Interview with Dr. Ron Nusbaum

Recently we sat down with the very busy, very in-demand Dr. Ron Nusbaum to learn more about him and Back Clinics of Canada.

Dr. Nusbaum, can you give us a little background on yourself?

I’m from North York, ON. I graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, and became a Doctor of Chiropractic in 1989 at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto. I’m a member of the Ontario Chiropractic Association, the Canadian Chiropractic Association, and am licensed by the College of Chiropractors of Ontario. I write for print and online publications. Recently I’ve appeared on Toronto radio and television. I’m married, father to four children, busy in my community and excited and energized by what we’re doing at Back Clinics of Canada.

What is your health philosophy?

My health philosophy is to help patients prevent having health problems where possible. And if a patient does have health problems, to honour their body’s natural ability to heal itself, by trying to leverage the body’s own ability to work better without using drugs and surgery.

What role does technology play in the diagnosis and care of back pain and neck pain?

Technology is essential in both diagnosing and treating back pain and neck pain. Tools like MRIs, surface EMGs, and CT-Scans provide insight into the body’s inner workings, showing us exactly what is going on in a patient’s anatomy. We can pinpoint specifically where our patient is having a problem and understand the best way to help them.

At Back Clinics of Canada we integrate into our clinic the most advanced technology available anywhere for our patients. It furthers our ongoing mission to provide the ultimate best care possible. The technology used at Back Clinics of Canada permits people to heal, non-surgically, what was otherwise considered to be irresolvable back and neck pain. We have on site a non-needle surface EMG, which is used to measure muscle and nerve function, and a digital foot scanner that instantly assesses posture and gait issues, which can contribute directly to serious spinal problems. Central to our clinic is the world’s most powerful and therapeutic laser of its kind, the Class IV K-laser, and the most technologically advanced Spinal Decompression system.

Back Clinics of Canada is the first clinic in Canada to offer the Class IV K-laser! Both the spinal decompression system and the Class IV K-laser offer profoundly deep healing at the source of the problem, non-surgically, without drugs, and in a completely non-invasive manner. Our approach is different and, more importantly, better. Our results speak for us.

What drew you to develop an advanced Laser Therapy/Spinal decompression practice?

As a health provider for more than 26 years, I’d always been frustrated not being able to help a certain segment of my patient population. These were patients who had severely damaged discs that traditional forms of healthcare couldn’t fix. I would see patients who had been suffering in silence because they thought had no options, or they would have to go for surgery. The success of surgery is low. It’s risky and has a number of side effects.

I can now offer real hope to these patients. With our high success rate for qualified patients, I can help most of them to a better quality of life than they ever dreamed possible. And their lives turn around as a result of it.

Who is a good candidate for Laser Therapy and/or Spinal Decompression?

The people we see have low back pain or neck pain due to discogenic issues, like degenerative discsbulging or herniated discsstenosis or sciatica.

Our patients may have already tried several alternative pain-relief treatments. Or our back pain clinic is the first place they come to for care. Meaning, it can be your first, or your last, resort. We’re hoping laser therapy and Spinal Decompression are your first and only back pain treatments.

But don’t decide on your own if it’s for you. Come in for a consultation. There are many people suffering from chronic pain who were told by their doctors they just had to live with it. And weeks later, they walked out of my office smiling and pain-free!

How do Laser Therapy or Spinal Decompression compare to the other treatments and therapies available for back and neck pain sufferers?

There is a wide range of therapies available.

When a patient suffers with a bulging disc, herniated disc, advanced disc degeneration or stenosis, they often will find little benefit, or at best short-term benefit, with the therapies like chiropractic, physiotherapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, medical intervention and surgery. While it’s true that sometimes surgery is necessary, it comes with associated dangerous risks and often poor results. In light of the high success rate and no risk of spinal decompression, I would rather see patients consider our care first, and surgery last.

