TORONTO DOCTOR SHARES PATIENT STORY REGARDING ORTHOTICS

SEVERAL YEARS BACK I HAD A PATIENT PRESENT TO THE CLINIC WITH ACUTE LOW BACK PAIN.  HE HAD JUST RETIRED FROM THE CITY OF TORONTO, HEALTH BENEFITS DEPARTMENT WHERE HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTAINING COST AND ADMINISTERING THE BENEFITS IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER.  WHEN I SUGGESTED TO HIM THAT HE WOULD PROBABLY BENEFIT FROM CUSTO ORTHOTICS AS HE OVERPRONATED AND HAD KNEE AND HIP ISSUES AS WELL AS LOW BACK PAIN, HE STATED THAT THE COSTS AT THE CITY HAD RISEN 3 FOLD IN THE LAST 3 YEARS AND THAT HE COULD SEE NO BENEFIT IN THESE $500 PIECES OF PLASTIC AND TRIED TO DISCOURAGE THEIR USE.  NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT WAS THE END OF OUR ORTHOTIC DISCUSSION THAT VISIT.  HE ATTENDED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AT WHICH TIME HE WAS ASYMPTOMATIC AND DISCHARGED.

HE RETURNED TO MY CLINIC ABOUT ONE YEAR LATER WITH LOW BACK PAIN, ALTHOUGH NOT AS INTENSE AS THE FIRST TIME.  I ONCE AGAIN BROACHED THE SUBJECT OF ORTHOTICS AS HE ALSO SUFFERED WITH KNEE AND HIP PAIN.  HE ASKED ME HOW COULD THEY HELP HIM AND I STATED THAT THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN IS THAT THEY COULD HELP HIS POSTURE, ETC.  HE DECIDED TO GIVE IT A TRY AND HE RECEIVED HIS ORTHOTICS FROM ME 2 WEEKS LATER.  I HAD HIM COME IN FOR A FOLLOW-UP 1 MONTH LATER AND HE TOLD ME THAT SINCE GETTING HIS ORTHOTICS HIS HIP PAIN HA S DISAPPEARED AND HIS KNEE PAIN HAD DECREASED TO THE POINT THAT HE COULD WALK 10 TIMES FARTHER THAN BEFORE WITHOUT PAIN.  HE STATED TO ME THAT IF HE KNEW HOW BENEFICIAL THESE DEVICES WERE HE WOULD NOT HAVE TRIED TO DISCOURAGE HIS EMPLOYEES FROM USING THEM.

I RAN INTO HIM ON THE STREET SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND HE TOLD ME HAS HAD NO LOW BACK PAIN SINCE I LAST SAW HIM BUT HE WOULD COME IN FOR ANOTHER PAIR OF ORTHOTICS SOMETIME.