"As a result from a car accident when I was 16 years old, I have had severe neck and shoulder pain. This in turn migrated into chronic sometimes debilitating headaches. I have seen and consulted with so many professionals that have included occupational therapists, neurological specialists, physical therapists, chiropractors, pain specialists, and several primary physicians.
I have been diagnosed with TMJ disorder, asthma, insomnia, and depression. Many of these professionals were very quick to prescribe medications as a “cure” for my ailments. Some of these helped ease the immediate pain, but at times left me unable to work or function in my daily activities because of the negative side effects.
I had learned to deal with the headaches and accept them as my normal. When I was 42, I went for a regular dentist checkup - while they were doing the cleaning I was very sensitive to the cold water rinse. I have had cold-sensitive teeth for a long time, but this was not unusual for me.
They suggested sensitive toothpaste to help. It did help. Then I found myself accepting this to be my new normal.
Fast forward to the next visit, I informed her that I have had a dull toothache in one of my back teeth. She examined it further and suggested maybe I needed to have my filing changed. She tried and tried to numb the surrounding area of the tooth for a relatively simple procedure to no avail. She gave me 8 shots of Novocain. She then suggested maybe I needed to go get a root canal since she was unsuccessful and my tooth was now in greater pain. She suggested an Endodontics specialist Dr. Corr. He exhausted his “toolbox” as he put it and referred me to a Maxillofacial surgeon to see if he could figure it out. That doctor unsuccessfully tried to numb me, and another 12 shots of Novocain, he said we would have to pull the tooth out. Feeling defeated, in even more pain and emotionally exhausted I agreed to the tooth extraction. This proved to be a very traumatic experience for me. Lots of unexplained excruciating pain and now I had my tooth removed. Another 5-6 months later I am still feeling pain in the same area. Did they pull the wrong tooth? Why am I having so much pain still? I went back to Dr. Corr for another consult. He assured me that he didn’t see anything wrong with my surrounding teeth. I wept in the chair - literally crying. He explored deeper and asked more questions about other symptoms I was having like headaches, teeth clenching, insomnia, neck and shoulder tension. He concluded that my jaw clenching and stress could be causing this “phantom pain” in otherwise healthy teeth. Then he suggested an alternative avenue I could explore.
He referred me to Roberto with Respiras breathing. What? Why another occupational therapist who is a breathing specialist? I don’t understand why or how this would help. So now that I have exhausted my medical and dental avenues- why not check it out. I met with Roberto and was fascinated by the concept he was proposing. I am a skeptic however and decided to do some research before I commit to signing up for this therapy. I couldn’t find anything wrong.
Well, I didn’t act right away and a year went by. And now I am having increasing pain in the tooth on the other side of my mouth. I go back to my dentist - she again told me it looked healthy and the X-rays didn’t show any physical deformities. She suggested I consult again with the Endodontist and maybe he can see something that she can’t. This brought tears to my eyes - the thought of going through this again and the fear of losing another tooth with no explanation of what’s causing the pain.
I meet with Dr. Corr yet again. And guess what? No physical signs of tooth decay that would be causing the pain. He asked the same questions as before about headaches- clenching my teeth- tension, etc. He asked if I had ever gone to see Roberto with Respiras breathing. I told him I did but didn’t follow through and kind of forgot about it. He explained that he could do expensive tests- do root canals but he was certain that there was no need because the teeth look healthy. He explained to me that he believes that all this pain could be physiological. Physiological? What does that mean? Surely he wasn’t suggesting I was crazy and making this up? He AGAIN encouraged me to go visit with Roberto. At this point, at my wit's end, I agree. This time I was determined to get this taken care of so I again met with Roberto. I found myself intrigued some more. I decided it was time to follow through and give it a shot.
I am upset that I had waited so long to do this therapy of sorts. The fact that breathing, the real art of breathing techniques, and the chemical make-up of the air and body mechanics could make such a difference was mind-blowing. Within two sessions I was already noticing a decrease in my headaches, jaw pain, tooth pain, and I was even sleeping better. How can this be? I have been suffering literally over 30 years with these issues. How many doctors I had seen and how many pain killers and headache medicine I had taken over the years, and it came down to some breathing exercises?
I’m not being dramatic when I say this was nothing short of a miracle for me. This has changed my life. The unexplained tooth pain si gone, I sleep better, my teeth are less sensitive, I don’t clench my jaw and my headaches are gone. I am living a pain-free life thanks to Respiras.
I can’t thank Dr. Corr enough for not giving up on me and for bringing Roberto and Respiras Breathing into my life."
Belinda W
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Massage therapist, former skeptic and now true believer.
