I just wanted to thank you for the techniques taught in your books, The Pain Free Runner and Pain Free Living. I have had chronic calf spasms from running for over 5 years. I went from doing Ironman triathlons to not being able to run 1/2 mile without my calf cramping. Using the treatments taught in the books, I am now up to 8 miles. I’m still running slower than usual, but I have been steadily progressing. I have very few knots anymore, and have increased my illiopsoas flexibility significantly. I think that has been the key. I sit much of the day for work, in the car or behind a computer, which I think made me get steadily tighter over the years. I did not know that you could have pressure on a nerve, without other symptoms, other than the sudden cramps. I’m hoping to get back to racing at some point, but right now it feels great to be able to run again. Thanks again for your great treatment techniques and strategies. By the way, I had seen 2 sports medicine physicians, 2 chiropractors specializing in active release therapy, and consulted with multiple physical therapists over the years, and I am a physical therapist. But none of us could figure it out. Thanks again.

I am so excited now – I have hope again that has painfully excaped me for years!! I have been to 5 chiropractors, 3 physical therapists. a fascial manipulation expert, finally the surgeons knife 1 1/2 years ago and was still going down hill… I couldn’t sleep anymore because upon lying down, I held my body stiff because when I tried to relax, the pain became worse. I was in danger of losing my wonderful high school teaching job. I was exhausted from not sleeping and so run down. I prayed that God would show me what to do and yearned to be normal again. I had told my sister just last saturday that I was so sad that I would never run or jump or dance again; It was that very morning that I came upon your site Julie!! It all clicked right away – after learning so much in a piecemeal fashion from all the well-meaning therapists, I realized that I had those knots ALL over my body and, despite not having your book yet, I spent 2 hours mauling away at them, and that night I knew it was working!! I slept finally! the next day I ordered your e-book and spent 4 hours going though that protocol for the lower body you recommend – And I slept again!!! And the pain was going away even more!! And that night I dared to hope again that someday I might even run again!!! Thank you so much.

When I was 20 years old, hip pain caused me to lose my chance to compete at the Olympic Games for the 400m Sprint. That ultimately led to 20 years of pain, and the inability to run at all, which was depressing to say the least. In my mind it was all over, I’d never run again. Eventually I decided I needed to run regardless of the pain because I just couldn’t function without running. I was resigned to limping and being in pain for the rest of my life. Then I met Julie and my life changed completely. In just a few minutes she located the source of the pain that had knocked me out of the Olympics. I could hardly believe it as I had been to innumerable doctors, therapists, and trainers through the years and nobody was every able to find the source of my problem. Not only did Julie find the pain, she stopped it quickly, and then she showed me how to self-treat the muscles that caused it. Incredible! I was back to training full-speed and worked my way up from the bottom to break the World Record for the 400m Sprint for my age-level. Now I’ve broken my own WR twice! And I only keep getting better. I lost my opportunity for Olympic Gold, but I’m a three-time WR breaking sprinter and that’s just tremendous!

You spend years believing in a given “truth,” or even doing something the same way for most of your life? Then “it” happens. It may be an event of some kind. Or someone you meet. It happens by accident. And then a whole new reality is upon you. You are faced with the realization that you have been completely blind. Out in the dark. Missing the boat. So what am I talking about? I have been involved in athletics all my life. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t on the Little League field, or doing whatever sport was in season. By the time I had reached college, I had been misfortunate enough to receive more than one “career ending” injury and multiple surgeries. I still managed to play basketball at a NCAA division 1 level college, spending as much time in the care of sports trainers and doctors, as just about anybody. The point to this is that I’ve injured just about every part of my body at one time or another, playing one sport or another. Over the years, I’ve come to know the routine of treating sports related injuries quite well. Some of which I have overcome, and some of which I had come to the conclusion that I would have to live with. Over the last couple of years however, it meant not being able to train enough to compete in an Ironman distance triathlon. A dream that I had concluded would go unfulfilled. I met Julie Donnelly completely by accident. I had given up on finding someone who could treat my Achilles Tendonitis with results. It would always re-occur with any lengthy training sessions. Julie sent me her book. And that’s when I had “it” happen to me. I found myself following directions and treating the mid-calf area of my leg, not my heel, (where all the pain was coming from). “How could that work?” From the time I had my first “booboo” the question was “where does it hurt?” and then the attention always focused on that area. And most certainly throughout my sports life, I don’t remember one doctor fooling with a small spot on a muscle more than a foot away from my injury. To keep this story short, here is the result. My $300.00 pair of prescription orthotics is in the closet, and I finished my first Ironman Triathlon in June of 2002. This is completely due to Julie’s technique of treating repetitive strain injuries. Julie Donnelly is not only an insightful and knowledgeable therapist, but she is also a teacher in the true sense of the word. I encourage you to take this book and use it as a guide to better health, better performance, and a better life. Don’t be shocked to find that the pain in your shoulder just might be caused by a spasm in your back; and that you can treat it in a matter of minutes, not weeks.

