My pain was dominating my life. I tried everything I could to fight my way to the other side of this thing and nothing worked. I was an angry person.
I was sent to the Spine Rehabilitation Program following my on-duty injury on the railroad. I had no idea what to expect. There was a lot of information on the first day. I liked the physical therapy right away. I felt better as I learned to do the exercises the right way and I got stronger. The physical therapists pushed me hard and I tried a lot of new exercises.
But in the end, it was the psychology part of the program where I gained the most for managing my pain. I am an “old school” kind of guy, and I can assure you I was not buying into any part of psychology without questioning the value of it and putting it to the test.
The skills I learned with the psychologist made the program come together for me – I learned to let go of my anger and I am a new person today, a much happier person.
The UI Spine Center really cares about their patients during and after the program. That means a lot to me. To make the program work you need a positive attitude and you need to try everything that they teach you. There is no magic cure out there and you need to push yourself to learn new skills to manage your pain and move forward with your life.
I still follow my program today and I am determined to keep my new routine – I am not pain free, but I have a greatly improved quality of life. I am productive and doing the things that I enjoy again. I am living my life again.
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