I've taken several months to consider what to say about ASWC…read more
I've had both wonderful and awful experiences here...
The bottom line:
I would be very wary of the lumbar MedX system. All of our bodies are different so I'm sure it works for some people but just be aware and protect your own body. The treatment for my initial diagnosis was good, but considering that it cost me a price of severe pain and worse problems elsewhere, I cannot fully endorse ASWC.
The positive review:
I originally came to ASWC with complaints of a stiff neck and sore shoulders. X-rays revealed that my neck had an inverted curve likely caused by a previous trauma.
From January through June, I diligently followed my treatment plan: 3x/week for 14 weeks, then 2x/week for another 10 weeks. During that time, I did see marked improvements to my neck curvature and I do believe that I have a greater range of motion in my neck than before. I loved the treatment I was receiving at the time, and I highly recommended ASWC to friends and family.
When I first started, the staff was pretty stellar. Sarah was ALWAYS ON TOP OF THINGS. Lauren was great with explaining insurance coverage and correctional care plans. Dr. Craig was great with explaining technical medical diagnoses and he was awesome at chiropractic adjustments. In the PT zone, Chris was by far the best tech--he had a knack for understanding what is needed to get the best pull from the CSRU, and he always provided an explanation of what I was trying to target with each assigned exercise.
Over time, I witnessed some shifting in the staff (some of it rather unfortunate). But, the best new hire was Justin; he kept the most efficient flow of patients through the PT corner.
The negative review:
During the first week in March, I noticed a low back pain that felt like a muscle strain. At the time, I thought it was due to the MedX lumbar machine which I was scheduled to use twice a week. I became anxious about using the machine and I had an aversion.
After speaking with the PT, Andy, I was encouraged to continue to use the MedX to improve my lumbar strength to counteract the low back pain. He told me that I should decrease the weight significantly, but to continue allowing for the extension/flexion movement on the MedX.
Over the course of the next three months, I continued to provide daily updates that my back pain was not going away. Craig helped me with some low back adjustments coupled with some longer low back stretches, but nothing helped. I continued to tell Andy about the pain, and he continued to encourage the MedX machine. He said that he did not see any musculoskeletal anomalies and advised me to ask my gynecologist about pelvic floor issues.
By that time, all of the techs were aware of my low back pain and all of them continued to encourage me to use the MedX machine, increasing my weight by 5 lbs every few sessions. Once I was up to 90 lbs, I began to feel strain/pain again, during the exercise. The last time I went, the tech posted 90 lbs on the computer screen for me but increased the weight to 100 lbs without my consent. Then, after I was done, he said "I did something sneaky. I added 10 lbs." [UMMM, WHAT?! I'm pretty sure this is medical malpractice!!]
I reported this immediately; Craig apologized and told me that he would address the situation with the tech; but, Andy came over to tell me that I should never have completed the exercise if I was in that much pain. [My thoughts: I was ALWAYS IN PAIN. There hasn't been a moment since March that my low back has not been in pain. Having been encouraged over and over again to use the MedX, I just operated at different degrees of pain. I never withheld any information about my consistent back pain throughout this process and, yet, somehow it fell back on me to take part of the responsibility for what the tech had done.]
So, I never went back.
By early July, my back pain was so severe that I could not lean a single degree over my bathroom sink to brush my teeth. I couldn't sit at work, and I was bedridden on the weekends because sitting and standing hurt so bad.
I went to see an orthopedic surgeon shortly thereafter. Within minutes, he conducted a simple range of motion exam and told me that my pain was entirely muscular. After one session with another PT who conducted the same simple range of motion exam, my pain dropped from a 9 to a 3. It really confounds me that this simple test was never done for me at ASWC when I complained about low back pain 2-3 times a week for 4 months. My months of suffering could have been avoided if someone had really listened to what I was saying: "I feel like it is a low back strain from the MedX."
Unfortunately, I do believe I can take some of the blame simply because "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Fortunately, I finally did something different and came away with great results!