I Broke Up With My Chiropractor
I'm not divorced entirely, but I've gotten out of twice-weekly attendance.
I went through December, and I stopped after Xmas. Hadn't gone at all in January until this morning. They called me last week and asked what was up since I hadn't been around in a while. I said I didn't feel like I was that messed up in the first place that there was much benefit to be had. They asked me to come in one last time to evaluate my progress so far.
So today they did the full muscle test. Apparently the average patient comes into their office with 20 muscle weaknesses. I started with 14. I now exhibit 8.
If you'll remember, my hips were a little cockeyed, my tailbone is extra long and tucked under, and my head was cocked way forward. I think they fixed the hip thing with the first adjustment. He said my lower body is now in balance from side-to-side, but it's a little out of whack from front to back (i.e., my hip flexors are weaker than my glutes). Which I knew, and I know that I definitely need to work those to improve my running.
I think they significantly improved the neck thing the first time they punched me in the chest, too. My upper body is a little weaker on the right side, and he thinks all the weaknesses point to C5 compression. I'll buy that.
He also thinks my adrenals are a little overworked and I need to reduce my stress and get some sleep. I've been lacking in sleep lately, but I am waaaaay less stressed than I was when I started going, so I don't know about all that.
If he had indicated before that we would do a reassessment like this at any point, I would have been more inclined to stick with it. But I can go and get adjusted whenever I want. I might be more interested in that when I start back up running again. And I know I need to pay more attention to my posture when I'm sitting at work all day. I'll keep doing the back and neck stretches they had me doing.
I asked the receptionist to go ahead and bill me. I'm not sure they would have bothered until I chose to say so if I were still coming regularly. I did not want to keep racking up a bill and then find out too late that it was way more than I thought it should be. So we'll see what the charges look like.
But the pressure to keep going is gone. I'm free!
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My chiropractor and I are taking a break, too. It's easier than I thought it would be... and he said I could call him anytime. I think he might be having a hard time with it.
You remember what I told you when you were here, so I won't repeat it. :)
It does sound like you got a good deal of useful information and the exercises out of it. If you don't feel you need to go, then definitely don't. Like you surmised, I think you'll feel you might need an adjustment once you begin running more. I know I could use an adjustment or two after my last several soccer games. Ouch.
You remember what I told you when you were here, so I won't repeat it. -- Yes, I do remember. I'm keeping that in mind, thanks. :)
"We were on a break!"
i think its just a seperation...
take up tennis for excersize!
interesting... i have doubts about chiropractors. i once (a long long time ago) dated one. i let him 'adjust' me and in an hour my back was in crippling pain. i could barely drive home!
wow, not much to add eh? thanks for the memory tho! he was hawt... :)
derrik: Tennis is one sport that I've never played. I think I took a few swings with a racquet once when I was 13.
daniel: Was he adjusting you, or "adjusting" you? Sounds kinky.
Wait! Wait! What did Lachlan tell you, eh?
Lachlan - are you on flickr?
I've thought about going to see a Chiro, but I've heard that a) they're great and b) they're quaks.
Just that her dad could offer a second opinion if I were so inclined.
I think they can be great, but you've gotta work to find one that really has your best interest in mind. Now that I know more about it, I'm pleased to find that it's a more holistic approach with a sound practical basis.
I'm mostly disappointed in this guy in that I felt like he tried to just get me in the office all the time. When we first started, he pointed out my problem areas, so I had the vague sense that we were working to improve those specific problems. But there was no plan (that I knew of) for periodic evaluation of progress. Plus he did say that he pretty much recommends that everyone come in all the time. Which smacks of drumming up business for business sake. I don't feel like he tailored my treatment much and he was really searching to find symptoms I might have when I couldn't really come up with anything beyond normal "I sit at my desk all day" stresses. Because he could/should have said, "Hey, you're actually not that bad off, but there is room for improvement, so here's what I'd like to do and here's what you should look out for."
Plus I know he's working on a master's degree in nutrition or something, so he's spouting off a lot of facts about that sort of thing and really sounds like he's just parroting what he learned in class last week. He's not really integrating it with anything he currently offers except the supplements he sells.