Kelly, Sciatica

Walking with a cane is not something you expect to do at the age of 45. Living with constant pain is not something anyone should have to do at any age. Unfortunately, both of these things happen all too often, and people start to feel depressed, lose hope and just don’t know where to turn. Kelly, a local business woman was one of these people. She had been suffering from sciatica for
many years, living with terrible pain in her back, legs and feet. She told us “It had been getting so bad that I knew I was about to face surgery, but that wasn'’t something I could cope with. In May this past year I  had to make a decision. I couldn’t walk or sit without great pain and I could hardly even lie down. The pain went shooting down from my back,
to my legs and even into my toes. I was taking
more than 20 Advil tablets a day.” She then told us. I remembered a newspaper story a client had given me about Let It Heal and the technique they were using there. I ended up calling them. I didn’t know where else to turn. My Dad had to help me get there, and even though I was using a cane to help me walk, I collapsed on the floor when I got into
the clinic because the pain was so bad.”
There was a lot of damage done and Kelly was told it could take 12 treatments to get her back to living pain free. However, after just one treatment Kelly started to feel significant relief from the debilitating pain that had been keeping her from living her life to the fullest. It was then that she started to regain hope of actually living again instead of just dealing
with pain day after day.
The technique used at Let it Heal is called "Bowen Therapy", a type of bodywork which uses gentle movements over the muscles sending messages through the nervous system. These messages help the body to get back to a balanced state and remind the body what it needs to do to heal itself. The treatment can even be done through clothing. Its founder, Tom Bowen, described the technique as a Gift from God”, as he was intuitively able to identify problem areas in the body and simply release the tension. Since his passing, Tom Bowen’'s work has developed into a well-structured series of procedures. It’s surprising that, considering its effectiveness, the Bowen technique is not very well-known. Shannon Burnett, one of Kelly’s therapists at Let it Heal, explains, “Bowen therapy is still very new to this country. It started in Australia in the 1950’s, but has only started growing in Canada within the last few years. Let it Heal brought the technique to the Tri city area 3 years and in that time has
succeeded in treating hundreds of local residents and seeing their pain disappear.”
For most clients, pain starts to decrease within the first treatment or two; and the average client has found that their pain is resolved after 5 or 6 treatments. Since the technique reminds the body to do it’s own repairs, there is usually no need for continued “maintenance” visits. Once a client has returned to a healthy state, their pain is gone and they are able to return to sports or workout programs.
Back pain isn’t the only issue that is treated at Let it Heal. The list of treatable conditions includes such things as migraines, frozen shoulder, knee pain, foot pain, asthma and even infertility. “We see lots of clients with fibromyalgia and arthritis” says Shannon, “the great thing for people who are extremely sensitive is that Bowen is so gentle. We
can work to the client’s comfort level, which is
especially important when dealing with elderly
clients or anyone with fibromyalgia.”
Today Kelly sits comfortably, legs crossed and
smile fixed on her face. She tells us she’s already started golfing and exercising again, although she is careful not to overdo it or push too hard. From time to time Kelly will still feel the twinges of sciatica, but thanks to Let it Heal, it can now be easily controlled but just one or two Advil a day with many days being lived pill-free.