JoAnn Jarvis

"My name is Joanne Jarvis, and I'm a retired registered nurse. In the year 2000, I was in a car accident. And it drove a disc out of my neck and my spinal cord. And so, over the course of 20 years, because I found Block Therapy in September of 2020, over the course of all those years, not only did I have chronic pain, but I had bone spurs, I had parry neurosis. I had arthritis throughout my neck and other parts of my spine too. So I was in quite a bit of chronic pain. And the worst thing though, was that I couldn't do much and limited range of motion. And not only was it my neck, but if I wanted to use my arm, you know, if I did anything repetitive with my right arm, such as washing dishes too much, maybe too long.

Washing the floor, I sound like a - you know, all I do is clean. But I love I love my house. So I want to keep it nice, you know, things that I wanted to do, if it involves repetition with his right arm, it would pull my neck out of alignment, and I'd get muscle spasms in my neck and into my back. And then headaches. And it got it got very difficult, I couldn't read, I couldn't hold my head down longer than 15 to 20 minutes, because I would get excruciating pain going up into my head and muscle spasms of my neck. So not only was it reading that I couldn't do for longer than 15 minutes, it was crocheting, it was needle work, it was jigsaw puzzles, it was working in the garden, it was anything where you had to hold your head like this. Couldn't do it. So it took out a lot of things that I like to do.

I could not move my head to the left like this, this is miraculous, it really is - or to the right, I couldn't do these things. I could only move my head to the left like this. So therefore, if you were talking to me, and standing on my left side, I would have to shift my whole body and look at you like this. Because I couldn't turn my head. I couldn't lay in bed with my head turned to the left, I had to move my whole body that way. So driving was a little complicated, I have to shift my whole body around and I wouldn't get into any parking spots that I had to back out of for the same reason because I couldn't move too well.

So there's a lot of things that that that neck injury impacted my life, my quality of life went right down the tubes. And over the course of the 20 years from the time of the injury to the time I found the Blocking program. I lost three lumbar discs in my lower spine. So now I'm dealing with problems up here and lower back. And I couldn't shift to the left too. Well, again, the left side, because of my lower back would go out. I couldn't bend at the waist anymore. So I was having to rely on keeping my body very straight and, and using my knees a lot which were giving out too.

So too, once again, you know, between the back and the neck looking into the refrigerator was really tough. I had to lower my whole self down. Get things out. If they weighed less than five pounds. I couldn't lift more than five pounds because of my neck. It was difficult.

My husband, thank God. He did a lot for me. But it was the stuff I wanted to do. And I couldn't do it. You know, I wanted to bake I couldn't get stuff in and out of the oven. I couldn't if I was driving, if I needed to look at an ATM, I couldn't do it to look in the refrigerator at the top shelf. You had to scrunch in. I couldn't do this with my neck. I couldn't do that. So again, I'd have to lower my whole body down to look to see what was there. So there was a lot of things I couldn't do and when the back went out it was even worse. So um I did a lot of praying I'm telling you every day, because being a nurse, I mean, I know where this all goes. And I didn't want to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. And I already spent 20 years like this. 

So I did a lot of praying, send me somebody who can show me the way out of this, right? And my friend called me one day and said, I just heard about this Block Therapy you got, maybe you should try this. And I thought she meant being injected with a black, a nerve block. And I said, Oh, God, I can't I don't want to do that. She said, No, no, no, it's not that it's a it's using a block. It's non-pharmaceutical. I said, Well, what do you do it? She said, It's a block of wood and you lay on it. I said, Yeah. All right. So I thought, Oh, well, I'll watch and wait and see what happens with Donna, you know, and data did just wonderful. So I thought, Well, I've been praying for an answer. Maybe this is it. So I tried, because I knew what the option was, that was just steadily going downhill. I mean, every time I tried to do something, I would be pulling my neck out or my back out and going to the chiropractor, and it was just going downhill all the way. So I did Block Therapy, and it totally changed me it miraculous is all I can say miraculous, the specifics that improved were everything I said, everything, everything improved.

I can move my head and neck, no pain. I can bend and I'm not putting my back out. I'm not in pain every day, I don't wake up like a cripple, all stiff. And and it used to take me a few hours to of doing floor exercises before my body would loosen up a bit. That doesn't happen anymore. I mean, to brag about this is this just gives you an idea of how bad things were. I went to the store by myself I and could back into a parking spot because I could move my head and without a thought picked up a bag of groceries. And as I was walking with it, I thought wow, because it was a heavy bag it was a lot more than five pounds and and when I got home I said to my husband How much is this bad way he said easy 25 to 30 pounds, it's heavy. So that's quite a bit more than five pounds. And my neck wasn't pulled out and my back wasn't pulled out and I wasn't calling up the chiropractor to straighten me back up again.

So I mean they sound like little things but they're massive things I can work in the garden now much more easily I can read with for as long as I want limitless time holding my head in a downward position or any of the other things that I do like that. So it's massive. It’s massive what I can do, it's reversed everything I sleep better. I'm more erect I stand with a better posture. My clothes fit better. Because I'm more active I have more of a life now. I'm able to you know I burn off a lot more calories I can eat a lot more and it doesn't show so that's nice too.

