Client Background

Jan originally came to see me because of severe neck pain, but after just a few questions, it became obvious that her neck pain was only a symptom of something much bigger.

At 27 years old, Jan had the world on a silver platter. She had an active social life, a successful career as a computer programmer in the emerging field of technology, and a bright future ahead of her. Then everything changed.

Pain began deep in her buttocks. It was sharp, relentless, and debilitating. The pain gradually took over her life.

Jan sought help everywhere she could think of. She saw her physician, who referred her to physical therapy. She went to a chiropractor three times a week and received regular massage therapy. Despite her commitment and determination, nothing relieved her pain.

Eventually, the pain became so severe that she began missing multiple days of work every week. The career she had worked so hard to build slipped away as she was downgraded to an entry-level position and her salary was significantly reduced.

Equally heartbreaking, Jan watched her friends continue living the life she had once imagined for herself. They socialized, got married, started families, and made plans. Jan couldn't participate because she was simply in too much pain.

By the time Jan arrived at my office, this had been her reality for seven years.

She could no longer stand upright. She walked bent almost 90 degrees at the waist and depended on a cane to prevent herself from falling forward. Because she was unable to lift her torso, she compensated by extending her neck backward so she could see where she was going. The strain on her neck and shoulders had become so severe that she suffered from constant neck pain and headaches.

Jan had already given up hope of ever finding relief from her back and sciatic pain. She came to my office hoping that perhaps someone could at least ease the neck pain.

Clinical Reasoning and Assessment

It was obvious that Jan's shortened neck and shoulder muscles were contributing to her neck pain and headaches, and those muscles responded well to treatment. However, I couldn't ignore the question that immediately came to mind:

Why was this woman bent over so severely?

When I asked Jan about it, she began to cry as she shared the story of the previous seven years.

The emotional toll had been enormous. Depression had led her to seek comfort in food, and she had gained more than 100 pounds. The additional weight only compounded her physical limitations and reinforced the belief that this was simply how the rest of her life would be.

At that time, I had not yet developed what would later become the Julstro Protocol. I had to rely on careful observation and clinical reasoning, asking myself which muscles could possibly pull the body into such an extreme position and keep it there.

One by one, I began releasing the tension patterns I identified.

At the end of Jan's first session, she was still bent forward, but something remarkable had happened.

She said, "I don't have any pain."

I had her stand with her buttocks resting against a wall and encouraged her to gradually attempt to straighten her body.

I could see the fear in her eyes.

For years, every attempt to stand upright had resulted in a sudden electric shock of pain shooting through her body. She expected it to happen again.

Slowly, cautiously, she straightened.

When she realized the pain wasn't there, Jan began to cry.

This time, they were tears of joy.

Treatment and Self-Care

Because I had not yet developed the self-treatment techniques that I now teach to all my clients, I encouraged Jan to begin gently stretching the muscles of her pelvis in a swimming pool.

Using a flotation noodle in the deep end, she allowed her body to relax while gently moving her legs back and forth. The buoyancy of the water reduced stress on her body while restoring movement and flexibility.

Unexpectedly, another transformation began.

Seeing herself in a bathing suit motivated Jan to improve her eating habits. As she lost weight, her confidence grew. Experiencing pain relief gave her the courage to pursue a better job, and she eventually found a position that significantly improved both her financial situation and her outlook on life.

Initially, Jan came for treatment twice a week. As her strength, mobility, and confidence improved, visits decreased to once a week and eventually to maintenance appointments every other week.

Outcome

Jan's life was radically different.

Pain had stolen her career, her confidence, her independence, and her hope for the future.

As her pain diminished, she reclaimed each of those things.

She stood upright again.

She returned to an active life.

She regained control over her health.

Most importantly, she began believing in her future once more.

Client Background

Leon owned a successful business in Brooklyn, New York. Every weekday he fought city traffic, spending two to two-and-a-half hours driving to work and another two to two-and-a-half hours driving home.

Years of sitting behind the wheel eventually caught up with him. He developed severe low back pain that became excruciating.

Living in New York gave Leon access to some of the finest physicians and hospitals in the country, and he sought help from the best specialists available. Determined to find relief, he followed every recommendation.

He completed an entire year of physical therapy. He sought chiropractic care. He received massage therapy near his office during the workday.

Nothing helped. Eventually, his physician told him surgery was his only remaining option. Although Leon did not want back surgery, the pain had become unbearable. With no other hope in sight, he agreed.

Unfortunately, the surgery failed to relieve his pain. He was sent for another year of physical therapy. Then a new problem developed.

Leon began experiencing severe pain in the front of his hip. He was told that scar tissue from the first surgery had wrapped around a nerve and that he needed a second surgery to remove the scar tissue from the first procedure.

