I worked on my first stroke victim in 1997.

 

Here is my story: I was working on one of my bi-weekly clients when he asked me if I thought I may be able to help his father who had a stroke two and a half years ago. He continued to explain that his father had tried physical therapy, doctors and chiropractors and had no success. I answered him yes, I can help him.

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As my client left I realized I had said ‘yes’ I could help him, but I had never worked on a stroke victim before. I thought about it for a few seconds and realized I was praying for guidance at the time he asked me the question about his father. So I looked up and said you will have to guide me on this one.

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The following week his father showed up with a brace on the right leg and his speach slurred as a result of his stroke. I checked the strength in his right hand with a hand-strengthening device and he was unable to squeeze it together even one time.

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I got him on the table and started to ask for guidance and the next thing I knew I was doing bodywork I had never seen or done before. We did stretching and massage (circle friction) at the same time elongating and breaking up the frozen muscle much faster than out of the stretch. I worked the trigger points for loosening the muscle in long strokes in certain areas for better circulation. I worked on him for 2.5 hrs before I “was told” to stop. He got off the table and could not believe the difference.

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I was guided after the second session to teach him stretches that he could do himself, including work on the jaw and in the mouth. I performed more circle friction on the jaw and on the right side of the tongue. After a couple of sessions of working the mouth, his speech started to improve.

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He could walk without his leg brace after 3 sessions. The results were much quicker than either one of us thought they could be.

 

I ‘was told’ to see him three times a week so we did that for 4 weeks, and then he needed to cut back to twice a week for 4 weeks, and finally once a week for a few weeks. After 23 sessions he had recovered more that 90 percent, when he decided to stop. He said to me, “I feel great and feel I need no more therapy”.

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The day of his last session, we tested his strength and he could push against me with his legs around three to four times harder than before therapy. His speech was normal and he could squeeze the hand-strengthening device 80 times. I gave him more homework so he could maintain or improve his quality of life. That day he walked out with no limp and no leg brace.

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Thank you God.