Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Aaron Wilson feels your pain.
And he wants to help you.
With a Swiss physio ball and exercise staff, he thinks he can.
After graduating from Warsaw, Wilson, 26, attended Liberty University in Virginia, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in exercise physiology. From there he ended up in San Diego, Calif., where he became a CHEK practitioner.
CHEK stands for Corrective and High-performance Exercise Kinesiology and is named after Paul Chek, an athletic trainer who has worked with teams like the NBA's Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets.
As a CHEK practitioner, Wilson wants to help people get rid of their pain. The CHEK method says surgery is not the only answer and instead, people can turn to rehabilitation.
If you have back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, chronic headaches, hip problems, knee problems, foot problems, carpal tunnel, sciatica or any type of repetitive stress injury, the CHEK method is for you.
"Pain is like a megaphone," Wilson says. "We want to help people with chronic pain. This is an approach to restoring and enhancing the functional performance of the human body."
Your pain, Wilson says, can be caused by the obvious -Êstraining a back by carrying too much - or the mundane - lying on the couch watching the TV.
Both of these can lead to future pain by causing some muscles to become shorter and tighter while others become longer and weaker. The body then tries to compensate. The result? Repetitive stress injuries, chronic muscle tension and countless other pain syndromes. Studies show 85 percent of the population suffers serious low back pain at some point in their lives. Tension headaches strike 75 percent of the population.
This is where Wilson comes in with a four-step solution.
Wilson assesses your injury. He designs a program of daily stretches and exercises, some of which may use tools like the Swiss physio ball and exercise staff. (With the ball alone, Wilson says he can recommend any one of 200 different exercises.) He guides you through each stretch and exercise during the first few sessions. Finally, he re-evaluates after four to six weeks.
"We tell people to address the source," Wilson says. "This is a new and innovative approach to restoring the function of the human body."
Mel Rebik is a believer. Wilson remembers Rebik. "Walked in like a mummy," says Wilson.
Rebik, one of Wilson's California clients, had this to say about Wilson's CHEK method: "My back pain and radiating numbness had returned shortly after a lumbar fusion. I was ready for more surgery, until I met Aaron. ... I was skeptical at first, thinking the strength training exercises would hinder rather than help. However, I was amazed that during the course of the first training session most of the numbness had disappeared, and I was able to walk upright without pain. I am still following the program and still noticing steady improvement.
Wilson acknowledges few, if any, in this area have heard of the CHEK method. He thinks he is the only CHEK practitioner around here, and he says the CHEK method is not recognized as an official chiropractic technique.
But the athletic trainer for the U.S. men's and women's olympic volleyball teams uses CHEK, and Wilson says CHEK is accepted and embraced on the West Coast.
He says it's a matter of time before it spreads to the Midwest.
"In larger cities, the CHEK practice is growing rapidly," he said. "My heart pulled me back here. There is definitely a need here in Warsaw, Indiana."
Whether you are an athlete or non-athlete, male or female, 17 or 77, if you have pain and shudder thinking about surgery, Wilson encourages you to consider the CHEK method of rehab. While this may vary depending on the severity of the pain, Wilson says, the exercises typically are one hour a day, three days a week. He usually helps each client for two to five sessions.
"Generally, if this won't eliminate the problem, it will decrease it," Wilson says. "Statistics show back surgery is successful 50 percent of the time."
Still, others may believe surgery is the only way to correct things. Maybe you're skeptical about rehab with no surgery. But then there is Mel Rebik in California, Laurie Nilson in California, Michael Horn in California and Madaleine Ochinang in Massachusetts. All have tried the CHEK method. All endorse it on Wilson's brochure.
Also on Wilson's brochure is a quote by Sir Francis Bacon: "If we are to achieve results never before attained, we must attempt methods never before tried."
Those who would like more information can reach Aaron Wilson these ways: by calling his cell phone number, (219) 551-CHEK or his alternate number, 269-2757; by writing to him at P.O. Box 2032, Warsaw, IN 46581; or by e-mailing him at Fit@kconline.com.
