Chronic Neck Pain

Dr. Don's Story

Twenty five yeas ago, I had the last of three "Whiplash Injuries". I was a basket case. I could not pick up a pen with my left hand, neither could I move my neck much. I had server headaches, neck pain and I could not chew hard foods, along with the inability to focus my eyes properly. Sleep was impossible, because every time I tried to lie down, my room began spinning like a top. I had vertigo. In the Centre, I could not walk straight and I had to bounce off the walls as I walked. When I talked to patients, I had to lean against the wall for balance.

I tried every modality on the market - nothing helped. I tried drugs, they made me worse, and I began to have ulcers. I was losing weight/strength fast and I looked awful.

Laser was the only modality that helped my neck pain, TMJ pain, headaches and provided me with the ability to sleep. In conjunction with the laser treatments, I began researching and developing special manual therapy procedures and exercises to help return function and strength to my neck and back. Today I am pain free and have a very active lifestyle

I am dedicated to solving all musculoskeletal pain conditions. All my knowledge and experience will be used to return your pain and injuries to normal pain free function.

Whiplash Pain - Laser to the rescue! Dr. Don Fitz-Ritson, DC, FCCPOR(C)

In 1980, I had my third motor vehicle accident "whiplash". On each occasion, I was hit from behind while at stop signs. I was in agony, every part of my body hurt. I had severe headaches, neck pain with radiation into my left arm- so bad that I could not even pick up a pen. There was dizziness, which prevented me sleeping, because every time I lay down, the room began spinning around and I had to get up to prevent vomiting. I wore two back supports for my back pain, which only helped, to a minor extent.

My visits to doctors were for more medication, which upset my stomach. I was a mess. Chiropractic adjustments were contra-indicated due to the intensity of pain and the severity of muscle injury. Finally, I met a Russian physicist who introduced me to a laser for treating pain and to heal the muscles and ligaments. After 17 treatments, my neck and left arm pain was gone! I could not believe it, because I had used other modalities such as interferrential current, ultra sound, and micro current to no avail. I next treated my upper neck region - headaches and dizziness disappeared! WOW! I was on a roll, sleeping again, putting my life back together. I began treating my back - got rid of one, then the second back brace. Finally I was pain free - but weak.

had some how managed to continue to treat patients in my Centre. I began to use laser on my patients, because they had seen my changes. Remarkably, the patients began to also respond. Conditions that were not responding before began improving.

Living pain free was great, however it soon became apparent that this was not enough. Due to a lack of conditioning of the injured muscles, patients and I were re-injuring our old injuries. It was at this point that I developed a specific neck and low back exercise regimen and combined it with selective nutrition to help repair the muscles and ligaments. As before, I tested the program on myself first and it worked. Finally, I had my life back. I could begin to have an active lifestyle again and my social life returned - I was now pain free and strong. My patients also derived benefits from the additions to the treatment program, gaining more energy, becoming stronger, having fewer injuries and the ability to participate in increased activities.

My accidents and the process of learning I went through have helped me to develop critical steps for dealing with patients with pain. For injuries and pain conditions, there has to be a comprehensive plan of action for the treatment of the injury and the patient. This plan should identify the cause of the pain and lay out definite steps for its solution. With this approach, the patient derives maximum functional benefits in a time-targeted manner.

Patients also need to understand that once an area is injured, it is very difficult to return it to 100% of its function. 95-98% is possible with intense rehabilitation, but there will always be some minor weakness inherent in the muscles and joint function. I still do regular exercises for my neck and back and this is 19 years later. I am trying to keep the areas as strong and functional as possible. And yes, I want to set an example for my patients who have trusted me with their health care.