Colin Ifield Pages

A bit of history

My name is Geoffrey Colin Ifield (known as Colin) and my introduction to a working life was the entertainment industry. I used to play guitar and sing and I continued in this industry for a few years working at clubs and restaurants. I had a lot of television work…appearing frequently on Brian Henderson's Bandstand, on channel nine, the various Johnny O'Keefe shows (Sing, Sing, Sing), etc on channel seven and some work on the ABC. Channel TEN and SBS, had not been thought of in those days. During this time, although I enjoyed the work, it wasn't long before my father convinced me that I was a natural engineer and because I was good in this field since my early childhood, I finally dropped the limelight of an entertainer to become part of my family's engineering business. This change came with some relief because I was very shy and had to muster every trick in the book to overcome my shyness in public.

For some twenty-six years I managed parts of the business and performed in the areas of engineering design, development, manufacture and maintenance…mostly in the hydrostatic engineering field.

In 1973 we expanded yet again by opening a branch of our business in Queensland and I was nominated to take the reigns. Three years later, I was involved in a major car accident. This was a high-speed, head-on collision resulting in fractures to most bones in my body (most of which received no treatment) and other internal damage. My physical life changed dramatically from that time, largely due to a back problem which went on for years.

There were many occasions when I couldn't get out of bed in the mornings and often, while walking, I would fall to my knees unexpectedly, because of the pain through my back and legs. Often when driving, upon reaching my destination I would require assistance to get out of my car.

Pain relievers didn't help my condition much and it seemed there was no help to be found. Physiotherapy sometimes helped but within a very short time, I was back in trouble. I spent thousands of dollars on Chiropractic, Physiotherapy, Acupuncture, etc, etc. with no permanent relief. The conventional medical specialist, at the time, could only suggest an exploratory operation to find the cause, with a possibility that my vertebrae would need to be fused together, a non-acceptable treatment to my mind.

I don't need to tell the other sufferers in this world, what desperate feelings overcome a person in this position. I have personally known people who have suicided because there was apparently no help available. Thank goodness that most of us gather strength somehow and from somewhere and keep on with a "smile".

As I commented earlier "pain relievers didn't help my condition" and the only relief I was able to get was to turn to alcohol, which at least enabled me to get through a night in a semi-coma. Unfortunately, this form of "therapy?" has it's own problems as is well known…I became, over time, alcoholic and reclusive...

...finally, after twenty odd years, along came Deep Muscle Therapy, the light at the end of the tunnel or as some have put it; "the salvation of a hopeless case".

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MY INTRODUCTION TO - DEEP MUSCLE THERAPY:

I first became involved with Deep Muscle Therapy, interestingly enough, when a friend of mine contracted an autoimmune disease known as Crohn's disease. This is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affecting, in this case, much of the colon. One of the symptoms of Crohn's disease can be joint pain like those associated with arthritis but without the joint disfiguration. Whilst I couldn't help with the disease itself, I found that massaging the muscles above and below the affected joint/s, diagonally across the muscle fibre gave major relief to the associated pain. This led me to search the Internet for someone who knew something on the subject of muscle therapy. I found a site that discussed in detail a therapy known as deep muscle therapy (DMT) and, being somewhat impressed contacted the author, Mr. Chris Lewin of the Chris Lewin Deep Muscle Therapy Seminars, in Queensland.

Chris said that he had had much success with IBD. Not only relieving the joint pains but, using a technique known as "Colon Drain Massage", had improved the condition of the Colon itself. Chris also remarked that what I was doing was, in essence, DMT and that I must have a natural talent. He recommended that I attend the courses with a view to practising the art myself. This is part of my next subject.

I contacted a local therapist, who's name had been given to me by Chris, and she began work on my friend with amazing results; after only a few sessions.

Now to the other side of the story...

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MY DMT STORY.