Last week I went to the chiropractor for the first time in my life. Growing up the word was not in my vocabulary. As I got older, the word was always part of a conversation about questionable medicine. As a real adult, (over thirty), I began to hear more about them through regular conversations with peers and through my deeper look into alternative medicines. The word was they could really help with back problems and such.
Growing up in a very rural part of the country and in a poor family, folk medicine and home care was the daily way that we dealt with illness. Vick's Vapor Rub, iodine, and hydrogen peroxide could take care of most things and Vick's 44 cough syrup was purchased occasionally. I still have and use Vick's Vapor Rub and hydrogen peroxide as needed and believe in their effectiveness. Living in the Southwest and being a member of a Co-op brought me in contact with herbal remedies. These I use frequently and I own herbal teas to cover a wide variety of ailments. We use them and they work. As a family, our rap sheet for the doctors office is very thin in comparison to many Americans.
Being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (FM) over 4 years ago was an interesting experience. I still do not own/claim the malady. As it is diagnosed based on a collection of symptoms and not on anything measurable, I hesitate to claim it although I deal with its symptoms many days. When diagnosed, the doctor, a rheumatologist, asked me about medicines. I declined to take any as the side effects for all current offerings are substantial and they only treat symptoms and do not address the cause (which is unknown). She confidently said, "You'll be back." I choose to manage symptoms through lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, and adequate rest. All of these areas are challenging for me but the alternative is taking drugs that I know will be harmful to me in the long run.
Now, back to the chiropractor. My research has shown that many FM sufferers find some help through chiropractors and some with acupuncture. I thought I would try acupuncture and didn't really think about the chiropractic aspects as I feel that I am quite flexible and don't have back pain. A local chiropractor also does acupuncture so I made an appointment.
I pictured needles sticking out of me in various places and had mentally prepared myself for this intervention. Surprise. They now have electronic acupuncture that stimulates the nerve pathways with an electronic pulse. Painless and definitely not scary. She also adjusted my spine in two places and then worked on my neck. I was not psychologically prepared for the crackling, crunchy sound my neck made. Perhaps it was best as I did not tense up for the event. She kept things minimal as we did not know how I would react to the manipulations in light of FM.
Afterward I felt just a bit of awareness in the two places she addressed on my spine. My neck however was a bit sore for about 30 hours. My head felt a bit weird. Not bad weird, just weird. I did notice immediate increase in my range of motion without discomfort when turning my head when driving. I also notice a bit less arm, shoulder pain when sleeping and a bit of increase of range of motion in my spine when twisting.
So, I go again tomorrow. I don't know what to expect this second time around but I feel like the first visit was beneficial and I am willing to give this form of treatment a try for a few months to see if it will have positive affects.
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