This time, Leon refused. He feared that another surgery would simply leave him worse than before. The only reason Leon came to my office was because he was tired of driving and realized he could walk there from his home.

Neither of us had any idea that this decision would ultimately change both of our lives, and impact thousands of my future clients and students.

Clinical Reasoning and Assessment

Because my work is performed through clothing, if clients don't tell me they have had surgery, I don't know about it. Leon never mentioned it.

Based on my understanding at the time, I knew that shortened muscles in the pelvis (iliacus, psoas, and quadratus lumborum muscles) could place a strain on the lumbar vertebrae, rotate the pelvis, and contribute to pressure affecting the sciatic nerve, so I treated those muscles.

When Leon stood up, he looked surprised. "My back feels 80% better," he said. I was thrilled. He immediately scheduled another appointment.

At his next session, Leon mentioned the pain in the front of his hip.

I reassessed the muscles I had treated previously, partly because I was curious how they had tolerated his four-to-five hours of daily driving.

Then I began treating the muscle on his thigh (rectus femoris). I knew that tension in this muscle could create a strain through its attachment at the anterior pelvis. As I suspected, the muscle contained an enormous spasm. It took time to release.

When it finally softened, Leon stood up. He looked at me with disbelief.

"I don't have any back pain," he exclaimed. Then he bent his knee and lifted his heel toward his buttocks. "I haven't been able to do this in years!"

He smiled. I smiled. Leon made another appointment and left my office.

But then another thought entered my mind.

Why?

Why had releasing the thigh muscle completely changed the outcome?

That question became the catalyst for everything that followed.

The Discovery

I had a small skeleton in my office that I called Max. I stood there looking at Max, reviewing the actions of each muscle and considering how they influenced the lumbar vertebrae and pelvic mechanics.

The answer seemed so logical that I assumed I must have learned it in massage school and simply forgotten it. Embarrassed that it had taken me eight years as a therapist to recognize what now appeared so obvious, I kept my discovery to myself.

Two years later, I mentioned it to a close friend who had graduated from massage school with me. She didn't know it. I asked several other massage therapists. They didn't know it either.

Finally, I asked the physician who owned the building where my practice was located. He didn't know it.

At that moment, I realized I had uncovered something important.

What began as curiosity about one client's remarkable improvement eventually evolved into the principles that became the Julstro Protocol.

I have been teaching these concepts ever since.

Treatment and Self-Care

Leon received treatment addressing the muscular relationships.

Equally important, he became one of the first clients I taught to perform self-treatment. He learned how to release the muscles of the pelvis and thigh on his own.

This experience convinced me that clients should not remain passive recipients of care. Teaching self-treatment became a standard part of my practice and remains one of the cornerstones of the Julstro Method today.

Outcome

Leon performed his self-treatments every morning when he arrived at work and again each evening when he returned home.

He continued therapeutic sessions twice a month for maintenance.

Most importantly...

Leon never had the second surgery!

Client Background

Allen Woodard was a dedicated athlete whose life had been profoundly affected by pain. In addition to the physical limitations he was experiencing, he had also endured significant emotional challenges during this period of his life. He had sought help through conventional channels but had not found lasting answers or relief. He was told that there was nothing they could do to help him and gave him painkillers that he didn’t want to use as they are so addictive.

Allen was an amazing 400m sprint runner, on his way to the Olympics after a race (video of it is in my TED Talk: The Pain Question No One is Asking) where he had been 30m behind the last runner, and he was so fast he won the race!

While in training for the Olympics, Allen developed left hip pain. He went everywhere to try to resolve the pain, he went to every therapist he could think of, including massage, physical therapy, chiropractic, orthopedic, etc. Nothing worked and the pain ultimately made him lose his Olympic dream. As years passed the pain worsened and eventually, he couldn’t run at all. After 20 years of not running, he was severely depressed and couldn’t even watch running on TV. His wife urged him to fight his depression by running, even if he was in pain.

He eventually went from his home in Houston, TX to work with an exceptional trainer in North Carolina. He hoped that the trainer would show him some techniques that would enable him to have less pain while running.

I was out of town the entire time Allen was in North Carolina, coming back into the office when he was walking out to go back to Houston. He was limping, and I asked him why. He told me the whole sad story about the pain, about losing out on the Olympics, and how he now can’t run at all.

I had him lie on the floor and I pressed into the muscle on the inside of his hip (iliacus) and he cried out, “That’s the pain that kept me out of the Olympics!” We went into my office, and I treated all the muscles that impact the hip (iliacus, psoas, rectus femoris, quadratus lumborum, lateral rotators, and hamstrings). Then I taught him all the self-treatments and stretches. He was thrilled because he was out of pain for the first time in over 20 years!

