Herniated Disk, Severe Neck Pain, Hip Pain, Shoulder Pain
Before coming to Dr. Roth I was told I would have to have spinal surgery due to a herniated disk in my neck. That would involve going through the front of my throat, past my vocal cords, and into my spinal cord. The herniated disk would've been removed and replaced with bone matter that would've been taken from my hip. In addition, I would've had screws to help operate my neck properly to make up for the lack of movement. There was no guarantee given that this would fix the problem. It would've been at least a 2 week recovery time and an expensive, risky surgery. There would've been permanent damage to my spine that, in my opinion, would've have a domino effect on the rest of my vertebrae over time, causing more problems.
This started in January 2016 and continued to get worse until the end of March, when I finally saw Dr. Roth. I was in a lot of pain everyday all the time. I was having trouble sleeping, driving, and just sitting. I started to lose feeling in my thumb and experienced numbness down my right arm. In that time, I was going to physical therapy, getting X Ray's and an MRI to try and figure out what was going on. The physical therapy was making it worse and I was starting to think I would never feel back to normal again. It was very upsetting because I had not had any accidents or traumatic situations to cause this problem - I just woke up with the overwhelming pain one morning.
After being told I would need surgery to hopefully fix the problem, I decided to get one last opinion from Dr. Roth. The orthopedic doctor had told me that a chiropractor wouldn't be able to help but I had to at least try! After reviewing my X Ray's, MRI, and initial exam Dr. Roth assured me that he could help me and that my body would heal with the right adjustments, time, and exercises. After seeing him for just a month 3x a week, I started getting feeling back into my hand and arm! That pain I was experiencing was almost all gone and I could sleep, drive, and move around 100x better than before.
Now that I've been seeing Dr. Roth going on 5 months, I would say my neck is 95% better. The pain and numbness in my hand and arm have never returned and I don't expect it to. I know that as I continue seeing him I will see 100% improvement! Not only is my neck better but I also learned a lot about the importance of taking care of your body, especially your spine. It's connected to everything and have a huge effect on how your body functions. Dr. Roth has also worked on adjusting my hips and shoulder which I didn't even realize were a problem until I felt the difference after adjustments!
I am so glad that I didn't listen to the other doctor and that I was recommended to Dr. Roth. Coming to him has definitely changed my life because I know if I had gone through with surgery I would've had negative effects forever. Dr. Roth is an excellent, trust worthy doctor & person that I would recommend to anyone without hesitation. I am forever grateful for his help!
Elizabeth J.