One of the more common questions I hear from patients is, "Who adjusts you?"
Luckily, with two chiropractors in our office, I get the treatment I need on a regular basis. Just recently, I went through an episode of lower back pain that I earned from 25 years of playing golf. During that episode, where bending & twisting was exceptionally difficult (unfortunately, bending and twisting is a HUGE part of my job), I was getting adjusted about 6-7 times a day.
Many of our patients hear this and immediately ask, "Why so much?"
At that point, I realize that I haven't done a good enough job explaining to patients what happens with your body when it goes through pain due to misalignment of the bones of the spine. So, here goes (and I will use myself as an example):
I have a bulging disc in my lower back that usually flares up on me about once a year. I have found that my lower back flare-ups are typically a result of my tailbone (sacrum) becoming misaligned (usually from doing something stupid). With that misalignment, there is some extra pressure that is put on the lowest disc in my lower back...creating irritation and inflammation in that lowest disc. As that disc swells (from the irritation), the disc puts pressure on the nerves that are exiting my spinal canal. When pressure is put on those nerves, my brain completely freaks out. In an effort to protect those nerves, my brain causes an immediate and severe spasm of every single muscle surrounding my lower back which makes any movement at all very difficult.
Sound familiar to anyone???
Now comes the hard part. That first adjustment typically does a great job of moving my tailbone into place, which relieves the pressure on that lowest disc which causes a little bit of pain relief. BUT...remember all that muscle spasm? That muscle spasm starts pulling that tailbone right back out of place. Typically that happens within the first hour or two after the adjustment. Once the tailbone is out of place again, the process is starting all over again. So, I keep getting that tailbone adjusted every time it keeps getting pulled out of place.
After a few days, the muscles start relaxing and the tailbone starts staying where it belongs. Pressure on the disc goes down, pressure on the nerve goes down and pain is relieved.
Then, I go back to getting adjusted once or twice a week to maintain the health that I still have in my low back...until I do something stupid next year and the process starts all over again.
So, when I see patients who are going through the same thing I go through...my recommendation for treatment is based on more than just education and practicing chiropractic treatment in Utah. It's based on personal experience.
~ Dr. Michael Hill
