Down to the bone

Definitely not going to mention "Dem Bones...." Oh, damn.

There’s blogs out there that are chronicling some fairly serious aspects of modern medicine. People fighting horrific illnesses, or trying to raise awareness of conditions that desperately need funding and attention. This is NOT one of those blogs.

Some time ago, I realised I had a bad back. Just, you know, sort of achey. I’ve never had good posture, something I blamed on being taller than most of my friends. Who can stand up straight when everyone you need to speak to is six inches shorter?

Anyway, I grew up a little round-shouldered, but one day I had a real problem with my back. I tried to stand up straight and discovered that, no matter how I stood, my right hip was touching my right elbow, but my left hip was a good six inches from my left elbow. Walking was really painful. I booked an emergency appointment with a doctor and got my first real experience of Chiropracty.

You know all those movies where the Action Hero grabs the sentry from behind and snaps his neck to the left? Well, turns out he’s just helping him with a spinal adjustment. Picture the scene: I’ve just had ten minutes of being twisted and cracked on a table, and the Chriopractor tells me to sit in the chair. I’m quite relieved. The pain is gone, I’m beginning to feel human, and then she takes my chin in one hand and puts the other behind my head. “I know what this is!” I think, and she tells me to relax. RELAX! You’re about to kill me! “Um” I say and then CRACK! she wrenches my head sharply. Surprisingly, I don’t die, and my neck suddenly feels better. I didn’t even know it didn’t feel right before, but now it’s wonderful.

I know some people are sceptical about Chiropracty. It seems a bit primitive, in our world of gene therapy and superdrugs. But here’s my experience. I went to visit friends and took part in a Sports Day race at their kid’s school. I really ran, probably for the first time in years. I came in second last, and just a little while later….POW, I was shaped like a Z again. I couldn’t walk without a stick and a grimace. Luckily for me, the friends we were staying with have a VERY good chiropractor. Like it says in the Bible, I walked in there helped by my stick and my family, and I strolled down the stairs unaided an hour later. (I’ll leave the veil over the painful creaks and cracks in between – George had to do a LOT of correction in a short time, and I was very unco-operative because I felt so sorry for myself)

So that’s my history – my back story, if you like – and it’s come up because recently I’ve been getting some odd twinges. My hip hurt, my foot aches…Suddenly I realised that this might just be the warning signs I ignored the last time. I got myself checked out by a local (and reputable) chiro, and sure enough, I have some problems that can be fixed. Untreated, things would have gotten worse and worse, and though the traumatic collapse may have been a year or more away, with a few treatments I may not have it at all. Some correction, a lot of awareness and a thorough examination of my typing and driving positions may save me a lot of misery down the line.

The moral of the story is: be nice to your back, folks. Support your spine, because your spine supports you!