Relief for chronic pain sufferers

Summary

An Idaho Falls doctor is one of only 1,000 in the nation to offer new treatment for chronic pain sufferers.

Story Published: Jan 11, 2009 at 1:33 PM MDT

Story Updated: Jan 11, 2009 at 1:34 PM MDT

Relief for chronic pain sufferers
IDAHO FALLS - "I kind of lost faith in medicine. I didn't think there was a doctor out there that could help," says patient Stephanie Baker.

Baker had seen every doctor in town. She had done every course of medicine and still had no clue what was wrong with her.

"I've had extreme dizzy spells, heat flashes, everything. There's no real diagnosis for what it is," says Baker.

Reluctant to give up her life, Baker turned to Dr. Brady Wirick hoping for a miracle. Dr. Wirick put Baker on a course of therapy which gives the brain food through oxygen and helps it heal through exercise.

"We find areas in the nervous system that are weak and exercise them to make them stronger," says Dr. Brady Wirick, Chiropractic Neurologist.

Seven weeks later and Baker's miracle seems to be a reality.

"I hope to make it back on campus, I hope to pick up a job and make my family not pay so many bills," says Baker.

She's not alone.

"Before I didn't care whether I lived or no," says patient Bryon Hall.

Almost 90-percent of Dr. Wirick's patients are undergoing this new treatment. They describe their symptoms as all over pain and constant agony.

"It's dysfunctions within the nervous system that we can track down and exercise and make them stronger," says Dr. Wirick.

And as they build up those areas through repetitious muscle work, patients feel better, stronger, less agitated.

"About five weeks into the appointments, the pain was gone," says Hall.

Gone as long as the treatments are followed. Most patients eventually reduce their doctor visits to once every few weeks.

Wind Farms

The wind turbines lining the foothills east of Idaho Falls are getting a lot of attention. What do you think about the wind farms?

  • They're too close to residential areas and they're lowering property values. They're ruining the view. Build them somewhere else!
  • They provide clean energy, and they generate local jobs and tax revenue. They're the wave of the future. Welcome to town!
  • Not sure.