Patient Case Studies

Patient Information: A male patient with a physically demanding job as a munition’s tester for the military. His work involved carrying heavy equipment and managing the recoil from weapons testing daily. 

Symptoms: He came in unable to stand up straight, hunched over in severe pain. He could not sleep, could barely move, and had weakness and muscle loss in both legs. He had already tried physical therapy, his primary doctor, and acupuncture with no improvement, and was skeptical that anything would help. 

Diagnosis: An MRI showed three-disc protrusions in his lower back. The largest was 9mm at L5, with two additional protrusions at 6mm and 7mm. Discs over 6 to 7mm are typically referred for surgery. The disc pressure was cutting off nerve signals to his legs, causing the muscle weakness and loss. 

Treatment: A 2.5-month treatment plan consisting of spinal decompression, shockwave therapy, massage therapy, and chiropractic adjustments. He was also educated on proper posture and ergonomics for his job. 

Outcome: He completed treatment with zero pain. He stood fully upright, slept normally, and regained complete function in both legs. Muscle tone returned and continued to improve as he was able to exercise again. He lost 20 pounds after treatment because he could finally move without pain. He started a maintenance plan and changed his work ergonomics to prevent re-injury.

Patient Information: A 26-year-old first-time mother developed low back pain a year after giving birth.

Symptoms: She came in with sharp, debilitating lower back pain that stopped her from sleeping, exercising, or performing basic daily movements. Any activity increased her pain. 

Diagnosis: The evaluation found instability in her lower back, where the spine was shifting out of position. Pregnancy and childbirth had weakened the core muscles that support the spine, causing instability and pain. 

Treatment: Chiropractic adjustments combined with massage therapy, muscle work, and targeted core strengthening exercises to stabilize the spine and correct the imbalances caused by pregnancy. 

Outcome: Her spine returned to a stable, correct position. Pain resolved completely. She was able to move freely, exercise, and take care of her child without limitations. 

Patient Information: A male patient who came in after already getting an MRI from his medical doctor, who had not offered any treatment.

Symptoms: He could not stand upright due to severe pain. He had little confidence that anything would help, having already tried multiple providers with no results. 

Diagnosis: His MRI showed a disc herniation of approximately 8.5 to 9mm. Anything over 7mm is generally considered a surgical case, and many providers would not treat a disc injury of that severity.

Treatment: A full diagnostic evaluation, including orthopedic and neurological exams, X-rays, and a review of his MRI. Treatment included chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and spinal decompression over approximately two to two-and-a-half months.

Outcome: A follow-up MRI after treatment showed the disc herniation had reduced to 1 to 2mm. He could stand fully upright, move without pain, and had full mobility with no further damage.

Patient Information: A female patient who worked at a computer for up to 12 hours a day, sitting on a hard surface. She had little awareness of how her posture was affecting her body.

Symptoms: She came in with nerve pain running down her left leg, so severe that her hamstring would spasm (contract) unpredictably. The muscle had visibly shrunk compared to her other leg, and she was walking differently because of the weakness.

Diagnosis: Prolonged pressure on the sciatic nerve from poor sitting posture and a misaligned pelvis. The nerve damage had progressed to the point where the surrounding muscle had begun to atrophy.

Treatment: Chiropractic adjustments to correct the spine and pelvis, massage therapy to address the surrounding muscles, and shockwave therapy directed at the source of nerve compression to stimulate healing of the damaged nerve tissue. She was also educated on proper sitting posture and ergonomics to prevent recurrence.

Outcome: Muscle tone in her leg returned to normal, sensation came back, and the pain was fully resolved. She understood what had caused the problem and how to prevent it going forward.

Patient Information: A 27-year-old male patient with a physically demanding job.

Symptoms: He came in with neck and lower back pain after being rear-ended on the freeway. He had numbness and tingling in his right arm and right leg. He presented with early muscle atrophy and was gradually losing muscle function due to nerve damage from the injury. 

