I went to my monthly chiropractic appointment yesterday, which always leaves me sore. The adjustments themselves provide relief, but sometimes my muscles get tweaked. Part of it is that my muscles default to being tense and part of it is just the nature of the movement to do the adjustment. I have to focus in order to relax my muscles due to my Fibromyalgia (I assume). When I can relax the muscles around the adjustment I’m less sore afterwards and the adjustment itself is more successful, but sometimes I just can’t get them to relax. Cold clay packs and my Norco prescription pain medicine usually do the trick so I can sleep after an adjustment, but I was too cold to be able to stand “icing” last night. The pain kept me up late and woke me up after only 5 hours of sleep as my pain meds wore off. Today is going to be a tired day.
I’ve been seeing my chiropractor regularly for several years now. My initial x-rays showed that my neck was virtually straight after the first couple vertebra, my mid-back was a little wonky, and my low back had too much curve. Although my chiropractor wanted to see me three times per week in the beginning, I knew my body and started out with just one appointment per month. As my body became used to it I was able to increase the frequency of the appointments. Eventually, my body was able to meet the suggested schedule.
Outside of seeing progress on my x-rays, the best result I’ve had from chiropractic care is a dramatic reduction in the frequency of my migraines. Before starting treatment, my migraines were increasing in frequency and intensity. They got to be so crippling that they would last 1-3 days, and I would usually spend at least one of those days in bed, in the dark, wearing an eye mask, with a pillow over my head. They were interfering with my ability to work my job as an office assistant. As I made progress in my chiro appointments, my migraines became less frequent and I missed less work. Today, as long as I see my chiropractor monthly, I might have one or two bad migraines per year (and those are usually due to missed appointments). Without it my migraines return just as frequent as before. My chiropractic appointments may make me sore for a day or two, but they are totally worth it in order to keep my migraines at bay.
–Amy 🙂
Do you see a chiropractor? If so, how has it helped you? Share in the comments or send me an email.
P.S. – If you click the cold pack link above and purchase it, I will receive a tiny bit of money from Amazon for sharing the link with you. As you know, chronic illness is expensive and every little bit helps. However, my main purpose for including the link is to share with you a product that has helped me significantly, so that maybe it can help you too.
