Chico von Pohle

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The winter was a long journey with increasing back pain.  It started with a sharp twinge on New Year's Day after a vigorous game of miniature golf!  The pain came and went over the weeks and seemed to spread.  There was muscle tightness across Chico's chest  A couple trips to a chiropractor simply resulted in time that couldn't be regained.


Yes, there was a visit to a primary care physician...no heart issues.  Then the pain spread to Chico's upper back and began to limit his activity and ability to work.  Attempts to stretch out the kinks didn't seem to have any effect.  Unfortunately, over-the-counter pain meds didn't have any impact.  A trip to urgent care included x-rays and the observation of typical age-related degeneration in the spine.


Back to the primary care and a referral for physical therapy.  Even though the physical therapist was knowledgeable and helpful, those exercises didn't seem to do much either.


Then the pain extended to the lower back.  A weekend trip to see the kids turned into a miserable, painful experience which now was resulting in limited mobility.  Walking was becoming a challenge. 



That weekend led to the purchase of a cane, and one more trip to the primary care physician, who recognized that things were now getting desperate.  The physician ordered a full lab workup and an MRI to find the problem.