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Originally Posted by taco.vidal
SM,
A few ideas.
Depending on your injury or issue, a physio should give you things that you can do at home on your. For example, strengthening exercises, stretches, rolling or other release methods, etc. This should reduce the frequency with which you need to visit the physio. Your case might require more frequent visits for manual work by the physio, but often times a physio will tell you to come come because they can bill you. A good physio should give you tools that you can use to help yourself at home. You can try asking your current physio or find another physio. All physios arent the same, some are better than others.
Your Blue Cross benefits should also have coverage for chiro, massage and even osteopath. Find a chiro that practices ART. They will do a lot of manual work similar to a physio rather than that of a typical back cracker. This should give you a few more visits in addition to your physio benefits. If where you are seeing the physio also has chiros, you likely shouldnt be charged for an assessment. You could also ask the chiro for things you can do at home.
Massage could help depending on your specific case. Ask your physio for guidance. If its a small area that needs manual work, you could do 30 or 45 min session to maximize the number of times you see the massage therapist.
You might also consider seeing an osteopath. It is kinda wacky, but some people have found it works for them. Some osteopaths are hands on and do manual work.
If the physio is using TENS as a modality, you might want to consider buying a unit yourself. Theyre quite cheap now.
EDITED to add: If you have fitness benefits or something similar that you havent used, get your physio to refer you to a trainer that works with rehab patients. Recovery really should be a team effort.
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All this is spot on, and I would say try it all. If it works for you, keep doing it. As LGA said, getting on an electric stim machine that actually contracts the muscle strongly is probably the best thing to help with building bulk and stimulating the peripheral nervous system.
I wanted to add one more thing though. I'm currently working towards my Diplomate of Chiropractic Neurology, and they focus a lot on neurological recovery post injury/surgery. It's called Functional Neurology. If you remember Sidney Crosby's difficulties with post-concussion syndrome, this method was the only thing that ended up working for him and getting him back on the ice. It focuses on the central nervous system, which includes the spinal cord. It's entirely possible that they could be of the biggest benefit to your recovery, so it's worth looking into.
Not sure where you live but I did a quick search in Southern Alberta. I went to school with Dr. James Haxton, and while I wasn't extremely close with him, he always struck me as very sharp and wise. He's a DACNB (the diplomate I'm working towards), which requires a minimum of 20 post-graduate seminars and an extensive examination. It's one of the most difficult degrees in the chiropractic world to acquire.
Meet with him, see what he says after he examines you. It might be that he can't do anything for you, but it's just as likely that he can turn your recovery around very quickly.
Good luck, and PM me if you have any further questions.
http://www.calgaryspineandsport.com/page/doctor.html