All Is Well: Heal Your Body With Medicine, Affirmations, and Intuition by Louise L. Hay, Mona Lisa Schulz Page A
Authors: Louise L. Hay, Mona Lisa Schulz
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Per-
haps volunteer at a nonprofit organization. Offer yourself to this
group as both a leader and a part of a team. This will help you
learn how to balance your own opinions with the ideas of others.
With affirmations, a more positive mood, and some changes
in behavior, it is possible to lead a rewarding life—financially
and emotionally.
From the Clinic Files: Lower-Back
and Hip Pain Case Study
Helen came to us when she was in her early 50s, at the en-
couragement of her family. Although she worked as a paralegal
and had two healthy grown children whom she loved, both of
her marriages had ended in divorce after both men left her for
younger women. In the wake of her divorces, she found herself
alone and in huge financial debt.
Helen struggled to get her love life back on track, but no man
seemed to meet her high standards. As she watched friend after
friend find a soul mate, Helen started to panic. What was wrong
with her? Why couldn’t she succeed on this very basic level?
Helen became depressed, and one day she woke up with severe
lower-back and hip pain that made it hard for her to sit at a com-
puter or even walk more than a few steps. An orthopedic surgeon
ordered an MRI that showed a very mild lower disk bulge—noth-
ing that would cause such disability.
Helen was in a lot of pain when I talked with her and very
frustrated that her surgeon could not simply remove a disk or do a
fancy fusion surgery to cure her.
71
All Is Well interior.indd 71
1/8/13 7:51 AM
A ll i s w e ll
What causes lower-back pain? Usually it’s the overuse of the
muscles, ligaments, and joints between the lower-back vertebrae
caused by excessive weight, moving the wrong way, or injury. The
repeated motion makes the soft mattresslike cushion between ver-
tebrae, the disk, herniate—or slip. With more vibration and a lack
of support from adjacent back muscles, inflammation occurs in
the joints between the vertebrae, the “facet joints.” The inflam-
mation transforms into bony arthritis fragments that compress
nerves, which in turn makes lower-back and leg muscles spasm,
go weak, and become numb.
Unfortunately, lower-back pain can be aggravated by a num-
ber of other problems. Depression, with its concomitant changes
in neurotransmitters, can make the pain worse. So can scoliosis,
a lateral curvature of the spine, or spondylothesis, a condition in
which the vertebrae slide forward. If estrogen and progesterone
levels are going down in perimenopause, the resultant changes
in neurotransmitter serotonin (estrogen) and GABA (progesterone)
can exacerbate the pain and spasms.
Once Helen knew all the factors behind her lower-back pain,
she could make a concerted effort with a treatment team to tackle her
health problems. She figured out a way to put some more move-
ment into her day. She bought an overstuffed chair with a hassock
for her office and learned to get up and down several times an
hour to keep her lower back supple and less arthritic. Next she
aggressively treated her depression. Helen began with SAMe, and
although it eased some of her back pain and depression, her mood
and back were still bad. Despite the fact that she had some resis-
tance to medication, she tried Wellbutrin and was delighted when
her mood and back pain greatly improved.
Now with more energy, she was able to go to the gym to work
out, but we made sure that she did this under the supervision of a
physical therapist. Her goal was to rehabilitate her spinal muscles.
From time to time she used Biofreeze cream to numb her sacral
area so she could get through the exercise routine. Acupuncture
and qigong also helped with pain control. Finally, Helen tried a
form of neuromuscular therapy called Yamuna body rolling where
72
All Is Well interior.indd 72
1/8/13 7:51 AM
It Takes Two
you use a small ball the size of a cantaloupe to help stop the spasm
of tendons adjacent to lower-back muscles.
Looking at other
haps volunteer at a nonprofit organization. Offer yourself to this
group as both a leader and a part of a team. This will help you
learn how to balance your own opinions with the ideas of others.
With affirmations, a more positive mood, and some changes
in behavior, it is possible to lead a rewarding life—financially
and emotionally.
From the Clinic Files: Lower-Back
and Hip Pain Case Study
Helen came to us when she was in her early 50s, at the en-
couragement of her family. Although she worked as a paralegal
and had two healthy grown children whom she loved, both of
her marriages had ended in divorce after both men left her for
younger women. In the wake of her divorces, she found herself
alone and in huge financial debt.
Helen struggled to get her love life back on track, but no man
seemed to meet her high standards. As she watched friend after
friend find a soul mate, Helen started to panic. What was wrong
with her? Why couldn’t she succeed on this very basic level?
Helen became depressed, and one day she woke up with severe
lower-back and hip pain that made it hard for her to sit at a com-
puter or even walk more than a few steps. An orthopedic surgeon
ordered an MRI that showed a very mild lower disk bulge—noth-
ing that would cause such disability.
Helen was in a lot of pain when I talked with her and very
frustrated that her surgeon could not simply remove a disk or do a
fancy fusion surgery to cure her.
71
All Is Well interior.indd 71
1/8/13 7:51 AM
A ll i s w e ll
What causes lower-back pain? Usually it’s the overuse of the
muscles, ligaments, and joints between the lower-back vertebrae
caused by excessive weight, moving the wrong way, or injury. The
repeated motion makes the soft mattresslike cushion between ver-
tebrae, the disk, herniate—or slip. With more vibration and a lack
of support from adjacent back muscles, inflammation occurs in
the joints between the vertebrae, the “facet joints.” The inflam-
mation transforms into bony arthritis fragments that compress
nerves, which in turn makes lower-back and leg muscles spasm,
go weak, and become numb.
Unfortunately, lower-back pain can be aggravated by a num-
ber of other problems. Depression, with its concomitant changes
in neurotransmitters, can make the pain worse. So can scoliosis,
a lateral curvature of the spine, or spondylothesis, a condition in
which the vertebrae slide forward. If estrogen and progesterone
levels are going down in perimenopause, the resultant changes
in neurotransmitter serotonin (estrogen) and GABA (progesterone)
can exacerbate the pain and spasms.
Once Helen knew all the factors behind her lower-back pain,
she could make a concerted effort with a treatment team to tackle her
health problems. She figured out a way to put some more move-
ment into her day. She bought an overstuffed chair with a hassock
for her office and learned to get up and down several times an
hour to keep her lower back supple and less arthritic. Next she
aggressively treated her depression. Helen began with SAMe, and
although it eased some of her back pain and depression, her mood
and back were still bad. Despite the fact that she had some resis-
tance to medication, she tried Wellbutrin and was delighted when
her mood and back pain greatly improved.
Now with more energy, she was able to go to the gym to work
out, but we made sure that she did this under the supervision of a
physical therapist. Her goal was to rehabilitate her spinal muscles.
From time to time she used Biofreeze cream to numb her sacral
area so she could get through the exercise routine. Acupuncture
and qigong also helped with pain control. Finally, Helen tried a
form of neuromuscular therapy called Yamuna body rolling where
72
All Is Well interior.indd 72
1/8/13 7:51 AM
It Takes Two
you use a small ball the size of a cantaloupe to help stop the spasm
of tendons adjacent to lower-back muscles.
Looking at other
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