May, 2011 by Stacy Schubloom

A successful chiropractic technique is available to help people who suffer from chronic pain such as fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis. Local Chiropractor Galen Graham, DC, PC, is one of about 300 doctors in the U.S. who has been selected to offer this procedure, he says. And his patients are experiencing consistent relief.

Located at 1935 E. Bijou Street in Colorado Springs, lifelong resident Dr. Graham says that he is dedicated to his practice and has a passion to improve each patient’s quality of life. “After 38 years of practice, it seemed there was no treatment available for unresolved, higher-level pain syndromes. I was really reaching the point of looking at retirement or dwindling down my practice, but then I heard about this technique,” Dr. Graham says. “I’m very picky about integrity, so I had to make a decision. If it was a scam, I wasn’t going to be a part of it.”

The Neurologic Relief Centers Technique™ (NRC) is the name of the new technology for pain relief that Dr. Graham added to his practice in March 2010. It goes back to the original chiropractic principles of putting focused pressure on a specific area rather than the entire spine. This is not a new technique, but the testing procedure is a new philosophy, Dr. Graham explains. As a member of the Neurological Relief Center, Dr. Graham and other participating doctors are documenting NRC’s continued success.

Dr. Graham still treats four of his original patients whom he started seeing 38 years ago, but he is adding new patients all the time. He offers free testing to determine if a person is a candidate for NRC. “I don’t focus so much on the diagnosis because right now I’m treating people with all kinds of dysfunctions,” he says, adding that fibromyalgia seems to be a catch-all term. “When everything else has failed, this is the category doctors put the pain in. It’s when patients hurt all over.”

He says patients usually have four main questions: 1. What’s wrong with me?; 2. Can you help me?; 3. How long will it take?; and 4. How much is it going to cost? After the testing, Dr. Graham says that he is able to tell if someone will respond to chiropractic care in general or this new technique. “I don’t want someone just to have a patient to treat. I want to get results,” he says.

The length of the care varies with each case. Dr. Graham also teaches patients what they can do at home to help themselves. “The whole goal is to get their health back in their own hands,” he says. “I’m their maintenance man.”

The actual NRC adjustment takes less than a minute to perform. There is about a month of confined treatments, and then within three months treatment usually takes place every other week. “I’m very compassionate about this, and I don’t want it to be cost-prohibitive,” he says. “This is not for every single person, but it is for those who have not found solutions anywhere else.”

Patient Patti has been seeing Dr. Graham for her fibromyalgia for close to a year. She had read about the new NRC program, and was thinking about going to California to have it done. But then she found Dr. Graham. Through the free consultation and testing, she found out that she was a good candidate for this technology. “I have a lot more energy now and my pain is subsiding,” she says. “I am working with my regular medical doctor and getting off all my medications, including heavy-duty pain meds. I had tried everything, and this is the first thing that really gives me relief from the fibromyalgia. It has helped me get my life back.”

Patti remembers going on an outing for only a half-day in the past, and then having to spend the next three days in bed. She recently went to the Denver zoo and then the next day to a flea market. “I could do all of it,” she says excitedly.

Patti advises anyone who suffers from chronic pain to see Dr. Graham. “It would be silly to not at least get the free testing done in order to get your life back,” she says. “Dr. Graham is a very caring man. If he didn’t feel it was working he would suggest stopping the treatment. He is very concerned and understanding. He is a blessing to work with.”

This is one of many testimonials from Dr. Graham’s patients, as he was recently on a radio broadcast and two of his patients called in to share their success stories. He also offers health care classes at his office every two weeks, at which he performs NRC tests in front of those in attendance. These are free and open to the public.

The test takes pressure off the spinal cord using two weighted probes. It is non-invasive and not uncomfortable, Dr. Graham explains. “I can tell right away if the person is a candidate that will respond to this treatment,” he adds. He demonstrates how the pressure is applied to the first vertebrae through a model of a skull and spinal cord. Through detailed descriptions of the nerves, vertebrae, and membranes, Dr. Graham explains the process and why symptoms and pain occur to the patient, as well as the body’s response.

“The power that made the body is healing it, not me,” he says, adding that statistically it takes a minimum of 90 days for the body to heal with any type of corrective procedure. “We need to quit focusing on the pain and focus on bodily function. If I can restore the body to near normal function as soon as possible, the body will begin to heal.” He adds that the first objective is to restore mobility.

Dr. Graham says this treatment may help people with Parkinson’s, as well as migraine and cluster headaches, MS, sever forms of arthritis, failed surgeries, and so much more. Dr. Graham states that, “If a patient tests well, and they follow the recommended treatment protocol; they can experience 80% or better results. To me, that to me is really dynamic.”