Six months later, Allen called and was excited to tell me that he had just won a race that made him #1 in the USA for his age group, and #2 in the WORLD! We were so happy, but it kept getting better. A few months later he called to say he had just won a race that made him #1 in the World for his age group! He then broke the World Record for his age group, and then he broke his own World Record TWICE!

Allen said, “Pain kept me out of the Olympics, but because of what you did and what you taught me, I’m in the record books and nobody can ever take me out of them!”

Clinical Reasoning and Assessment

Rather than focusing solely on the location of Allen's pain, it was important to evaluate the muscular relationships that could be creating his symptoms.

Using the principles that later became known as the Julstro Protocol, I identified the involvement that others had overlooked.

This changed the direction of treatment entirely.

Treatment and Self-Care

The reason others didn’t find the problem is they were totally missing the part where the thigh muscle needs to shorten in order to straighten the leg. They may have been treating the hip muscles, but the odds are very slim that they released the spasm that was holding the pelvis forward and down and causing all the other muscles to torque, shorten, or put pressure on the various bones. When I released tension in the thigh muscle, the pelvis could rotate back where it belonged, and then teaching Allen how to do self-treatments (another thing nobody thinks to do) enabled him to keep the muscle from shortening again.

Equally important, Allen learned how to continue the self-treatment process on his own so he could participate actively in his recovery.

Outcome

Allen immediately experienced significant improvement.

As his pain diminished and function returned, he regained confidence in his body and his future.

Soon after returning to Houston, with his new-found pain relief and self-treatment ability, he began to train again, ramping up until he was training for competition. Allen returned not only to athletic participation but to an extraordinary level of performance.

Client Background

Norm was introduced to me by Corey, another client of mine who happened to be a professional volleyball player. Corey called my office and said it was an emergency. "You have to see this man TODAY!" His urgency made such an impression on me that I was grateful to discover I had one opening left in my schedule.

When Norm arrived, he gave me only a brief explanation of what had happened.

He told me that a year earlier, Norm had been carried off the golf course after his back completely locked up while playing golf. His entire lower back had suddenly seized in excruciating pain immediately after hitting a long drive. The pain had been so severe that he collapsed on the course.

Norm was a high-level professional golfer. Golf wasn't simply his career. It was his identity. It was his passion. And now he believed it had been taken away from him forever.

Because of his success, Norm had the financial means to seek care from some of the finest medical experts available. He spared no expense, traveling to major medical centers and specialists in Ohio, New York, and California.

Nothing helped.

As the months passed, his condition deteriorated. The pain became so severe that each morning he had to slide out of bed onto his knees before pulling himself upright using the headboard.

He needed assistance getting into and out of his car. Someone had to help him walk up the steps at the clubhouse. After sitting in a chair, he struggled to stand again. Friends and colleagues did simple tasks for him, such as carrying his lunch, because the smallest movements had become difficult.

Norm had accepted what he believed to be an unavoidable truth:

His golf career was over!

He was devastated.

Clinical Reasoning and Assessment

At the time of our first session, I knew none of this. I only knew that a man had severe low back pain following a golf swing.

I immediately began treating each of the muscles that now comprise the Julstro Protocol.

I also taught Norm how to perform self-treatments for each of the muscles, along with a safe standing stretch.

Then Norm asked me a question. "When can I play golf again?"

Without hesitation, I answered, "Tomorrow."

He stared at me. "Tomorrow?" he shouted.

I smiled and replied, "As long as you do the self-treatments I taught you before, during, and after your round of golf."

He immediately scheduled another appointment for the following afternoon.

As I continued working with Norm, I thought carefully about the mechanics of the golf swing.

Golfers present a unique opportunity to observe how repetitive movement patterns influence the body.

Norm was a right-handed golfer. With every swing, his left low back muscle (quadratus lumborum) repeatedly shortened and contracted powerfully. During the follow-through portion of the swing, the right muscles (rectus femoris) also underwent repetitive shortening.

My hands confirmed what the mechanics suggested.

Although I treated all the muscles involved in the Julstro Protocol, these particular muscles appeared especially significant in Norm's case.

Outcome

Norm returned the next day excited that he had been able to play golf again. However, years of dysfunction could not be resolved overnight. Over the following two months, Norm committed himself fully to the process. He attended frequent treatment sessions.

He faithfully performed his daily self-treatments. Gradually, his strength returned.

His confidence returned.

His independence returned.

Most importantly, he reclaimed the part of himself he thought had been lost forever.

Today, Norm is once again competing in golf tournaments around the world!