Return to Spinal Cord Outcomes Section
ST's 2nd MME Experience (200 hours - 340 total)
This time, the machine was positioned above my body in a different order. It was placed above the neck and top of the thoracic spine first (2-2.5 hours) and then moved down to the lumbar and bottom of the thoracic spine (1.5-2 hours). I was on my back for the first half and right side for the second half.
In the first weeks, the top of the spine relaxed and this was very painful. There is spinal stenosis in the neck which causes a great deal of neck and skull pain and probably the myofascial syndrome. And also a whip lash injury and shoulder injury from 1969 which has resulted in shoulder pain and rib cage pain. Again when the tightness in the neck was reduced, the sacrum relaxed and shifted into a better position so sitting is not so painful. I can actually sit on softer chairs for a short time but prefer a hard surface. There is a ruptured disk between my shoulder blades from the car accident in 1969, around T6, which for the first time relaxed, releasing a lot of pressure in the rib cage. This reduced the pull to the buttocks so it is easier to lay on my back. But lying on my back on these contracted muscles causes them to tighten (or the spine) even further which causes a great deal of pain. There is a chain reaction which causes the muscles to tighten up the spine all the way to my head. I can sleep longer periods than I did. I have actually slept during the day and even during treatments. Eventually, the pain wakens me and I have to get up and relax the muscles and spine.
A few times, after the treatments, I felt so relaxed that for the first time, I felt what it might have been like not to have had that car accident. I can move better. I felt 23 years old again. Unfortunately, after a few hours, my spine tightens up again (rebounds). This was very painful, just like during the first session, for anywhere from 4-8 hours after a session.
After about 40 days (totaling 75 days counting the first session), I noticed a change in the pain. The burning, stabbing pain was greatly reduced so a healing had taken place in the nerves/spinal cord/and-or cauda equina. Unfortunately there were also several shifts in the lumbar spine and neck which resulted in causing the pain to return in the buttocks and groin area. Now sometimes both sides of the buttocks are affected including the groin area. A times, the muscles are almost normal and them something causes them to retighten.
This time I noticed a change in my outlook. I had been very discouraged and depressed at the results of the operation 2 years ago. Now, I am not so burned out. This time, I exercised more and actually lost a little weight. I was very weak during the first session and got weaker in those 35 days. This time was better. My myofascial tightening is greatly reduced - it is probably caused by the cervical stenosis, Without the MME, this is already returning.
I had hopes that the MME treatments would help me avoid another operation. Unfortunately there is no cure for spinal stenosis except death or surgery. The treatments definitely helped but I still have spinal stenosis. The treatments may have proved that the cervical spinal stenosis is causing the pain in the rump. Since my spine did relax causing some of the myofascia to release, I now hurt where the problems are instead of everywhere so it is easier to see cause and effect.
I am not the same person that I was before the MME treatments. The treatments restored my health so that I may be able to go through cervical spinal decompression.