In May of 1999, when I was 70, I woke up one morning to find that my right knee was severely swollen and was causing me excruciating pain - I was unable to walk without a stick. There appeared to be no explanation for this - I had not twisted my knee or fallen or indeed done anything to my knowledge that could have been the cause. Generally I was otherwise in excellent health.
I visited UCLA Medical Center in Westwood where my knee was x-rayed. My physician there said that the x-ray showed no major abnormalities. He was of the opinion that my condition could be a strain, or possibly rheumatoid arthritis or even gout. His only recommendation was that I stayed off my feet, and he gave me prescriptions for pain killers and a course of physical therapy at the Center. After three months of twice-weekly physical therapy sessions there, my knee finally returned to normal.
In December of 2003, I again woke up one morning with my left knee in a similar condition to that which my right knee had been in three years previously - once again I was barely able to walk. I was about to return to UCLA Medical Center when a friend in our company told me that there was an excellent chiropractor in the same complex as our company office. My friend suggested that I first give the chiropractor - Dr. Evan Berk - a try. Thirty minutes later I was being treated by Dr. Berk. Following a second treatment by him the following day, my knee had practically returned to normal. Dr. Berk explained to me that the pain in my knee had in fact - on both occasions - been caused by my lower back being out of alignment.
This month - September 2005 - I had an identical repeat experience with my left knee and, once again, after just two visits to Dr. Berk to have my back realigned, I was walking freely.
During the almost two-year interval between the two major problems with my left knee, whenever I have experienced pains in either my neck, my shoulder, my feet or my ankles, I have fled back to Dr. Berk. I now realize that the root cause of my problems is invariably the misalignment of my back, and I also recognize that regular visits to Dr. Berk's office for maintenance are the only way to solve my problems on a continuing basis. For this I thank Evan Berk, my insurance company and God - in that order!
Philip Waddilove
