Henry is a Semi-Professional powerlifter who wrestled with debilitating back pain which affected his ability to weightlift and walk. Watch how Dr. Ben & the Cornerstone Staff helped Henry enjoy walking again!
What issues were you dealing with and how long were you dealing with them before you found Cornerstone Health?
So I’ve been dealing with lower back pain for several years now. I’m a bigger guy. I’m a semi-professional strongman weight lifter and my back was just killing me to the point that it was not only affecting and impacting my lifts, but it was also making things like walking, really difficult, and each step hurt and so I, I just looked up for someone in my neighbourhood who could help deal with this, and I found Dr. Ben Fergus and, I’m thankful I did.
A lot of people think there isn’t a solution to their pain. Did you feel this way before coming to Cornerstone Health?
So yeah, when I, I’ve been trying to get help for my lower back pain for several years now, and nothing was seeming to work. I was nervous that anyone I came and talked to would tell me that I would need to stop lifting, and lifting brings me real, great joy and is something that I’m good at and I wanted to keep doing it. So, you know, when I came to talk to Dr. Fergus, I was afraid he’s gonna tell me that I needed to stop doing something I loved. And that turned out not to be the case, quite the opposite. He decided he was going to help me continue to lift but lift better. To lift in a way that wasn’t going to cause me pain or make my life difficult overall.
How long have you been coming to Cornerstone Health and what improvements have you seen?
So I’ve been going to Cornerstone Health for about six months now and I’ve noticed, it’s hard to describe how much better things have gotten in terms of pain. And you know what? It turned out that the lifting wasn’t causing my pain. Cornerstone Health was able to find me, to help me figure out that my pain was probably more caused by the fact that my left leg is longer than my right leg, right? And what was happening is that because my legs were uneven, I, my stride was all sorts of messed up, and because my stride was messed up, it was hurting my lower back extraordinarily. So Ben was able to help me get orthotics. He was able to help me find ways just to walk better and the pain has just gotten so much better. All my lifts have gone up, truly, in the past six months and I credit that to Cornerstone Health and their technique.
Can you tell us how working with Cornerstone Health has improved your quality of life?
Oh yeah, I’m able to take long, it’s gonna sound kind of corny, but I’m able to take long walks along Lake Michigan a lot better now because he’s helped me with my walking ability, truly. My life has gotten so much better personally and I know it sounds kind of crazy. Ever since that pain got down, I’m able to enjoy the outdoors more, I’m able to not feel agony at the end of my workouts, end of my lifts. Things have gotten a lot better and I’m thankful.
How is Cornerstone Health different from the other clinics you’ve experienced?
Cornerstone Health listens. They listen well. You could tell that they’re paying attention and that they want to make your life better. They wanna eradicate the pain that’s hitting you and that’s making you do normal things in agony. I felt that Dr. Benjamin Fergus listened to me, he took my concerns seriously, he addressed them point by point, and he was able to think outside the box as to what might be causing my pain. No doctor that I had gone to previously had ever thought to think that my legs might be uneven and that therefore my stride was off and that was causing me such lower back pain, none. I credit it all to Dr. Ben Fergus, for making me able to enjoy walking again.
How was your experience working with Dr. Ben?
This is a guy who knows what he’s talking about. You know, in my, when it comes to lifting, you can tell people who know what they’re talking about and you can tell people who don’t know what they’re talking about, all right. With Dr. Fergus, man, he knew, he knew what he was saying. He knew how the form needed to be for me to do my lifts properly. He had the authority to tell me, hey, you know, slow down, stop doing that, and because I knew he knew what he was talking about, I listened and it, in this type of work, you can tell, oh I gotta be careful what I say here. You can tell who’s just giving you a bunch of lines and he could tell you someone who cares and wants to see you go further. Ben’s the type of guy who cares and wants you to press forward and reach new heights, and he wants you to do it in a way that’s not gonna wreck your body and cause you to have pain. I know a ton of powerlifters who by the time they’re in their mid-30s, their knees are gone, or they can’t stand up straight because they wrecked their back. Ben told me, Henry, I want you to be able to hold your child. I want you to be able to play catch with your kid. I want you to be able to take walks along Lake Michigan with your wife. Because of that, and because of the personal quality of care, I’d recommend him and this place to any powerlifter or anybody with chronic pain. Across the world, hands down.
What would you say to someone that’s thinking about coming to Cornerstone Health for treatment?
I’m not gonna say going to Cornerstone Health was the best decision I’ve ever made. The best decision I ever made was marrying my wife, but getting help, and getting good help for my back pain, was a good choice. Coming to Cornerstone Health was a good choice and I’d recommend it to anyone. Anyone who is facing any sort of chronic pain injury.
