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DISC DISEASE and BACK PAIN
MME
for Men who are Big Bears - RH
MME following
one-to-many hard landings - WE
MME for Disc
Disease in Men who have Heart Disease - DD
MME for
Persistent Back Pain with Multiple Causes - SR
MME for Recurrent
Cervical Disc Disease - KR
Low
Back Pain and Musculoskeletal Disease All Over - BR
Disc Disease and Vascular Claudication - an MME Two for One - MB
MME for Men who are Big Bears - RH
RH is a big bear of a man, but he has a heart of gold, and in his wife's hands
he's a teddy bear. They are crazy over each other and we love them both as
patients. RH has been under my care for hypertension and risk factor
control since 12/99. Cardiac-wise things have been going well, but over
the past five years this previously active 72 year-old has been troubled by back
pain, initially intermittent, and now constant. RH rated his pain as a 10
on a 1 to 10 scale. His gait was affected. RH could not walk
upright, straight, and rapidly; he moved slowly in what his wife described as a
"waddling" fashion. RH's MRI study revealed bulging discs at L3-4 through
L5-S1, with resultant compression of the spine at these levels, and of the
spinal nerves at L4-L5. RH was not enthusiastic about spinal decompression
surgery, and chose MME instead.
RH had been sleeping on a 10 Gauss negative field sleep pad; we think that the
sleep pad loosens up the muscles of the low back. RH then received 305
hours of MME to his low back over a four week period. By 200 hours RH's
back pain was down to a 1; post-MME his pain is gone. RH can now walk
upright and briskly, and his gait has improved. Over the first 4 weeks
post-MME RH minimized activity that might strain his back (to give the disc
repair a chance to set in - we recommend that all back
pain/orthopedic/musculoskeletal patients lay low for 4 weeks post-MME), and then
returned to his prior activity level. Actually, that's not entirely true -
RH felt so well that he resumed activities that he had not been able to carry
out for 10 years, including driving a tractor and pumping oil out of the ground.
One year later RH's gain has been maintained.
MME following one-to-many
hard landings - WE
Landing a helicopter strains the low back; consequently back pain and
disc disease are not uncommon in pilots. WE piloted helicopters for 23
years, initially in the military and later in commercial aviation. Back
pain and stiffness became an issue several years ago; symptoms progressed
despite use of a back brace while flying and the use of a back brace. WE
had to retire two years ago - he couldn't even climb in and out of the cockpit.
Bending at the waist was a chore - he would sign documents with his wrist, still
standing straight up, as
WE received 150 hours of MME over 15 days, each session preceded by 30 minutes
of Magna Charge (pulsed magnetic field) therapy. Pain improved from
a 5 on a 1-10 scale down to a 2-3. He can bend to 45 degrees without
difficulty. All of us were pleased with WE's response.
ME for Disc Disease in Men who have Heart Disease - DD
DD has a twenty year history of coronary disease, with a heart attack in '85 and
bypass surgery in '90 and again in '92. Catheterization in 1/06
demonstrated extensive coronary disease with two open and two closed bypass
conduits. When we met in 3/06 DD was experiencing angina at rest, several
times a day, despite an extensive medical regimen. Our usual nutritional
measures were added to DD's program and DD received 35 hours of EECP.
Chest pain has all but resolved and we have been able to cut back a little on
DD's medications.
DD has also been troubled by chronic back pain, and now that he was able to do
more, heart wise, he began to experience more discomfort, back wise. As
DD's heart pain had responded well to the "EECP gadget", we decided to address
his back pain with my new "MME gadget". DD's MRI demonstrated spinal cord
impingement on the basis of bulging discs at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels.
DD received 140 hours of MME to his low back and now his low back pain has all
but resolved. DD rates his back pain as 80% improved. We like 80%
improvement, especially 80% improvement without the need for high risk surgery
in a cardiac patient.
MME for
Persistent Back Pain with Multiple Causes - SR
SR has many causes for low back and pelvic pain, and she sure had a lot of pain.
SR had fractured two bones in her pelvis in a fall, and while this region
lit up on her bone scan, the fractures were felt to have healed properly.
Breast cancer had metastasized to both hips, but the lesions were stable
following radiation. SR, at age 84, was troubled by osteoporosis, and she
had sustained compression fractures within her lumbar spine. The primary
cause of her current pain, however, was felt to be spinal nerve compression on
the basis of degenerative disc disease. Surgery was not an option; SR's
poor overall health (prior heart attack and leaky mitral valve) would not permit
it. She was on a full complement of pain medications (Percocette,
Duragesic patch, Neurontin, and Celebrex). SR had undergone a series of
epidural steroid injections, but severe pain continued.
