I spent the better part of my life not going to a chiropractor. I’m not really sure what my excuse was. I was kind of afraid of them, maybe? All of that “bone cracking” kinda frightened me a little. It seemed a little odd to me, I guess. Of course, others around me didn’t seem to disagree either. My friends and even my family physician dismissed chiropractors as “quacks.” My mind was made up, I was steering as far clear of those “quack doctors” as possible. (And to think, I had made up my mind when I was no more than 10 years old!!)
Flash forward 10 years. I was now 20 years old and moving some furniture in my new apartment when all of the sudden, I heard a “pop.” That awful sound was followed by pain in my left hip that gradually spread into my lower back and became so excruciating that I couldn’t walk, stand, sit…anything! Everything was uncomfortable! Of course, I went to my family doctor and after examination, he determined I had “thrown my back out” and quickly prescribed, muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatory drugs, and a couple of other types of medications, along with instructions to ice it, blah, blah, blah! Six weeks later, I was golden…good as new! I felt like a million bucks! Woohoo! Yay, for my awesome doctor and his awesome miracle drugs! Flash forward 2 years. I sneezed! I SNEEZED! Guess what? Back to the doctor, back on the meds and again, 6 weeks later, I was better. I was miserable! Was I destined to have these horrible episodes forever? Over the course of the next 15 years, I would turn wrong or sleep wrong or whatever wrong and again my back would go out and I’d suffer through 6 weeks of pain and recovery. This 6 week recovery time became a nightmare. I have kids and a husband to take care of!! (It’s not fun when you have to crawl from room to room because the muscles in your back are refusing to cooperate).
Finally, last August, I decided to be brave. My lovely friend Shannon and her husband Norbert offered a Chiropractic Evaluation for me and my children. It wasn’t scary at all. In fact I welcomed the change! After returning home, I immediately set up an appointment with a local chiropractor and we worked out a family plan so that my family could receive regular adjustments to keep our bodies in top shape. Best decision I have made in a VERY long time (best decision ever was accepting the proposal of my awesome and handsome husband, Allen). We have been going regularly, but due to unforeseen family emergencies and situations over the past few months, our schedule got a little out of whack and our regular visits weren’t so regular.
Wednesday afternoon, I guess I turned wrong. As the day progressed, so did the spasms, pain, and raising of the left hip. By evening I was in tears. My daughter administered a Raindrop Technique and my husband did his best to work out the kinks in the muscles and then iced them. Without them, I’m positive I wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed Thursday morning! 1 pm on Thursday couldn’t come fast enough. I was in pain. Muscles in spasm and I am sure I was starting to look like Quasimodo when I walked. I walked into my chiropractor’s office and told him what was going on (I had never had to see him for an acute issue, so this was going to be the real test). I told him that historically, my recovery time was somewhere around 6 weeks. His response was music to my ears, ” We’ll get you feeling better in no time! It won’t take 6 weeks.” He manipulated my bones and and all that good stuff they do. He then administered some muscle therapy to help relax the spasms. I was already feeling better! I left with no medications or prescriptions. He said, go home. Walk. Don’t sit for prolonged periods of time and ice it before bed. Then come back on Tuesday. Of course, I followed all instructions! (My awesome husband decided to add a TENS device to the mix as well.) Yay! By last night, I felt 60% better than I did before I stepped foot in the chiropractors office!
This morning I woke up sore. Sore is okay though. I can do sore. No spasms, no excruciating pain and no weird posture when I walked. It’s been less than 24 hours since I went to the chiropractor and I can walk like a normal person! I cannot tell you just how exciting this is for me. 90% better!
So, my advice to you…if you have back issues or even if you feel perfectly fine, go see your chiropractor. If you don’t have one, get one. Look for a wellness based one. If insurance doesn’t cover your care, ask them to please work with you to develop a plan for you and your family’s health. Many will work with you and want you to be healthy. Chiropractic care has been an amazing addition to my family’s health and wellness plan! Now that we are under chiropractic care, I cannot imagine our lives without it!!