2 years, 10 doctors & 5 physical therapists later, the only two people who could help me to become almost pain free again is:

1 )Physical Therapist: Dr. Tom Xenakis
located at
Garden State Spine & Pain Institute, LLC.
1806 Route 35 S.• Oakhurst, New Jersey 07755
(732) 660-1113
gardenstatespine.com

Every visit he spends 15-20 minutes of hands on stretching & massage work with you to address your daily issues, as well as periodically changes your excersise regimin to address new & existing problem areas.

Dr. Tom has truly been a miracle worker for me when no-one or no drugs could help me to get better or relieve my pain He did both .
Tell him Theresa the stewardess sent you

2) Also my therapeutic massage therapist has been a huge part of helping me to get relief from my constant pain. Her name is:
Linda Johnson
(732) 539-4768

she works out of Ocean & Leonardo NJ areas of Monmouth county.

She uses many different techniques (including myofacial release and repetitive use injury therapy) to help relax and relieve my pains & aches.
Tell her Theresa the stewardess sent you

The combination of these 2 peoples techniques have made a huge difference in my life, and my pain level went down from a constant 8 to a minimal 2.
I spend about 1-2 hours per day stretching on my own now and doing strength training excersises that they both recommended me to continue, and am hopefully returning to work the end of this month after 2 years of being stuck with way too much pain.
I do not know if I will be able to work yet, but I find much comfort in knowing I have this team of 2 ( who work independantly from each other, and do not know each other) to be on call for me if I need them again for a recurrence or rise in pain level.


Also someone else I would highly recommend seeing is naturopathic consultant: Eric Sauer
851 West Park Ave.
Ocean, NJ 07712
(732) 695-0277
enzymes.com

He is a nutritionist/naturopath/ compounding pharmacist who treats your whole body holisticly with natural supplements, remedys, etc.
He puts the health back in healthcare & spends his days treating the underlying causes of our conditions and not just the symptoms.

Tell him Theresa the stewardess sent you

My hope is that one or all of these people can help you get relief, as they did me. I know how horrible it is to live with pain, and when we find something or someone that helps we must shout it from the roof tops.

That reminds me:
One more tool that continues to help me stay loose in my body is a 45 min stretch for health video from
mrtherapy.com
Michael Young is the creator & massage therapist in Evergreen, Colorado area who also does therapeutic massages for people with conditions such as tos.
It is made for people with conditions such as ours to help our bodies relax and avoid more injury. It also helps with capral tunnel syndrome too.

Here is a link to other massage therapists in the U.S. who use (Repetitive use injury therapy) to help people like us get relief from tos symptoms.
mrtherapy.com/referrals.html

Hi Theresa,
Thanks so much for the information. Maybe we can link it to the helpful info and doc's at the top.
I know I had a PT, Dawn at Pro-rehab here in Wilkes Barre PA area and she was a gem for me. Spent a lot of time and worked neck, shoulders, traps, and back so well. Even could get my right leg to come down by releasing the spasms.

I had my more reent script for PT massage, the team would have me do stretches and then spend about 2 minutes stretching and rub my neck. I was so frustrated, I said no, I can do my stretches at home, I need a full 1/2 hour of nerve glides and rub outs, with at least an effort. So I stopped.

My hot tub is wonderful, as good as a pair of hands and deep penatrating moist heat to relax. A lot of work for it like a built in pool, plus the temp you have to change the water and keep it tested for funkiness.
Thanks for sharing,
Di

Hi Theresa,

What a blessing that you have had such wonderful results and such an amazing reduction in pain! Thank you for sharing your good news and all the great information. Such a positive post gives us all hope and it certainly brightened my day. I'm so happy for you!

Good luck with your plans to return to work. (Please be careful and don't over do it!) Keep us posted

Hugs,
Nolina

Thanks Teresa for the positive comments. I'm glad I could make a difference. I'm no longer affiliated with the garden state spine and pain insitute due to the high volume demands of the clinic. I'm currently practicing independently. Xen physical therapy is located in shrewbury ,NJ at 167 Ave of the Common.
. thanks Tom

Dr Tom, thanks for updating your info, I have been looking for you , as I know a few people looking for a great Physical Therapist. You forgot to add your phone number (732)673-9300.

I can't believe it's been almost 4 years since my injury.
I was able to return to work, but on a much more limited schedule.
I am grateful to still have my job, but I do not really work any longer as I cannot risk re-injuring or aggravating the tos.

I have been doing my daily stretches & nerve glides for the past 2 years, and they really help my body to stay loose & keep the pain levels down.
I have cut out alot of activities that I know will aggravate my tos such as food shopping, cleaning, working out, and I try not to be in the car for 1-2 hours, amongst other necessary changes to my daily living, in order to not aggravate my body.
This seems to really help as well.
Hot baths & showers (extremely hot) also helps when i'm uncomfotable too.

I currently just started to see a Rolfer, and had my first session yesterday. So far so good.

I still see my massage therapist every week or two, and she really helps loosen up my tight neck & shoulder areas, which is extremely helpful in lessening my tight muscles.

Will update you all on how the rolfing goes.

How did the rolfing go?