Spinal Decompression and Class IV K-laser therapy offered in combination is effective because it’s not a band-aid approach. It actually corrects the problem that led to pain symptoms. Patients who complete the High Performance Healing System™ program of care should never have to take it again. Patients return to activities of normal living.

Treatment with our Class IV K-Laser is unprecedented. Patients are experiencing real-time, deep-healing results. Our laser is currently the most powerful one available. Also, laser therapy is effective on just about any soft-tissue that’s been injured and treats so many painful conditions.

What does your typical patient look like before treatment?

They all share in common severe pain, which you can see in their faces as well in their posture. Many patients are suffering emotionally, in some cases with some form of depression, because of how pervasive the pain is in their life. It affects them in their relationships, their work, their hobbies, in every aspect of their life. Emotionally they’re very down-trodden. Physically, most of the patients are in such severe pain they cannot sit for long periods of time. They can’t bend over; often they’re shifting to one side because of the severity of their pain. So physically it affects their posture, but also their ability to even hold down a job. Many of them can no longer work because of the severity of their pain.

How about after treatment?

After treatment you’d be hard pressed to know the patient ever had a problem. It’s not uncommon for patients to come in with canes or walkers, and when they’re done, they don’t need these any more.

Are there side effects or lingering effects to your treatment?

We don’t know of any. There are no known side effects whatsoever. It’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about this technology.

It seems many of your patients have tried many other treatments before coming to you. Can Laser Therapy or Spinal Decompression be a first choice, or is it only used when other avenues are exhausted?

Laser therapy with our Class IV K-Laser and Spinal Decompression should always be a first choice. The reason is, most of these other avenues, patients will try for years at a time. It’s frustrating for me to see patients who will spend 10, 20, 30 years trying traditional approaches. And their pain never goes away. Somehow they believe that it’s normal to have pain for a couple of weeks at a time, get some care, and be okay for just a while. But the astounding and astonishing thing about our care is that the results are so robust, so strong, and so long lasting; why would you want patients to have to suffer for all those years. Anyone who has severe low back pain or neck pain should check with a specialist in his or her area so they can see whether or not they can fix the problem just one time and not have to suffer.

Is there anyone who cannot have Spinal Decompression?

Patients who have had back surgery or neck surgery that included a complete laminectomy, and cases where there was also metal hardware or fusions in the spine. Patients with ankylosing spondylitis are not candidates for care. Also pregnant women are unable to receive Spinal Decompression care.

There are patients who decide to have surgery because they’re so desperate from the pain. They were willing to take the serious risk of surgery and go under the knife. I had a patient who recently contacted me to see if I could help him. He appeared to be a perfect candidate for care, until he said to me he had failed surgery with a spinal fusion of his neck. I couldn’t help him and the man almost started crying. He understands that there is nothing that can be done for him. Now, had this person seen me before undergoing surgery, there is a very high chance that he could be fine. That’s why we have to get to these patients before they have surgery.

There is a lot of information available on back and neck pain. The most commonly recommended treatments and therapies are injections, exercise, medication, physical therapy, and surgery. Spinal Decompression is rarely mentioned. Why? After all, Spinal Decompression has been around for about more than 10 years now.

Spinal Decompression is really just not well promoted or understood. We’re finding that every single year more and more doctors are learning about it and referring patients to us. We also know that it’s part of our culture to always turn to medical doctors and expect to receive medications for our pain. The steps that the traditional medical doctor takes in dealing with patients who have back pain is to give them pain relievers, anti inflammatories, muscle relaxers and when all else fails, serious addictive narcotics like Percocet or Oxycodone. This is very much a symptom-based approach. At the same time, they may refer the patient to a chiropractor, physiotherapist, registered massage therapist, even surgeon.

It’s not until after the patient has exhausted all these treatments and therapies that they feel desperate to learn about something else. With the Internet they do their homework; they find information and articles that alert them to this treatment. It is relatively new. It’s extremely high tech. There are only a few doctors in Canada who have access to the better technology. I think that’s part of the reason too; it’s not readily available from so many doctors.