Wednesday, June 30, 2010

I’m wick-ity, wick-ity, wick-ity- WHACK!

….with a cracked back! =)

At the Rock n Roll expo I stopped by one of those Check Your Spine booths. I have seen these before at other expos but never took the time to stop. Since we were sans kids and trying to soak in the expo in its entirety I stopped and stepped up on the strange contraption. The nice lady did her assessment and told me I was carrying about 9 pounds more on the left side. She asked me if I was interested in seeing the chiropractor and I agreed. For $20 he would do an assessment and x-rays if needed. This was a steal! I have been wanting to go to a chiropractor ever since my hip started hurting but my insurance doesn’t cover chiropractic care. Dumb.

Monday I went in for my assessment. The Dr. was nice and also a runner. He talked to me about my hip pain. He was impressed that I was able to run through the pain, even at points where I scored it at a 9. Yep, remember the Million Inch Run? Honestly I would have rated that pain at like a 12 out of 10 but I didn’t want to scare him. He took x-rays and I left with an appointment for this morning. Long story short I went in this AM prepared to hear about my scoliosis and how I was going to begin shrinking in height any day now and how I was destined to be in pain or sleep in a stupid plastic back brace, sexy I know.

The news was good! The Dr. went over my x-rays and explained that I in fact do not have scoliosis! Hooray!! Ever since I was in HS I thought I had it! Even when I was in the Air Force they had to examine me to make sure it wasn’t too bad and I was indeed “Fit For Duty”. He explained that my back is crooked but it does not have the curve then return to mid line characteristics of scoliosis. Instead it just kind of veers off and never returns, I am crooked. Here is a bit of a diagram for you….(yes, I am an artist. Amazing, huh?)

image

So the good news is that I can fix this curvature in my spine, the curvature that is causing me such pain and agony! The curvature that is preventing me from reaching my potential!!! The BAD news is that it will be intense and pricey. The Dr. suggested 2-3 times per week for 10 weeks. Ouch, in more ways than one. I really want to take this on but it will cost me lots of $$$$. Thank goodness for my new job. I will think about it for now and decide if I will in fact commit to the fix option. The other option is to patch it by simply going in to have my back cracked, or popped every once and a while.

So I left the chiropractor adjusted and feeling really good. It was strange how I could feel my body in a new position, the muscles were wanting to go back to their comfortable place. I got home and put on my running clothes. I was ready to give my cracked back a spin. Today’s run was awful. I was tired, felt weird, wiped out and out of energy. But despite feeling like I was dragging the entire 6 miles I ran at a respectable 8:38 pace. Weird.

imageYeah, mile 4 was running up The Spawn of Satan, that awful hill that no longer scares me….But it did kick me and I fought back.

image

So there you have it. I am now sitting here with an ice pack on my back. About an hour ago I got a call from the chiropractor asking me how I was feeling. I told him I was kind of sore and he said that was normal and I should ice it. Here it sit, ice and a computer.

Any of you ever go to a chiropractor? What was/is your experience with it? What would you do?

Today I am grateful:

That I may not have scoliosis (maybe I need a second opinion?).

Tomorrow is July!

My mom and dad got set up with a Skype account so me and LB can check in with them and see them often!!

that Jessica gave me the title for this blog post.

13 comments:

  1. If you are stronger on one side (most people are) the back muscles of your dominant side are pulling on your spine. Without the muscles on the opposite side to pull back with equal strength, you'll become lopsided.

    The body functions best when you're equally strong on both sides so that the back muscles pull on your spine with equal tension. Chiropractors are great, but they align joints. They can't do a thing for your muscle structure. And, unless you strengthen your weaker side, your dominant muscles will just undo his work when they pull your back out of alignment again.

    To correct this, I suggest pilates or yoga. It will strengthen your core, especially your back, so that you're balanced again. Pilates classes are a lot cheaper than 10 weeks of chiro treatments! Besides, a strong core has great running benefits too.


    (Sorry, I dont mean to be ms. know-it-all, I had this explained to me after months of seeing a Chiro with little relief. Now I try to spread the word. It makes so much sense.)

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  2. When I was training for my first half marathon, when I ran for more than 45 minutes below my knee would go tingly and numb, like when your foot falls asleep. So I started to go to the chiro once a week or so and the problem went away! I have since done three more and have only experienced the numbness and tingliness on one or two runs.

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  3. Look at you and your sweet six miler - awesome!

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  4. I have had huge success with a chiro. The one I went to knew ART - active release therapy and it worked miracles - most recently with PF.

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  5. My husband did one of those assessments back in May on Armed Forces day on post. He was told he was carrying an extra 12lbs on his right side. But he didn't go to the chiropractor because he left for Iraq a few days after that. I was too chicken to do it.

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  6. Never been to a chiro, have had some friends have success with massage, which is less expensive, especially if you go with a student.

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  7. I was having a LOT of foot pain training for a half mary last fall. I went to a podiatrist, and he was all, "You need to go to a chiropractor. One of your legs is longer than the other." So I went to my chiro (who I had been to before, but I'd never had him check my legs or hips), and he felt me up pretty good and YEP, my hips were cocked up. He is a runner, too, (an AWESOME, INSANELY FAST runner) and he said the same thing happens to him when he runs on roads. You know how the roads have a slight slope to them from the middle? Well, when you run against traffic coming and going, your left foot is ALWAYS hitting just slightly before your right foot and that throws your hips out of whack. He said I was subconciously doing weird things with my stride to compensate for that. A few snaps, crackles, and pops, and TAH-DAH, my foot was good as new!

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  8. I actually have a slight curve to my spine as well. doesn't bother me any, but have been dealing with some hip pain after OKC Half. I've been going to a chiro for about a year now and he specializes in Active Release Therapy. He's a runner and triathlete and his wife runs so he's great! I've only really gone when I need to and he's pretty good about that. I need to go back once we get our finances back in order.
    and i love Skype and totally use it to keep in touch my mom and brother who live in two separate continents! Yey for technology and great Chiropractors!!

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  9. My son was helped greatly by a Chiropractor...
    Nice 4 miler!! Take that hill!

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  10. I have a crooked back too...boooo!! Lady you are getting sooo speedy even on off days. Come run with me soon, miss you!

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  11. I think Navy Wife is right-your chiropractor can realign you, but the muscles on your stronger side will pull the bones back out of alignment. Maybe you can go occasionally and get put back into place but do pilates on a regular basis (3-4x/wk) to strengthen your core evenly. That really did help me with all my hip problems.

    I guess I'd better get a skype account too. Or at least figure out how to use jason's.

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  12. I went to a chiro when I had the herniated disc. It helped. I would get a second opinion, though, before you spend a ton of money. Just in case!

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  13. Love my chiro!!

    Hope you are doing ok.

    Love the run stats. that looks like one crazy hill.

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You're pretty much awesome!!

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