Question
Date: 29th December 2006

Hi

About 2 months ago I started to get back pain. It might be due to the fact that I carried pails of water.
The pain go bad and I was recommended to a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner. He made me lie down and suddenly pushed my legs towards my chest; for both legs. He also had someone to hold my arms and pulled my legs to stretch my body. The treatment, including acupuncture, cupping and heat treatment plus medicine, seemed to work, but ...
About 2 -3 days later, when I woke up one morning I could not walk and my legs started shaking. I had to hold on to the back of a chair and slowly inch myself painfully forward.
So I went to the A&E (Accident & Emergency) unit of a hospital where I was injected pain killers and had X-rays taken of my back and sides. The X-rays showed degeneration of my spinal chord due to age (I am 68 years old).
Now I cannot walk some distance or stand on my feet for longer than 15 minutes before I feel pain in my feet and legs.

I would be grateful if you could tell me if I should consult a chiropractor or a podiatrist to fit me with a good pair of walking shoes. Or, any other doctor ?

Thank you in advance.

Yours sincrely
T.H. Teo


Answer
Without a proper exam I am just speculating.  But the discomfort you are feeling when you walk is most likely due to the degeneration.  As the bones deteriorate, it can cause some nerve irritation, which is what sounds like to be your situation.  Continuing chiropractic care would be a good course of treatment, and most chiropractor can fit you for orthotic for your shoes.

Dr. Starbuck