Rotated L5 Vertebrae

I saw Dr. Shiple for a much needed appointment as I have been experiencing beyond horrible back pain--no doubt because of my incompetent SI joints and their inability to stay in place. I had PT with Cam before the appointment (in the same location) and really struggled to do most of my exercises--even the easier ones.

By the time I saw Dr. Shiple my right leg was about 2 inches shorter than my left and you could see my right SI joint while looking at my back. First order of business was to put it back in place (although it popped out a couple of times during other manipulations). While he was putting my SI back in place, he noticed that my L5 vertebrae was rotated and was likely contributing to the insane instability. He attempted to reorient L5 but back pain and restrictions from other joints limited his ability to perform most of the techniques. I also have a severe muscle spasm above both SI joints that he was unable to relieve with manipulative movements. I will be trying Hivamat twice a week to help with my back spasms and pain. Hivamat stands for Histological Variable Manual Technique and is similar to electrical stimulation but with the added massage. This allows the electrical stimulation to penetrate into deeper tissue while manually working through spasms.

Visual of Vertebrae numbered
L5 (bottom of yellow region)

Shows close positioning of L5 vertebrae and SI joint

We decided that I needed to stop wearing the walking boot on my ankle because it throws my entire body out of alignment and is the reason for setbacks in my hip/knee therapy. Cam and Dr. Shiple agreed on a new brace, so I ordered a level IV (maximum support) ankle stabilizer that will hopefully keep the ankle from playing any tricks on me. I should have the brace as early as Thursday of this week!

Bauerfeind CaligaLoc Ankle Brace
Level IV (maxiumum support)

I have PT tomorrow with Cam. Hopefully the session is a little more beneficial than today, although I don't expect it to be because nothing has changed. Cam will be doing stim on my back from now on--I can't say I'm the biggest fan of stim, but at this point I'll take anything if it offers relief.