What Our Patients Are Saying
|
I started treatment with Julie Merkl in May - July 1, 2010. I have had 18 surgeries starting in 1950-2009. I have had my neck fused in 2 places and 5 major back surgeries. I am now fused from L4-5 - T-10 with titanium. I have suffered with chronic low back pain since before 2000. Since the fusion I have had low back pain when standing or walking, loss 1 3/4" in height because I could not stand up straight. I was weak in my arms and legs. I had flat feet. I couldn't raise my arms straight over my head. I couldn't stand straight, or stand very long or walk very far without bending over. Julie has help correct many of my problems. I now am energetic, feel good, can stand straight longer and walk farther without low back pain. I can do so much more now around the house than I could before myofascial release treatments with Julie. Julie has really made a big difference in my life and well being. She is an excellent myofascial release therapist. Thank you Julie for helping give me back my life and happiness. E B., 65 years old | ||
All in all, I'd have to say that I was really skeptical that this thing called Myofascial Release would prove to be any different than any of the other forms of treatment I have tried over the years for my injuries. However, the description did seem to make sense, so I figured I'd try it and just hope for a little bit of relief. I have to say that I am now a true believer in this approach to healing. Julie has provided healing and pain relief for injuries in my lower back, upper back, and shoulder, all of which have caused me pain for many years. I scheduled my first appointment with Julie for pain in my upper back and ribs. I had no intention of having her treat my lower back (a service-connected disability) as I injured it nearly twenty years ago and have tried everything from medication, traditional physical therapy, several chiropractors, massage therapy, and accupuncture and have obtained little or no relief from those methods. In many cases, those treatments only left me in more pain than when I went in for treatment. Also, I expected my shoulder was simply wearing with age and there was nothing that could be done for it. Before I started treatment with Julie I could barely bend over enough to tie my own shoes or perform simple tasks such as pulling weeds without aggravating my back. Within a week of starting treatment I found myself tying my shoes comfortably with no sign of pain. This was amazing for me as I cannot recall the last time I had been able to bend forward that much, and to do it without any pain was well beyond my expectations. Five months after beginning treatment I now am able to hold squatting, bending, and sitting positions, which I have not been able to do for nearly twenty years. The speed at which I began recovering is totally amazing to me considering how many other types of treatment I have tried to no avail. Although my back is still prone to aggravation from certain activities, Julie has been able to provide immediate and lasting relief within the time of one treatment session whereas it used to take several weeks or even months to even begin feeling relief after the injury was aggravated. My shoulder has been painful and weak ever since a catching activity nearly two years ago. No matter how much I have rested it, stretched, or excercised the pain never subsided. Traditional physical therapy had no effect and medication only masked the pain temporarily. Since the first three or four treatments with Julie I have not felt any pain in my shoulder, and I have tested it with more intense excercises and throwing small objects (rocks and sticks) which I have not been able to do since I originally injured it. I thought I would eventually have to get surgery like many people with shoulder pain, but that is no longer a consideration. Although I do not yet have full relief from the pain in my upper back and ribs (which was caused by a fall about six years ago), the amount of relief I have gained since starting treatment is significant, especially since no other treatment I've tried has brought me even the slightest relief. Before, the pain was constant and at times so bad that I couldn't focus at work or on anything else. The slightest pat on my back or shoulder or bumping into a wall or door caused a deep, sharp pain that left me grimacing for several moments. Now, about the only time I feel pain in that area is if I purposely contort my body to check if it's still there. Once in a while if I twist wrong I may feel a slight twinge, but it is nothing compared to the stabbing pain I used to feel. For me, Myofascial Release has turned out to be the saving grace I have been searching for. However, I truly believe that without the empathy and skillful delivery of the practitioner that the best of treatment methods has little chance for success. Julie truly listens to what the patient has to say and stays in constant communication throughout the treatment to hone in on where the pain originates in order to determine how to best relieve it. Of course, she has also tried to convince me that everything in the body is connected, but that doesn't matter to me as long as the pain goes away :) R.M., 44 years old | ||
