Friday, March 5, 2010

Got Chiropractic?

I’ve been suffering from a pretty painfully maladjusted back for the last couple of months. It’s in the spot where all the scar tissue resides. The scar tissue is the result of a cycling accident back in 1992 in which I landed directly top down on the hood of a car (he blew through the stop sign) and severely compressed my spine. It took several years of regular visits to the chiropractor to get things back to relative normal. I will always have a constant low-level sort of ache, but it isn’t but every once in a great while that the scar tissue will press on my spine enough to really make it hurt. It’s been a long time since it’s been this bad; usually it’ll be irritable for a day or two, but I’m able to stretch it out or self-adjust it back with exercise and careful stretching. Not so this time. I’ve tried everything I can do myself, but all I succeed in doing is popping it (which relieves discomfort only for a few minutes) and shifting the pain around to other nearby parts of my back.

The thing that’s most irritating about this particular kind of back pain is that it’s getting in the way of my training. It’s affecting my lower back and hips to the point that I can’t really open them without things popping and snapping. Twisting from the waist is harder now. Even lying prone on an exercise ball makes things twinge. I can work through a lot of general discomfort, but when I can’t run well because I’m compensating for a sore back, it’s time to go get some help.

The earliest I could get in to see my chiropractor was the 11th. That’s a week away. To be fair, the problem is that I don’t want to take time away from the classroom to see her, so I asked for a late day appointment (3:45 is about the earliest I can get there). She only sees clients that late in the afternoon one day a week. Fine. I’ll manage. Hell, I put up with a necrotic gallbladder for a lot longer than that!

What aches and pains do you have to deal with? How'd you get them? Do they ever get in the way of things you want to do?

1 comment:

the passionate hairdresser said...

My feet...Sometimes it's because my shoes are too beat up, sometimes it's because they don't fit properly (too wide for my narrow feet) or sometimes it's because they're pitched a tad too high and I put pressure on my toes. However, when I'm in the "zone" at work,I tend to forget about myfeet until the ride home when the nerves start to seize!! I have a foot massager that takes care of the job quite nicely. (PS: need a new pair of sneakers after today's walk...felt it in my knees later!!)