Back To My Chiropractor After Seven Months

After seven months, I felt I had to see my chiropractor again. 

"How are you, Rita?",  Dr. Storm greeted me cheerfully as I entered his office. 

"I'm good, except I feel like electric current is running through my arm, from my elbow to my shoulder and I feel some kind of discomfort on my left mid-upper back", I respond. 

"And what else", he further asked.

"The second big toe on my left foot is quite tender, it is a bit painful when I walk or I stand on my toes."  

"Ok, let's check, 'da-pa' ",   (lie on your stomach), he said indicating his examination table. 

He went through the routine of checking that I'm already familiar with, like putting my feet together, checking whether they are of the same length, any discrepancy between the two indicates that something is not right.  After the initial check, he was a bit surprised that my condition was not as good as it was after the adjustments he made seven months ago. 

"You have a neck injury, what happened?", he asked. 

So I started telling him about that day when my granddaughter and I were excitedly walking fast to check on something at the mall.  My left foot sort of tilted to the side that I stumbled.   It must have been a hard fall since I couldn't get up right away; two kind hands who happened along offered to help me up.

Then there was pain on my left foot as well as my left arm and  shoulder.  I thought the pain was just a result of the impact and would go away over time, but I was wrong. And so, I told Dr. Storm:

"I fell and it must have put pressure on my left side".

"When did this happen?"

"About three months ago. My family doctor said that the muscles were strained and may have swelled, hence the pain, so I thought that in time, it will get better." 

 Initially Dr. Storm applied pressure on my back making that familiar "cracking" sound, as a result of air being displaced as the bones move. He was surprised that my hips pretty much reverted to the same condition he observed the last time before he made adjustments. 

"Ti-ha-ya", he said, meaning lie on my back, he checked my feet again to see if they are of the same length. 

"Turn to your left" he said.  Feet together, with folded knees while my upper body is slightly flat on my back, my arms folded across my chest;  he pushed my hip towards the opposite side. The pressure caused a popping sound. He did the same on the other side, and my hips is adjusted. 

"You also have a slight knee injury", he added, as he went through the process of correcting it using his activator adjusting instrument. 

"What's that for"?, I asked.  

"It's an adjuster", he replied showing me how it works. It looks like a big syringe attached to a spring which is controlled by an adjustable ring to regulate the desired pressure. The nozzle can be directed to a specified area, and pressure is applied upon pushing the T-handle as in administering an injection. 

"Instead of using my fingers to work on your toe bones, I use this, it makes my work a bit easier.", he explained. 

"You have a neck injury as well,  I may have to see you for another one or two sessions more", he said.  He adjusted my neck, turning it to the right thus causing a significant cracking sound.  A minor sound was heard as he turned my neck on the other side.  I felt that my back ache was relieved. 

I went back for another adjustment after two days, this time I felt better, minus the tingling or the "electrical current" going on my left arm. I still feel some discomfort on my mid-upper back and my toe was still tender. 

Back to his examination table, he did the routine check up, then subsequently adjusted my back, applying three significant pressures starting above the hips progressing towards my mid, then upper back. I felt the pressure and when I heard those familiar sounds again, I'm relieved that adjustment was made. 

Finally, he worked on my neck, this time, it was a bit painful, producing a tighter cracking sound as he turned it to the left, then the right with the appropriate pressure. Before I realized it, the pain was gone. 

"How often should a person see a chiropractor?  Do we go only when there is pain?",  I asked. 

Dr. Storm did not answer my question directly but he told me: 

"I have been on chiropractic care for 42 years now".  He further explained that even children as early as 5, maybe put under chiropractic care as well.

I read that we may have a misaligned spinal column or vertebrae subluxation, without feeling any pain or discomfort. Therefore it is wise to go for an evaluation whether there is pain or not.

Now, I'm thinking that my husband and I should include a chiropractic evaluation to our annual medical check up so that immediate adjustment can be done when necessary.  I believe that it is worth the trouble and the expense.  More and more people are being educated on chiropractic care, so much so that nowadays, there are initiatives to include chiropractic care in HMO plans in most countries, including ours where Senate hearings are going on presently to implement this through a law.  

Check this out to know more about the importance of a well-aligned spinal column.

http://alignedbalance.com/benefits.html

 I learned from the book,"YOU: Staying Young" 

by Dr. Michael F. Roisen and Dr. Mehmet C. Oz claim that:  

"There are huge delays between the cause of a problem and the effects you actually see in your life.  That means you have to start building defenses in your thirties, forties, and fifties against attacks that may not occur until your sixties, seventies, and eighties."  

Following the same logic, I believe that it is never too late, even for seniors like us,  (we are almost 70) to be aware of such conditions to be able to prevent any future pain and/or discomfort, not to mention the effect on our health and well being.