Guest Blogger – Jill Powell from Rethinking Alternative Focused on real Food, Health and Home Education
I never knew much about chiropractic care. My dad made it sound quacky – “if you go once, you’ll have to keep going back forever in order to stay well.”
In high school, my best friend would have me walk on her back until it would crack and pop, which made me feel like I might kill her. I had no desire for a back-cracking.
Therefore, I ignored chiropractic completely, until I got desperate.
I was 35 years old and had been sick for two years. I’d been to see multiple doctors already, but none of them had been able to help me. I felt lost and totally fed up with the medical system. And my health was still declining.
Luckily, one of my toes starting going numb when I walked. It scared me enough that I pushed through the fear and doubt, and I booked an appointment with a chiropractor recommended by several friends.
This chiropractor took some measurements of my body and then proceeded to crack my back and neck in several places. Yes, I was totally out of my comfort zone! But it didn’t hurt and was over so quickly.
The next day and several days following, I noticed feeling so ALIVE. It almost felt like my feet had learned how to replant themselves flat on the ground when I walked. My brain kept reminding me to stand up straight, twist my hips straight. I realized that I rested my stomach against the counter when doing dishes or cooking, versus using my own muscles to keep my body upright.
A few months into treatment, I was feeling so straight and tall that I decided to measure myself on my children’s growth chart. I had “grown” and inch and a half over the 5’6″ I’d measured all my grown life! Still, over a year later, I am measuring that tall.
As if this wasn’t enough to sell me for life, I switched to another chiropractor after about 6 months, one who took a more integrative approach and considered food, emotions, environment, as well as structure. This chiropractor muscle tested me and found a Lyme infection that was then proven with a blood test.
In other words, after many MD visits about these strange chronic health problems, it turned out to be the chiropractor that ultimately saved my life.
Double sold. So much so that I’ve even wondered if Jesus himself used chiropractic techniques in some of his healing work. (You can laugh all you want, but you never know!)
So what do chiropractors do?
Chiropractors are ultimately concerned with the alignment of the spine and its effect on the overall nervous system. Misaligned spines can interfere with proper nerve function, which leads to interferences that can adversely affect overall health.
Some chiropractors are a quick in-and-out back crack, but some take a more integrative approach and will practice multiple alternative healing approaches at once, such as acupuncture or cranial-sacral therapy. They can offer advice on nutrition and supplements, and many can help with problems such as ear infections, allergies, or hormone imbalance.
Just like with MDs, I feel like every chiropractor out there has strengths and weaknesses. No one practitioner is going to be able to figure out every detail of your personal health situation – the human body is so complex, and the battles it faces are so individual to each person’s genetics and environment.
For best health, I suggest seeing a mixture of medical doctors and alternative practitioners. Find the ones that make you feel most understood and that seem to be genuinely interested in your well-being. It is worth it! You deserve it!
I have since moved on to another chiropractor, this one a woman who has faced her own battle with Lyme disease and that also practices acupuncture. I go see her twice a month and plan to continue throughout Lyme treatment.
No matter what happens in my life from this point forward, I will make it a priority to have a chiropractor keep me adjusted!
SOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic
http://www.sherman.edu/why-chiropractic/what-do-chiropractors-do/
