I. Introduction
1. Dr. Fors, thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Could you take a moment to let our viewers know who you are?
I am a doctor of chiropractic, a graduate of Northwestern Health Science University, and a Board Certified Neurologist (IBCN). I am on the post graduate faculty of Chiropractic Colleges, and I lecture to doctors and therapists around the country on chronic myofascial pain disorders, and fibromyalgia syndrome. In these seminars I educate doctors on the latest research findings on the causes of, and the most effective natural treatments for chronic myofascial pain. I am a nationally certified Diplomate in Acupuncture (NCCAOM) and certified in Botanical Medicine (NHSU).
I am the inventor and developer of the Fenix Rehab Systems for the self-treatment of pain-causing myofascial trigger points. These are self-care devices that allow individuals with chronic pain to effectively deactivate there pain-causing myofascial trigger points through a program of various myofascial therapies.
I have also created the company FRE, Inc. which provides the public with an on-line store with a very select line of pain-relief and wellness nutritional and physical fitness products. It turns out that programs designed to bring you relief from chronic myofascial pain disorders also promote wellness. To truly rehabilitate your myofascial pain, and not just cover it up with drugs, FENIX Rehab programs include: self-care trigger point therapy to normalize muscles, stretching for increased flexibility, resistance exercises to strengthen muscles, aerobic exercise to increase cardiovascular efficiency and nutraceutical supplements to provide anti-oxidant protection, increase cellular energy production, enhance detoxification, normalize gastro-intestinal function and assist stress reduction. FRE, Inc. provides exceptional quality products on-line through its on-line stores at fenixstopspain.com and 4naturalpainrelief.com, to assist you in your quest for pain-relief and wellness. FRE, Inc. also manufactures the FENIX Rehab Systems.
2. That's one of the primary reasons for our interview, your creation of the Fenix Rehab Systems. Where did you get the idea for this innovative self-care program?
Well there are many reasons; some of them involve my own personal struggle with chronic myofascial pain, but mostly from treating thousands of individuals in my clinical practice that suffered with chronic pain disorders.
Every patient was different and I would try every possible way to help them overcome their chronic pain: traditional Chinese acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, various physical therapies devices such as traction and ultra-sound, nutritional support and dietary changes, rehabilitative exercises, botanical medicines and chiropractic adjustments. All these approaches were helpful, but nothing was as effective as making sure all the active and hidden or latent myofascial trigger points were completely removed in the individual experiencing chronic pain.
| Trigger Points | ||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Tensa Fascia Latae | Gluteus Minimus | Longissimus | Multifidus | Levator Scapulae |
However, I found it very exhausting work for me and my therapists to apply pressure therapy to all these myofascial trigger points day in and day out. I soon developed chronic upper extremity repetitive stress injuries. This is exactly why many clinicians no longer do comprehensive myofascial treatment; because the strain of trigger point therapy and myofascial release causes a high incidence of practitioner injuries.
Many times patients will only get a couple of major TPs treated by the clinician because it is so labor and time intensive. This short changes the individual with chronic myofascial pain and leaves them suffering. Unless you release all active, latent, and satellite myofascial trigger points, and there are many in a chronic pain condition, the myofascial pain will keep recurring.
Another problem I found is that many individuals with chronic myofascial pain cannot afford either the money or the time to keep coming back for repeat office visits to get rid of all their myofascial trigger points.
Because of this they would get part way through their care program and quit. As a result the pain would not entirely clear up or it would all come back.
In my clinical practice I discovered that there was no a real substitute for the physical effort and time involved in comprehensive trigger point therapy; if you wanted to truly rehabilitate a chronic myofascial pain syndrome. Research bears this out, when different therapy techniques have been compared in studies, manual trigger point therapy always comes out on top for getting rid of chronic myofascial pain.
I myself had disabling low back pain and chronic shoulder-arm pain. I had access to all the best healthcare could provide; however nothing helped. Out of necessity I kept creating ways to treat my own trigger points, as many others have done in chronic pain. Finally, after trail and error, I created a treatment platform with interchangeable therapeutic digits to apply effective trigger point therapy through out my body. With this device I could over time release all my active and latent TPs. I also found that I could find all these trigger points on me easier then trying to direct some other clinician to them.
I clinically found that patients with chronic myofascial pain disorders of the back, neck, and extremities got better quicker when they had the ability to self-treat their own myofascial trigger points, clinical studies bear this out. Because of this it became my goal to put a Fenix Rehab System into the hands of the 86 million American adults suffering from chronic myofascial pain and the 10 million who suffer with Fibromyalgia. It is my desire to alleviate the pain and suffering of those affected with treatable chronic pain, without relying on dangerous drugs and surgery. As a chiropractic neurologist who specializes in chronic pain disorders, I have seen too many lives destroyed from chronic pain: drug addiction, careers ruined, families torn apart and even suicide. That's why I invented the Fenix Rehab System and created FRE, Inc. to bring quality products and information to the millions who suffer from chronic myofascial pain and fibromyalgia syndrome.
 |
 |
| FENIX Rehab System | FENIX Still Point |
Chronic myofascial pain became even more painful for me when my oldest daughter developed severe fibromyalgia. When it first hit her she had to crawl up the stairs on her hands and knees to her bedroom. Standard medicine had no answers for her, only dangerous drugs with severe side-effects.
So using my knowledge and doing more extensive research I put her on a program of care using the Fenix Rehab System to gently treat her myofascial trigger points, and a program of specific nutraceuticals and herbs to help in her recovery, more about this later. This nutritional and physical care program has brought her back to a normal life once again.
Through this personal experience and the numerous patients I have treated through the years with chronic myofascial pain and fibromyalgia, I have developed an effective physical and metabolic approach to chronic pain. Later in the interview I hope to explain the many metabolic cause's of chronic pain syndromes and what individuals can do nutritionally to support their own recovery from these debilitating disorders.
3. Dr. Fors, how common then are these chronic myofascial pain disorders?
Because of the way we put distress on our bodies, from the way we sit, stand, lift, work and, from the hectic way we live, they are very common! The National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Strokes has stated that 85% of all Americans will develop in their lifetime at least one episode of chronic myofascial pain of the back, neck, or extremities. In a recent study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, November 12th, 2003 issue, it was found that more than one-third of all adults in the U.S. suffer with some form of chronic musculoskeletal pain on a daily basis, conditions such as chronic: back pain, neck pain, hip-leg pain, sciatica, and fibromyalgia. Even though these conditions are not life threatening, they were shown to have tremendous negative impact on an individual's life and they plague our society. In this study it was found to cost society $61 billion dollars annually in lost productivity because people are on the job but hurting.
NEXT: The Underlying Cause?
|
I.
|
XIV.
|