Diagnosis: The collision caused changes to the alignment of his spine and pressure on the nerves in his neck and lower back. An MRI was ordered to assess the damage, which confirmed the nerve compression and the risk of permanent damage if left untreated.

Treatments: Performed spinal decompression therapy targeting both the neck and lower back, combined with chiropractic adjustments to correct the spinal alignment. 

Outcome: All symptoms were resolved. The nerve damage was stopped from progressing further, and he regained full function in his arm and leg. 

Patient Information: A male patient presented who was involved in a car accident.

Symptoms: After the accident, he developed severe headaches with visual disturbances, nausea, sensitivity to light, and ringing in the ears. The headaches were debilitating and persistent. 

Diagnosis: The car accident had altered the natural curve of his neck, which was causing pressure on the nerves and muscles at the base of the skull, triggering migraine-like symptoms. 

Treatments: Treatment focused on correcting the neck curvature through chiropractic care and ensuring the spine was properly aligned. We managed inflammation with our traction table. We also performed soft-tissue work on the neck muscles to reduce tension and inflammation. 

Outcome: After treatment, his neck curvature was corrected, inflammation was managed, and his headache symptoms improved. He was able to return to normal daily function. 

Patient Information: A female patient who had served as a military translator in Afghanistan. She lost part of her lower leg from an IED injury sustained during service.

Symptoms: Despite the amputation, she continued to experience severe sciatic nerve pain, a phenomenon known as phantom limb pain. The brain was still sending pain signals through the nerve pathway even though the limb was no longer there.

Diagnosis: The injury had disrupted the nerve communication pathway from the sciatic nerve through the spine to the brain. The brain had not re-learned how to process signals from that pathway correctly, causing ongoing pain with no physical source.

Treatment: Chiropractic adjustments to restore proper nerve signaling through the spine, combined with specific neuromuscular re-education exercises designed to retrain the brain-to-nerve pathway and reduce the faulty pain signals.

Outcome: Her phantom sciatic nerve pain was eliminated, despite the severity and nature of the original trauma.

Patient Information: A male patient came to our clinic with a torn labrum in the right hip and degeneration of the hip joint.

Symptoms: He had pinching and sharp pain when moving his hip. The pain affected his ability to walk or do activities like hiking. He had difficulty performing normal daily activities.

Diagnosis: He was diagnosed with a torn labrum in the right hip and degeneration of the femoral acetabular joint.

Treatments: We performed shockwave therapy targeting the hip joint. He had 3 shockwave sessions.

Outcome: By his third shockwave visit, he had no pinching or sharp pain when moving his hip and could hike and perform normal activities.

Patient Information: An older male patient who arrived at the clinic using a walker and had difficulty walking on his own. 

Symptoms: Severe pain and stiffness in both knees, with one significantly worse than the other. His condition had gotten to the point where he could not walk unassisted. 

Diagnosis: Advanced osteoarthritis in both knees with significant joint degeneration, meaning the cartilage had broken down to the point where movement was severely limited and painful. 

Treatments: We performed shockwave therapy on both knees to address the degeneration and osteoarthritis.

Outcome: After shockwave treatment, the degeneration and osteoarthritis in his knees improved, and he was able to walk without a walker.

Patient Information: A patient who came in experiencing recurring vertigo episodes that were significantly affecting their daily life.

Symptoms: The patient was experiencing repeated bouts of dizziness and loss of balance caused by a condition called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). Tiny calcium crystals that normally sit in one part of the inner ear had shifted into the ear’s balance canals, sending false signals to the brain about the body’s position and causing the spinning sensation.

Diagnosis: A full history was taken along with neurological and orthopedic exams to rule out neck-related causes and confirm that the vertigo was coming from the inner ear. The findings pointed clearly to crystal displacement within the semicircular canals of the ear, rather than any spinal or nerve-related issue.