If you’ve ever had an injury that continually resurfaced after seemingly successful rehabilitation, or just one that refused to go away regardless of the various treatments, the “Pain-Free Athlete” book may very well hold the answers to your mysteries.

For nearly a decade I had dedicated hours of my daily schedule to rigorous training in pursuit of world-class physical conditioning necessary for highly competitive swimming, running, and rough-terrain racing events. Over the years I had my share of strains, pulls, and bruises, but felt nearly invincible and confident nothing could keep me down.

However, I began injuring the area around my biceps tendon on a regular basis, which routinely sidelined me from meaningful swim training. Just when I was confident it was completely healed for weeks, I would restrain it again. I thus began what turned out to be a lengthy search for help through the entire healthcare industry. I saw chiropractors, orthopedists, neurologists, had x- rays, MRI’s, massage, physical therapy, and ancient Chinese acupuncture and qui-gong. All to no avail! The “tendonitis” (as it was often labeled) returned shortly following the often-lengthy rehabilitation.

It took Julie Donnelly exactly two emails for her to correctly diagnose and solve this mystery. The problem: a shortening of the biceps muscle. The likely reason: all the aggressive swim training (hard intervals, weighted pull-ups, etc.). The solution: release the spasm before stretching. Hard to believe, isn’t it? How could something so simple be so effective?

Well, the advice and instruction not only worked for once, but also made perfect sense. The muscle was becoming shortened as a result of being in a prolonged state of contraction (2-4 hour swim workouts, 500 or so pull-ups over 90 minutes, etc.).

Not all of life’s stories have a happy ending. Fortunately for me, this one does as I’ve seen these treatments work on me. If you are experiencing any training-related injuries, chances are great this book will help you successfully cure them. Follow the basic instructions she presents for any area that you have injured or have discomfort. Finally, “The Pain-Free Athlete” book can act as an exceptional preventative tool and I encourage you to read through it and take advantage of her knowledge.

Your training will surely benefit.

It was incredible to me that I finally found the solution to debilitating low back pain. I had terrible low back pain for a year and was sent to multiple rounds of physical therapy, as well as massage, and various types of stretching, to no avail. The next step was surgery on my lumbar spine!

The worst part was, when I came out of the recovery room my low back hurt just as bad as before. The doctor said it was the swelling and that when that went down that I’d be out of pain, but that’s NOT what happened!

Another year of various therapies, including multiple rounds of physical therapy, and then my hip started to hurt. I was told that the scar tissue from the first surgery had wrapped around my nerve, and I needed a second surgery to get rid of the scar tissue from the first surgery. I absolutely refused. The first surgery didn’t help, why should I believe the second surgery would make a difference.

Finding Julie Donnelly and her unique way of treating muscles was nothing short of a miracle! Julie works through clothes, so she didn’t know anything about my long history, or about the surgery (and suggested second surgery). Instead of looking at my back, Julie started working on the front of my pelvis and then my low back muscle. She explained why these muscles cause low back pain – and in short order I had 80% relief!

