I started seeing a chiropractor for some long standing chronic pain I have been having in my lower back and my right shoulder. Boy is my spine a mess! The chiropractor I see is affiliated with a medical doctor and is part of a Physical Medicine office, not just traditional chiropractic care. My first few times at the office, I was put through a gauntlet of tests.
I had the normal series of x-rays and found out I have a birth defect: sacralization of the fifth lumbar vertebra. This is where the fifth and sixth lumbar vertebrae are fused together and then fused to the hip bone, usually on both sides. In my case, the fusing is on the left side only. This explains a lot of the pain in the lower back that I have been experiencing. This proves that Richard and the children are not the cause of the pain. 🙂 I injured my right shoulder about 10 years ago and since that time I have been having pain and mobility issues off and on. I always thought the pain was from the injury, but it is appears to be radiating from the misalignment of several of the neck vertebra. I also had peripheral artery testing, since pain can stem from issues with the vascular system. Thankfully nothing was wrong there.
Since my neck has been misaligned for such a long time, the shoulder muscles are extremely tight and causing strain on all parts of the shoulder. Part of my treatment includes trigger point injections of toradol. These are small injections of the medicine into the muscles, twice a week for 3 weeks. I have to say the muscles around the neck are feeling much looser and the shoulder pain is greatly diminished.
The practice also uses electrical stimulation and sonograms to help ease pain. I spend 12 minutes on a traction table to help stretch and loosen the spine and then have moist heat and an electrical stimulation devices put on the back and knee. After that I head to the table where the actual adjustment takes just a few minutes
I have to say my overall pain has decreased, I do not need to take a lot of OTC pain medications for pain anymore, the mobility of my shoulder is great increased, my lower back pain is manageable now, and the year long pain in my knee from a fall is gone. So while I use to believe in that chiropractic care really was unfounded and not a “real” medicine, my opinion so far has changed.
Of course this has come at the cost of a three times a week visits, which has crunched time for other things, but if I can relieve this chronic pain and increase my quality of life then this short term inconvenience will definitely be worth it.
What has been your experience with chiropractors? I would like to know.
Pax Christi!
A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome
Managing Mayhem and Multiples 