Book Review: "Talking Back" By Rowland G. Hazard

Chronic and debilitating back pain is no joke!

To suggest we simply stay active, eat right, and meditate it away isn't quite what the doctor ordered.

I'm that patient that has complained of pain for the past 30 years and was told that it was all in her head. I was mocked and told it was 'normal wear and tear' until I took my MRI results to the same 'fresh out of college' physical therapist that staged a new office inside our local YMCA and then walked out.

You see, this young man said he could pull anyone off the street with the same issues I had and that using certain techniques it could minimize the pain. I've been using chiropractic care for a number of years for my severe spinal stenosis and have just turned 48 years young yesterday.

My 43 year old brother had major back surgery because his was affecting not only his sex drive but his bodily functions and gallbladder.

I'll never forget working two weeks straight at our local CEO, reaching into a car trunk to distribute food for the needy using frozen turkeys, and having my legs collapse.

It was then that I said this is enough having a mother who suffered the same issues, having fallen and fractured bones, and having suffered in pain without chiropractic care able to help as she let the pain go for far too long.

My father also suffers from having his legs at uneven balance and gate and therefore much use specialized wedges in his shoes that then cause additional pain as we're a family of walking penguins (if you will pardon the pun) utilizing that side-to-side- swaying as opposed to upward mobility straight up and down walking.

Now, I understand the need to not wish to discuss the nature of the problem and to believe that more mobility, activity, and proper nutrition will be the cure all but I'm here to tell you that while it does help it won't ever absolve the problem in its entirety.

I've had numerous car accidents as a teen, I've had a massive boating accident in which I was flung through the air and landed on my head, wrapped into a tow rope, and was pulled into nearly two pieces resulting in paralysis at that moment in time till I regained the feeling back to my legs in the ambulance.

After 30 years of pain I went straight to the damn source. I picked up the phone disgusted over the monopoly of service here, contact a specialized back surgeon in another town, and made the appointment. That's the only reason I sit here today finally have some of my answers to questions that have alluded me.

Upon attempting to have the MRI it requires one to sit still. Not an easy task when you can't straighten your back on a hard tabletop. My legs both went numb entering this xray machine. I did move slightly as I had to reposition.

The results from worse to gradually minor were: Moderate/Severe left foraminal narrowing and mild right foraminal narrowing in L5-S1.

A broad based disk bulge with a superimposed central component and facet arthropathy contributing to mild canal stenosis in L5-S1.

A broad based disc bulge with a central annular fissure and facet arthropathy contribute to minimal canal stenosis. There is mild bilateral foraminal narrowing in L4-L5.
There's facet arthropathy without significant canal stenosis. Minimal right foraminal narrowing is demonstrated in L3-L4.

I've been refused to undergo major back surgery because of my severe microcytic hypochromic anemia which is too low to perform surgery since 2019.

I've since been treated for anemia but it then resulted in adverse effects like headaches and weight gain and discontinued all treatment at this time because I simply cannot trust doctors to help with a monopoly of players and get rich schemes.

I can attest to the lack of seriousness and the downplaying of the pain on the famous -Rate your pain- scales.

However, this book seems to further downplay those results and continues the blame/shame upon the patient as if they didn't explain it fully or using the write amount of heightened awareness.

I'm so upset that books like this even exist because for those of us who have suffered in silence, as females, as mothers, as women we deserve better than this nonsense.