I just am more spontaneous. Spontaneity has come back and that's very nice. It's very nice. I go for trips. I can sit in the car for longer than an hour and a half and not have to get out and move because in the past I would just stiffen up my hips would stiffen up my back and my neck and I'd have to get out and I'd have to walk around for a while before every you know before continuing on. So I don't have to do those things anymore. I'm just so grateful.

One of the most miraculous things for me doing this was that one morning I woke up and normally I could not turn my head to the left it but one morning I woke up and I opened my eyes and I was looking at the left corner of the room and I thought wow wow you know. Like what happened in this was like, during my sleep, I wasn't in any pain. And then I'm like kind of thinking, oh man, can I could I move my head back, I haven't been able to do that in 20 years. So I was like I'm holding broke bracing my neck because I wasn't quite sure what to expect. And I thought, well, I'll just move it a tiny bit, and, and get it straight so that I can look at the ceiling. And that went fine. And I didn't feel even a twinge. And I put my hands down. And I thought, I wonder if I can move it to the right. So I'm slowly going back and forth, and not having a problem. And that is, that's been over a half a year. And I haven't had a problem with it since. So prayers work in the beginning.

What I really appreciated and made me feel good. Before I could even do anything was that on the list, the Facebook list, you could read the, you know, people commenting and asking questions, and it's a very helpful place. People could come with what they are experiencing, and someone would answer them. And Deanna, was there and she would answer. And what really impressed me, because I've been a nurse for almost 39 years, was how professional she is. And that just shown it just, it was striking. And I had such a great appreciation for that. Because I know what goes into doing and making that a person that way, very, very professional.

She was specific, she was precise, she had goals in mind. And that stuff, filters through her program and in the classes. But however, that being said, very approachable, very laid back, very friendly, and very caring. And it is hard to find that in one person these days. And I just admire her so much for that. Because she she truly is a professional. And the other thing that drew me in before I even started anything, was I was intrigued with working with an athletic therapist. Because I thought, Well, look, it's only for athletes, you know, or I'm the furthest thing from an athlete you could ever get. So, and then I got me thinking what makes them different from a physical therapist. I've been around a lot of physical therapists. So that was very intriguing for me to be able to work with somebody who had a different approach. And she does. And I'm just, I just feel very, very blessed. fortunate. I really do. And one of the reasons why I'm doing this is because having suffered for over 20 years now.

I just feel it's like a responsibility for me to share my story. In case there are other people out there who think they've hit the dead end with what they're doing. In terms of spinal injury, you know, you don't know. Unless you try. You really don't. And I love but getting to the original question, what do I like? I like being able to do this program at home. On my own time. I like not having to go out and drive somewhere. And the classes are great.

I find what works best for me is late morning, early afternoon. After I you know I usually have a slow start to my morning anyway, because I prefer things that way. I can eat I can digest and I can get on the block. And if I'm tired or stressed that's the best time to do a blocking session, I think because it's so relaxing when I get done. I feel like I've been on a vacation. I'm just so mellowed out and whatever was hurting isn't hurting any longer. Body loosens up and I just feel great afterwards.

And the other thing is to the price is great, I think I mean it's I would rather I would rather buy the membership in for golf, all the co pays of a doctor's visit or a chiropractor's office. So this certainly doesn't cost any more than doing a yoga class once a week. And I'm, I'm doing this every day, every day, I'm on the Block. So I've been Blocking since mid September 2020.

And probably the first week of Blocking, the first week, I could feel things loosening, and releasing. And I thought, Wow, this, something's going on here. And it's feeling good. And, you know, I wonder, how is this gonna affect me, you know, if my neck loosens up, what's going to happen with my back? Because everything's, you know, related and tied together? And, but things worked out great. And, and if there were ever any questions or concerns I had, all I had to do was ask, and the answer was there and always, you know, keep me posted, was the reply, keep me posted. So. So there's lots of support. And it didn't take long at all. Really, to get to where I am now, with the ease of my neck and back.

I feel like my my spine is the way it used to be before I was in the accident. That's how good I feel. And I've gotten a lot stronger to get to this point, though, took me two years. However, from the very beginning, from the first week, I was getting improvements, like incredible.

Every week was something else. I would write in and say I can do this, I can do that. You know, this is released, this is popping and then and then I'm able to move the arm and it's not pulling on my neck anymore. And you know, so there were gains all along the way. Nothing got worse. Nothing got worse. It only got better.

I don't see myself stopping this. At any point in my life. Really. I don't see how I can do that. It's a feel good thing all the way around. What I got out of Blocking, I couldn't get out of chiropractic. I certainly wouldn't have gotten from a surgeon's knife either. So, you know. It's worth trying is all I gotta say to anybody who's on the fence, got to try it. Got to try it. It is so nice to be able to do things for myself. And I am doing everything by myself. No everything. I don't need somebody's help."

~ JoAnn Jarvis