| ||
|
As a massage therapist, I recognize the importance and value of my own self care . Being Julie’s client provides me with the quality of healing I seek, in a way I can only describe as "exquisite relief." Julie’s professional skills as a myofascial release practitioner are unsurpassed and I look forward to every appointment knowing I leave feeling renewal and more aliveness after each treatment. - Jeann , Massage Therapist and Reflexologist, 55 years old | ||
|
One year ago, at a particularly stressful point in my life, I experienced back pain that wouldn’t go away. I had a 1 ½ year old son, and couldn’t run and lift the way I needed to, so I began to visit a chiropractor. After the second visit, the front of my neck looked and felt swollen and uncomfortable and I knew something was terribly wrong. Three days later, I ended up in the emergency room with stroke like symptoms and dangerously low blood pressure. I was admitted for three days, during which every imaginable test was done on me. While my blood pressure returned to normal and the double vision and nausea retreated, the doctors never found the reason for my symptoms. I was discharged and told that I was "fine" despite the fact that I still felt the swelling and discomfort in my neck.. I wondered, what could go so wrong that wouldn’t show up on any test or scan? Over the next four months, my entire body seemed to cave in. My shoulders were stooped and hunched, my face and neck were elongated and tight, and I had "TMJ". My entire body felt tilted to the right, I had knee pain and my stomach was so uncomfortable I could barely eat. The pain in my neck and back was unbearable. My sleep was very disrupted. I felt certain that if I didn’t do something to stop this downward spiral, I would not live to raise my young son. At the urging of a friend, I began MFR with Julie. I felt almost nothing for the first month, but something told me to stick with it. Then, I slowly began to notice about a 24 hour period of relief after each session. I started to read the literature Julie offered, and read John Barnes’ book, Healing Ancient Wounds. It explained how to embark on this journey of healing. Patience would be crucial, and trying to "make sense of it all" would be fruitless. The subconscious mind/body would know how to use the treatment to heal itself, and I began to learn how to "get out of my own way". Over the next six months, I began to see more and more improvement. My jaw unlocked and stopped clicking, my pain level was lessening with each passing week, and I was sleeping much better, waking up refreshed instead of exhausted. There have been emotional benefits as well. During treatments I’ve waded through anxiety, phobias, and other emotional/physical memories as they came up for me. I feel like I have not only regained my old life, but new insights and perspective as well. Today, I am mostly pain-free. I can play with my son and carry him around ( and he’s bigger now!). I am able to perform physical work duties that include lifting and bending. MFR is the catalyst that sparked the reintegration of my mind-body and my return to wholeness. Julie Merkl has been a wonderful "guide" and fellow traveler on my journey. - Lori, musician and mom, 47 years old |
||
|
Julie has helped with various ailments over the last couple of years. I had pain in my hip, diagnosed as "bursitis" which was bothering me for several weeks, making me limp. After just a few treatments it disappeared entirely, and never returned. I’ve also had relief from tingling in my left arm and rotator cuff tendonitis in my right shoulder. Also, for years I have felt that I ‘ve had trouble breathing, though doctors could find nothing wrong with my lungs. Julie has been working on releasing the scars under my breasts from a reduction I had many years ago. I am amazed to see how those scars have acted like a girdle, restricting my ribcage and lungs! - RM, Registered Nurse, mother of five, 73 years old |
||
|
Julie started working with me about 8 months ago. I had pain in my left shoulder, back, and neck. At times my neck would get to the point that I couldn’t move it and this caused bad headaches. I tried massage therapy, which only gave me temporary relief. Since I began treatment with Julie, I have not had this problem again. During a session about 6 months ago I mentioned that I could not ride a horse or a motorcycle due to pain in my right hip. I have had that problem since childhood and never thought it would get any better. She started working on it and after only one session I had no more pain. Even after 6 months, the pain has not returned. WOW!!! - George, 39 years old |
