gunn IMS is the best way to deal with the pain you have.
Click here to book a Physio appointment with Niall, or if you would like some free advice to help with your pain or injury, or if you’d like to just chat through the problem to find out if Physiotherapy is the right approach for you, arrange your FREE 15 minute telephone consultation with one of our expert Physios.
FREE Physio E-Book - 8 Top Tips for Sciatica
One of the most common issues that we see in the clinic is lower back pain and sciatica. Some who seek help from their GP will be prescribed rest and painkillers, but most of the time this will not solve the problem. Our FREE e-book will help you to:
Treat lower back pain and sciatica without painkillers
Reduce disc pain and sciatic nerve pain
Stretch your back and hips safely and effectively
Make small changes in your life to ease and support your back
Prevent future sciatica flare-ups
Even if you’ve suffered for months or years and thought nothing could be done, our tips will help you to settle your sciatica and teach you how to maintain healthy back and hips once and for all.