The next week I told her about my hip pain, and she immediately started treating my thigh. Again, she explained why this muscle would cause hip pain, and it was so logical I was surprised that all of the medical professionals I’d seen hadn’t said anything about it.

The best news was when I stood up. Not only was my hip better, but my low back was now 100% better! Julie taught me how to do some simple self-treatments and the pain never returned. The Julstro Method she teaches is so simple, yet profound, that every therapist should know how to use it to help their clients.

I had SI pain and lateral thigh pain for almost one year. I had been to six doctors, three PT’s and a chiropractor. I had 3 MRI’s and 2 X-rays, yet everyone was still perplexed. I had one doctor tell me that my symptoms “didn’t make sense,” and being a PT myself, I went to the top PT in our clinic.

After working with me and doing everything possible to help me, he told me I had a “mystery pain that I just had to live with,” but I was only 31YO and I don’t want to live with pain all my life! Your explanation was so logical, I don’t know why nobody else thought of it — not even me! By the second session with you I was pain-free and knew how to self-treat each muscle that was the source of the pain. You even taught me how to eliminate the plantar fasciitis that I’d been battling with for 18 months. I’m happy to say I no longer wear expensive orthotics.

A wonderful added bonus is I have been able to help many patients that I’d never been able to help before. I recently had a patient who had chronic pain for 15 years. After one treatment from me, and teaching him how to do the self-treatments, his pain was 1-2/10 and he was thrilled! I’ve had so many patients tell me that “you changed my life!” This is why I became a PT! Thank you for being so generous with your knowledge. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you have done for me and my patients.

God put somebody in from of me here at the hospital that needed your Julstro Method of Osteopathic Muscular Therapy techniques. She had low back pain. When I first worked with her, her pain was an 8/10 and she felt that her leg was buckling. I treated her and then today her pain level was at a 3 and her leg no longer felt like it was buckling on her. I did another treatment and taught her a few self-treatments and she was able to leave the hospital. My patient and I both thank you!

It takes the insight and perseverance of a pioneer to breakthrough traditional methods of standardized treatments and Julie Donnelly B.S., LMT has done just that. Even more, she has broken the ritual of having to return to the clinic again and again by providing an easy way to learn self-help maintenance treatments.

I was amazed and impressed with Julie’s Julstro Method of Osteopathic Muscular Therapy from the moment I was introduced to the concept. It seemed complex yet so easy to implement and I wondered, “Why didn’t they teach me this in PT school?”

After taking her LOW BACK PAIN-SCIATICA-HIP PAIN course I was anxious to begin my own path to self-help. Let me tell you… my personal results have been nothing short of miraculous! Where Chiropractic, Rolfing and Massage Therapy have failed, I have received tremendous relief with just one treatment and several self-help techniques.

Additionally, my hospital recently admitted several patients with Acute/Intractable Low Back Pain that were pending surgical intervention. I evaluated one of the female patients who had severe Acute Low Back Pain. She was only in her mid-50s yet was “walking” like a 95 year old, all hunched over and shuffling, due to severe and debilitating pain. She was ready to go under the knife to relieve her pain. I asked her permission to try the Julstro Method of Osteopathic Muscular Therapy and she said, “Yes”.

I followed Julie’s protocol of treatment and said I would return in the afternoon to educate her in the self-help maintenance techniques. Upon my return in the afternoon what I found was a totally different person “running” around the hospital room, proclaiming that this was, “the best her back had felt in years”. No more hunched over and shuffling gait AND her smile was back. She was radically transformed!

Here is yet another MIRACULOUS recovery that is solely contributed to the Julstro Method of Osteopathic Muscular Therapy. After educating her in several applicable self-help techniques she was well on her way to living a much less painful life and better able to self-manage her pain. Better yet… NO surgical intervention was needed!!!

I firmly believe that even as a well-seasoned clinician I still have room to grow for the betterment of my patients. I want to grow in the direction of teaching my patients more self-help methods and the Julstro Method of Osteopathic Muscular Therapy is spot on. You won’t be disappointed, and neither will your patients!