SR's pain was minimal when lying down, worse when sitting up, and intolerable
when upright. Transferring from bed to wheelchair was a difficult, painful
experience. SR received 200 hours of MME over a 6 week period.
Post-MME, pain is minimal when lying down, and her tolerance for sitting up in a
chair has increased from 5" to 30", and she is a little more independent.
We were both disappointed that SR didn't get more out of MME. In case
muscle spasm is playing a role, SR will begin sleeping on a Magnetic negative
field only sleep pad. In SR's own words - "It was a pleasant place to be.
The staff were very nice. The pain has not decreased, however I can move
around a little better. I am now able to complete ADLs (activity of daily
living) independently (required assist with socks/shoes/pants prior)."
MME for Recurrent
Cervical Disc Disease - KR
KR and her husband are under my care for cardiovascular disease - KR for
symptoms on the basis of mitral valve prolapse, and her husband for inoperable
coronary disease. Both are doing well. I often see them walking at
Wildwood Metropark when I am out running. Things have not gone so well
with respect to KR's cervical disc disease. Headache, neck and shoulder
pain, and right upper extremity pain and numbness were a constant, compromising
her enjoyment of life and making sleep difficult. KR's symptoms began 25
years ago, following a motor vehicle accident, progressing slowly to the point
where surgery at the C5-C6 level (microdiscectomy) was required in '95.
Symptoms recurred, and a program of ice packs, physical therapy, and
prolotherapy provided valuable, but incomplete, relief in '03-'04. KR's
MRI described obliteration of the disc space between C5 and C6, disc bulging at
C2-C3, C3-C4 disc bulging extending into the right neuraminal foramen (such that
the nerves leaving the spinal cord at this level could be pinched), and similar
bulging at C4-C5, this time extending into the left foramen. Disc bulging
at C6-C7 extended into both the right and left foramens. KR's neck was
basically a mess. Her pain was severe and all available therapies had been
tried. She also had less intense, more arthritic pain over her low back
and knees.
KR received 129 hours of MME, directed to her cervical spine, over 32 days, in
the fall of '06. She also wore the Joint Bioresonance patch during her 32
day MME program. Early on KR felt poorly during treatment, probably
related to mobilization of Mercury from her head and neck (she has Mercury
amalgam filling). Oral DMSA was used as a metal binder and KR's treatment
related malaise resolved rapidly. KR did experience some muscle spasm type
pain while lying supine beneath the machine, but with frequent repositioning
this also resolved.
Post-MME KR is feeling better. Headache and neck pain have lessened
considerably. Arm pain and numbness is less of an issue. KR also
feels that low back and knee pain have improved (probably related to the Joint
Bioresonance patch). Mitral valve prolapse symptoms have also lessened
(there was some scatter of the static magnetic field to KR's heart).
Overall KR estimates that she is 35-50% better. One year out from
treatment KR's gain with MME has been maintained; actually she is doing a little
better now than immediately post-MME. We hope that this continues.
Low Back Pain
with Musculoskeletal Disease All Over - BR
BR is a wonderful man with a not-so-wonderful musculoskeletal system.
Right knee replacement was required in '95; the left knee one year later.
A second right knee joint replacement procedure was carried out in '03.
Symptomatic disc disease became a problem in late '04. Cervical disc
disease produced arm pain and weakness; regular chiropractic care helped but
never fully resolved the pain. A right sided rotator cuff problem was also
present. Lumbar disc disease was associated with low back and bilateral
buttock pain, radiating down the posterior thighs to produce sciatica.
Three epidural injections into the lumbar spine had no effect. Pain meds
were poorly tolerated; ibuprofen causes hives. Percocette 325/5 every
eight hours produced sweating and sometimes mild disorientation but was
necessary for pain control. Low back pain was BR's worst problem so we
took aim at it with MME. BR's MRI demonstrated mild disc bulging at L1-L2,
extending into the neuraminal foramen. Moderate disc bulging with
foraminal involvement was seen at L4-L5 and at L5-S1.
BR received 150 hours of MME to his low back over 23 days. Treating BR was
difficult. Lying supine to receive MME to the low back MME greatly
aggravated BR's neck pain. We repositioned BR's neck and shoulders with
foam pillows and this helped a little. What helped a lot more was the
application of Blue Balm to BR's neck and shoulders. BR was able to
complete 150 hours of MME to his low back. We followed this with a series
of IV Colchicine treatments (Colchicine is an anti-inflammatory agent typically
administered orally in the treatment of gout. Given IV, colchicine loads
up into circulating white blood cells, and then slowly leaches out, helping with
disc inflammation).
