"I spent this past Christmas in a rural log cabin, nestled in the foothills of Montana’s foothills to the Rocky Mountains. For a week, I spent my days snowshoeing and cross-country skiing and reveling in the majesty of winter. This might seem somewhat typical of holiday vacations, especially for someone like me in their early thirties. My contemporaries are highly physically active, running, biking and skiing. However, my activity this winter has been nothing short of miraculous. Six years ago I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I was given a bleak dictate at the time, and was advised that my expectations for continued physical activity should be low. At the time I was experiencing numbness and tingling in my lower body. Suffice it to say, I was terrified and angry. Yet something inside of me told me not to give up.

I reflected on the history of my health. In my youth I was optimistic and physical, with only minor childhood maladies. At age 21, I was in a dramatic plane crash. I survived without a visible scratch but did not receive any physical evaluation. As the years progressed, I developed first neck pain, then back pain, then food sensitivities, then anxiety, then dizziness and finally numbness and tingling. Since the onset of symptoms was gradual (over a period of 5-7 years), neither I nor any of my doctors made a connection between the plane accident and my symptoms. I took antidepressants for depression and underwent intensive surgery in my inner ear to try and treat my dizziness. For several years I tried countless non-traditional healing modalities, since I was unwilling to take pharmaceuticals. I tried acupuncture and naturopathy, spiritual healing and Reiki, Blood Type and macrobiotic diets. Each yielded temporary relief to my symptoms, but none resulted in significant change.

After several years of searching, I was referred to Dr. Erin Elster in Boulder by a mutual acquaintance. I read her website, and was immediately compelled by her articles describing her success with MS patients. Initially though, I balked. Living in the Pacific Northwest, it was costly and cumbersome for me to seek treatment from a physician 1500 miles away. I had visited several chiropractors over the years for my back pain, but the adjustments never held. After a history of failed attempts at improving my health, I was afraid that Dr. Elster’s treatment would not yield the success it had for other patients. Ultimately, it was Dr. Elster’s confidence and her track record in treating her patients that gave me the confidence to take the risk.

When I arrived at Dr. Elster’s office, I got to see first hand what sets her treatment apart from others. She is trained in an advanced, rare procedure only practiced by specially trained chiropractors. In addition to standard x-ray diagnostics, she used a highly sophisticated scanning device, which enables her to determine if a bone in the neck is out of alignment. Dr. Elster showed me the first hard evidence that I had seen in my entire process of seeking care. A bone in my neck was clearly out of place, which was the culprit for the numerous physiological and neurological problems I had been experiencing. Moments later, Dr. Elster performed my first adjustment. Frightened at first by the idea of someone shifting the bones in my neck, the feeling that ensued can only be described as euphoric. It was as if all of the feeling and sensation that had been blocked for the past 10 years had been allowed to flow once again. I was moved to tears and grateful beyond words. Over time, feeling has been restored to numb and tingly places in my body. I went from relative sedentariness to swimming, then biking, then hiking and now skiing! Dr. Elster refuses to allow me to regard her as a miracle worker, but from my point of view, she is a life-saver. Because of her work, I have a new lease on life, I am gradually getting in better shape and I exercise frequently. More importantly, I have regained my sense of vitality and am now pursuing a graduate degree. I can only hope that more practitioners will be willing to pursue Dr. Elster’s training and many more people can be helped with this miraculous technique."

~ Zoe K, age 30, Portland, OR