Hurts So Good

Evidentally, getting rid of pain is painful.

I had my first appt with Duane yesterday, aka, my new hero.

2 minutes into my conversation with him, I had a good feeling he would be able to help me. He didn't seem surprised by my pain pattern, in fact, he seemed downright optimistic that there are things he can do to help me. And so, we got right to it.



Quel Suprise!! My shoulders are rounded forward, the front of my neck is terribly tight, my upper vertibrae don't move well....at all. And the best part? I am apparently turning into a winged creature on my right side. Something about a winged shoulder blade. Flying might come in handy if gas prices spike again, so I am reluctant to "fix" this. It is also possible that I am evolving into some type of mixed beast. Half bird, half woman. Birdwoman! I need to work on the name and the outfit....

But anyway...

Treatment, while seemingly gentle, is painful. Active Release Technique (http://www.activerelease.com/) is a soft tisggue manipulation. It isn't pleasant to have someone jam their fingers deep into your armpit while stretching your arm over your head. Kinda feels like a hot poker. Nice. The chiropractic work that Duane did, cracking my neck and putting my rib back in its place, sounded rotten but felt quite good. I left the appointment feeling taller and more "open". I also nearly vomited when I got back to work. I don't think my body is used to having this much free-moving oxygen and blood flowing through it.

And now, 5 days after the first appt, I have only had 4 "attacks" of the jaw pain, and none of them were bad enough to make me cry. I consider this an incredible success. I know the journey to wellness is going to take some time, but I am incredibly excited that things are looking up. I have 2 more appointments with his this week, to keep the momentum going. The world looks different without pain. Almost shinier.

-jl

Pain

We all cope differently with pain, and it affects us all in different ways.
Me? I start to mentally shut down and withdraw.

I have been suffering ever-increasing pain from my shoulder blade to my jaw, and all points in between for the past few months. The last month it has gone from bad, to worse, to mind-altering. When spasms hit me, I can barely function. Fortunately, they respond to advil. Unfortunately, I have hit my advil limit unless I don't mind losing my stomach lining. It's a toss-up. Given I am up to having about 10-15 of these "attacks" a day, it is time to stop expecting massage therapy to help and try some other options. And so, after years of claiming I would never try chiropractic, I am off to see a guy next week who comes highly recommended by many people, practices Active Release Therapy, and oh yeah, does chiropractic. When I pull my shoulder blade back, something clicks in my rib cage, so it is possible I have a rib that is slipping. I dream at night of someone popping that rib back in, and life being good again.

And so, I plan to chronicle my treatment here. It is just another way of me coping with the pain. Although, my addiction to my laptop just may be part of my issue.