With the above measures, BR felt that his low back and sciatica pain lessened by
30-40%. His cervical spine and shoulder symptoms were unchanged, but these
regions were not treated with MME. We could try this in the future if BR
wishes.
Disc Disease and Vascular Claudication - an MME Two for One - MB
MB presented ten years ago with chest pain, an abnormal stress study, and
flow restrictive two vessel coronary disease. I applied my then best
therapies and today MB is angina free and her 3/06 9:00 stress echo study
returned normal. Low back pain has been an issue for several decades, and
recently MB become troubled with effort related leg cramping on the basis of
lower extremity vascular disease. Both symptoms have resolved, because I
was able to treat MB with my current best therapy - MME.
MB has an untreatable lipid abnormality, I believe on the basis of heavy metal
overload and chronic infection. Her cholesterol has ranged between 400 and
450 mg/dl, and every drug that we tried (and we did try every drug) made her
sick (probably because her cholesterol was high for a purpose, to help with
reverse transport of fat soluble heavy metals and/or to bind to bacterial cell
wall toxins and/or to serve an an antioxidant). MB was initially treated
with IV MgEDTA chelation therapy; with this her angina improved considerably.
When IV access became difficult we switched MB to the NanobacEDTA approach.
MB's amalgam fillings were removed and she has received oral DMSA chelation for
Mercury. Over the past few years, MB has become intolerant to chemical
chelation, but she has tolerated oral Zeolite chelation quite well. MB
must be one of the most metal overloaded patients in my practice - just look at
the metals recovered from a post-DMPS & EDTA urine sample. 
Chronic
inflammation from chronic infection has also been an issue. Recurrent
dental infection led to complete tooth extraction, and with this MB's overall
health improved. Lyme disease was noted by QRib and medical bioresonance
testing; therapy with sliver protein and medical bioresonance therapy improved
her overall health and sense of well being. Few drugs have been employed
as MB has displayed a limited tolerance to pharmacologic intervention (not
unusual in metal overloaded patients). She has followed an extensive
nutritional support program and benefited from thyroid hormone supplementation.
With these measures MB has remained angina free, she hasn't set foot in the
hospital in over 10 years, and her most recent stress echo study looked great.
Forty years ago, MB sustained back trauma in a motor vehicle accident. Her
spine was not damaged, but body cast stabilization was required for a period of
time. Upper back spinal fusion surgery was carried out three years later,
using a bone graft harvested from her left hip. Low back pain has been
present ever since. It troubles MB when she walks, it troubles her when
she sleeps, and overall she rates it a 6 a 1 to 10 scale. Her MRI shows
changes related to her prior surgery. Definite disc disease was not
identified over MB's low back, but her symptoms were consistent with nerve root
compression. Effort related leg discomfort developed one year ago.
With walking at the mall MB would experience discomfort over the front of her
right leg, which then traveled to the back of her right calf, and from there up
to the back of her upper hip. A non-invasive vascular study suggested
impaired flow into the right leg, and on exam the several of the pulses in her
right lower extremity were damped. It didn't make sense to me that
vascular disease had developed in MB's leg while vascular disease in her
coronary arteries remained improved over 10 years, but that appeared to be the
case.
MB was not interested in vascular reconstructive surgery and further back
surgery made little sense. We instead treated MB with 140 hours of MME,
directed over her low back and pelvic region (covering the area where we felt
the artery supplying her right leg was narrowed). MB tolerated MME well
and her pain rapidly improved. She can now walk as she wishes, shop as she
likes, and all these pains are gone - she now rates her pain as a 0 on the 1-10
scale. On exam her feet remain warm and her lower extremity pulses are now
nearly symmetric.
I feel that MB's symptoms were due to the combination of vascular insufficiency
and nerve compression in her low back. We've seen what MME does for my
patients with chronic coronary insufficiency, so it shouldn't surprise us that
MB's lower extremity vascular symptoms improved. We've seen what MME does
in disc disease, so it shouldn't surprise us the the sciatica-like component of
her pain also improved. I think it's nifty that we could address both
problems with one treatment, a treatment that works at the fundamental,
molecular level of health, to obtain such a good response for MB.
AMRI of NW Ohio provides MME treatment under
the guidelines of an Investigational Review Board, consistent with FDA
regulations.
Please note that MME treatment is considered to be
experimental by the FDA. Although many patients have improved, no
guarantee of success is implied.