When it comes to your medical treatment a second opinion could mean the difference between you living in pain or not. With better education we can have more confidence in choosing the treatment that is right for our particular needs.

Do you have symptoms of a chronic disease? Are you in constant pain? Do health issues keep you from enjoying life? Did you know that heart disease, cancer, and strokes account for more than 50% of all the deaths in the United States each year? Being able to educate ourselves about health related issues needs to be a high priority for anybody but for one reason or another it’s not. Once we know more about our condition then we can better find the doctor that can correctly diagnose us. Sometimes the first Doctors opinion is not the best and we should find another physician to get a second onion.

In the beginning of 2012 while at work I was lifting a heavy fixture that I normally move. In the process I turned quickly and hurt my back. A few days went by and I was in serious pain from my injury. I went to my primary care physician. After he examined me he gave me a prescription for some pain medication. I started taking the medication but I was still in a lot of pain.

I went back to my doctor and he wrote me a prescription for steroids and that helped some but I was still in a lot of pain. One day I went to see my former wife's parents and we talked about my back injury. They told me I should go to an Osteopathic physician that had helped a lot of folks they knew who went to him for back pain. So I took their advice and gave the doctor’s office a call to set up my appointment.

My first consultation went over really good after the doctor examined me. He then explained to me what I had done. When I lifted the fixture and turned quickly I damaged the muscle and passage way that carries the signal for my nerves. The doctor told me that he would make three adjustments and then I would need some time to heal .At my second visit the doctor made some adjustments to my neck and back I could tell right away a lot of the pain left. After the third visit with the doctor he told me that I would not need to come back for another visit!

I was so thankful and glad the pain was at a manageable level after three weeks with my osteopathic physician. It was two weeks earlier with my primary physician and the medication he prescribed but it did not help me much at all. So I now know that it is very important to educate myself and go get that second opinion because in the long run our health is the most important thing that we have. My medical focus now is on a specific physician who is a specialist in the area where I need help and not just all on my primary care physician. Before I thought that I could just rely on my primary care physician for all my health needs .Oh and by the way I no longer have any pain now in my back , shoulder and neck.The education from personal experience is priceless and one that you want soon forget.