"On Easter Sunday in April of 2000, in preparation for company, I picked up a fairly lightweight armchair and felt a sharp tug in my lower back. For the remainder of the day, I felt a residual mild ache in the area but nothing that kept me from enjoying the day. On the next morning, however, I got out of bed, bent over to pick up some clothing from the floor and felt a searing pain that caused me to fall back into bed.

Over the next two days, the pain was so excruciating with numbness occurring in my groin and upper right leg that my physician ordered an MRI. I’ve always been proud of my strong back and my ability to lift oil burners, boilers, air conditioners and other heavy equipment in various jobs throughout my life. Unfortunately, the MRI showed that all that heavy lifting had exacted a price – deterioration of the lower vertebrae with bulging of three discs and rupture of two others. My doctor gave me a cortisone shot along with a prescription for pain medication and told me to stay off my feet until the pain subsided.

For the next two and a half weeks, the only place where I could find any rest was lying on my couch which had a ¾ inch plywood board under the cushions. Quite frankly, I got pretty tired of looking at the ceiling and the four walls in that room. My wife describes me as “stoic” but anytime I tried to walk the pain sent me back to the couch. Somewhere in the middle of the third week, my wife suggested acupuncture. She had heard from her secretary about David Sollars’ success in treating her father. With some skepticism, but also desperation, I agreed to try it.

On my first appointment, Mr. Sollars took plenty of time to explain the rationale and procedure for acupuncture as well as the expectations including not to expect to be totally free of pain immediately after the first visit. I did feel some relief after that visit and it only took another two before I was able to return to work with bearable discomfort. Another six treatments and I was totally free of pain and remained that way for a year. That following Spring I again injured my back. This time, I immediately went to Mr. Sollars and it took only a few treatments before I was pain free again.

Six months later, I experienced sharp pain in my right shoulder. I did not get any relief with two acupuncture procedures to the shoulder so Mr. Sollars recommended an alternative therapy to my right ear, explaining that many of the nerve pathways go through the ear. One application to my ear and I was again pain free.

In the next four years I enthusiastically recommended Mr. Sollars to others who were experiencing similar pain. One friend had suffered with unrelenting back pain, unrelieved by medication, for eighteen months. After three acupuncture treatments by Mr. Sollars he’s been pain free for two years.

Until February 15th of this year I’ve had no pain in my back and no limitation in my activities - other than avoiding heavy lifting. However, on the 15th I again felt some mild discomfort in my lower back after doing some abdominal crunches. I suppose that I should have rested that weekend. But, instead, I succumbed to the lure of new fallen snow up north and went skiing – not a good idea. By noon on Saturday, my back was screaming with pain which radiated into my right thigh. Again, I immediately sought Mr. Sollars’ help. This time, with the acupuncture, the pain was initially improved from “screaming” to bearable and I was able to continue working.

Over the course of the next two weeks with treatment by Mr. Sollars as well as his Clinical Exercise Specialist (CES), Donna Schneider, I experienced steady improvement and am again pain free. Donna has given me exercises to strengthen my back and hopefully avoid re-injury. Needless to say, I won’t be doing any more abdominal crunches but she has recommended several other back friendly exercises that will accomplish the same goal of tightening my abs. And, to anyone who reads this, I highly recommend Mr. David Sollars of FirstHealth and his very effective treatments."

Ed Hill