Treatment: A specific head repositioning technique called the Epley Maneuver was performed. This procedure involves moving the head through a series of precise positions to guide the displaced crystals back to where they belong in the inner ear, stopping them from triggering false balance signals. This was combined with an assessment of the neck to ensure there were no additional contributing factors.

Outcome: The vertigo was fully resolved in a single session of the Epley Maneuver. The patient left without dizziness and did not require further treatment for the condition.

Patient Information: Dr. Philip Vournazos was a Division 1 scholarship football player at Stony Brook University in New York, where he served as team captain and led his team to three division championships. During his senior year, he suffered a series of career-ending injuries that changed the direction of his life.

Symptoms: He sustained severe injuries to both shoulders, his knee, and his spine during his final season. The spinal injury was the most serious. He had three disc protrusions in his lower back, one of which was 10mm and pressing directly on his spinal cord. He lost the ability to walk entirely for six months. He was in constant pain and could not perform basic daily activities, let alone train or compete.

Diagnosis: Imaging confirmed three disc protrusions in the lumbar spine. The largest at 10mm was sitting directly on the spinal cord, which is what caused him to lose the ability to walk. At that size, the standard medical recommendation was surgery. He was told by his doctors that surgery was his only option to recover any function.

Treatment: Instead of going forward with surgery, he chose chiropractic spinal decompression therapy. The decompression worked by gradually taking pressure off the compressed discs, allowing fluid to return into the disc and the surrounding tissues to begin healing. Treatment was consistent and progressive over several months, with the decompression load carefully increased over time as his body responded.

Outcome: By the third month of spinal decompression, he was beginning to walk again. By six months, he had made a full recovery without surgery. This experience became the foundation of his entire approach to chiropractic care. Having gone through the injury, the fear, the pressure to accept surgery, and the recovery himself, he now brings that firsthand understanding to every patient who walks into the clinic facing a similar situation.

Patient Information: An 84-year-old woman who injured her shoulder in a fall.

Symptoms: She had no ability to raise her arm above her head and was in significant pain following the fall.

Diagnosis: Imaging indicated a tear of the supraspinatus tendon in the shoulder, one of the main tendons responsible for lifting the arm.

Treatment: Shockwave therapy was applied directly to the shoulder to stimulate healing of the torn tendon tissue. She had eight sessions in total.

Outcome: After about four sessions, she had a full range of motion in her shoulder. Pain was significantly reduced. By the end of her eighth shockwave session, she was back to normal.

Patient Information: A male patient who developed scoliosis following a car accident.

Symptoms: His spine was visibly curving to the left after the collision, causing pain and postural changes.

Diagnosis: X-rays confirmed functional scoliosis, meaning the curve developed as a result of trauma rather than being something he was born with. Functional scoliosis can be corrected with treatment.

Treatment: A three-month course of chiropractic adjustments, weekly massage therapy, and a muscle-strengthening program to hold the spine in its corrected position.

Outcome: A follow-up X-ray after three months showed his spine had returned to a straight, vertical position. The correction was documented clearly on imaging.

Patient Information: A young female athlete who played soccer competitively.

Symptoms: During a game, she headed a ball and felt her neck snap out of position on impact. Shortly after, she began experiencing vertigo, dizziness, and a loss of balance that was affecting both her sport and her daily life.

Diagnosis: A full history, neurological exam, orthopedic exam, and X-rays were performed. The evaluation confirmed that the impact from heading the ball had knocked the upper vertebrae in her neck out of their correct position. The misalignment was putting pressure on the nerves and structures in the upper cervical spine that control balance, which was directly causing her vertigo. This type of vertigo is called cervicogenic vertigo, meaning it originates from the neck rather than the ear.

Treatment: Chiropractic adjustments targeting the upper cervical spine to restore the correct position of the vertebrae, combined with soft tissue and muscle work around the neck to reduce tension and allow the spine to hold its correction. No shockwave therapy was needed as the issue was purely structural.

Outcome: Once the alignment in her neck was corrected, the vertigo stopped completely. She was able to return to playing soccer without any further episodes.