I was reading an article in the New York Times on the weekend that stated that the opioid crisis continues to escalate, with an approximately 100% increase in deaths since 2015! And of course, it hasn’t helped that people have felt more hopeless during the Pandemic, while many treatment facilities and programs were running at reduced rates or shut down completely. These numbers are from the United States, but we know that most things happening there are also happening here on a smaller scale.

A link in that article took me to an article in Vox magazine from 2018 that stated:

This is America’s painkiller paradox. On one hand, nearly 15,000 overdose deaths in 2017 were tied to commonly prescribed opioid painkillers, and many more are linked to an addiction that began with painkillers.

On the other hand, 50 million adults in the US in 2016 suffered from chronic (long-term) pain, according to the latest CDC estimates. And there are more patients with acute (short-term) pain, caused by injuries, surgeries, or diseases. Many of these patients, although not all or even most, may genuinely need opioids to mitigate pain.

Of course, these numbers are scary (fifty million chronic pain sufferers in the US alone!!!), but the scariest thing for me was that many of these addiction problems began with a painkiller prescription!

I continue to see chronic pain problems being mismanaged and misunderstood. Or better said, mismanaged because they are misunderstood.

People continue to be told to strengthen away their weaknesses and stretch away their muscle tightness. This simplistic, superficial view of these problems not only prevents meaningful change, but virtually guarantees bigger problems down the road! With such bland, meaningless advice is it any wonder that people aren’t getting the help they need and instead end up relying on painkillers and surgeries to “solve” their problems?

Unfortunately, like in other areas of life, sometimes you just have to know the right people. A recent patient (Joe) heard about my work from two satisfied patients where he lives in BC. He heard that I might be able to help him with his Sciatica and neck pain problems. Here is what he said on Google:

I have suffered with chronic lower back pain throughout my early 20’s to now (46). Years of CrossFit, weightlifting, hockey, skiing, running and swimming seemed to be taking its toll on my body. Last November the pain in my lower back / left side of my butt and left side of my neck prevented me from being active with sports and any physical activity. Putting on socks, washing my feet in the shower, standing on the bench coaching my son’s hockey team and looking over my shoulder caused me considerable pain. The pain I had this time was different from the pain I had in the past as the pain was shooting down my left leg and into my foot causing a numb and tingling feeling and I never really had neck pain before.

A friend of mine referred me to Alignment First as he and his wife used Geoff’s expertise to help solve their physical issues. I emailed Alignment First and received an immediate response where we set up an online (video) consultation to assess my physical issues. After a 1-hour discussion and assessment, we determined that I would be a good fit to work with Geoff and that physical healing could be achieved using Geoff’s techniques through online consultations.

For our first online session, Geoff assessed and documented my range of motion. He had me complete a series of stretches to ensure I was performing them correctly and safely. After the session he sent me an email with a list of stretches and exercises for me to complete on a daily basis (prescription). I was surprised to see that there were only seven stretches and I was to hold each stretch for one minute at a time. It seemed pretty simple and I followed the prescription as directed.

It did not take long for the stretching prescription to start working. Week after week I would feel better and better and Geoff would add an exercise or scale me up to a more difficult stretch. By the fourth week where I was getting closer to being pain free and I started to play hockey again and did feel pain in my back and neck the following day but nowhere near the pain I felt when I first started sessions. It has been eight weeks since my first session and I am pain free even after playing sports.

I highly recommend Geoff’s services. It only took eight weeks to regain my physical freedom plus I have more flexibility than before I was injured and even my normal minor lower back pain does not “flare up” anymore. I plan to continue the stretching / exercise prescription to ensure a strong and healthy body moving forward. If I were to sum up my experience with Alignment First, it would be “minimal dose for maximum results”.

The Alignment First Protocol worked for Joe because we weren’t stretching his tight muscles and strengthening his weak muscles. NO. We used very common exercises to NORMALIZE HIS POSTURE, which resulted in his nervous system feeling less need to splint, brace, and protect via muscle spasm. That was how we convinced his nervous system to give him permission to be more mobile and stronger. 

And so, the moral of the story, if there is one, is that you can’t solve a problem you don’t understand. Not only do painkillers NOT solve pain problems, we are seeing a huge body of evidence to suggest they represent a slippery slope on incredibly dangerous ground. 

If you’re still reading this, I realize that I am “preaching to the choir”, but when presented within the context of hopelessness, drug addiction and even death, I hope you can understand my preaching. See, most of you have had success with your chronic pain problems. You likely can’t identify with anyone who made the journey from Tylenol, to Percocet, to heroin. But, when you take a moment to think about it,… do you believe that ANYONE who took that journey, for one moment thought they were at risk of addiction?

On that happy note, when you see someone struggling with chronic pain, at least you can say that “you know a guy” (me). And, because of the technologies available to us, I can deliver my particular brand of help anywhere in the world if they have internet access and a camera. Who’s to say, you might actually be saving their life!



‘Til next time! Do your homework!

Yours in health,

Geoff Dakin