I believe I have found a solution to a lot of my problems. Obviously cerebral palsy cannot be cured, however, the problems that go along with them can be somewhat fixed. How? Well, for me, it’s going to the chiropractor. My appointment was on Thursday, but I wanted to wait a few days just be sure. I believe the
“jerk move” problem is now gone. Whatever is left over is just some confidence issues, and I’m working on that.
I’ll describe it this way. Have you ever been watching television for a while, and when you turn it off, you think to yourself “wow, that was really loud.”? You don’t realize the TV was too loud until it’s not on any more. That was how my back was. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable I had been for a very long time. I just figured it was normal to be that achy and uncomfortable with cerebral palsy. I ached doing every little thing (even putting my hair into a pony tail was painful). I just didn’t really realize it until I saw the chiropractor.
Let me just say, my back was a wreck. I always knew my neck was a mess, but my lower back was tilted and cock-eyed also. The doctor said I had some scoliosis, but it wasn’t anything to be worried about. I was also very tight and had a lot of muscle knots. Now I didn’t see myself, but my husband was in the room with me. While I was face down on the table, my right hip was a lot higher off the table than my left. As soon as he did a few pops, I was even. I immediately felt my lower back relax, and it felt good.
The middle of my back is fine, but it was out of alignment also. Few pops there, and it was straight. My shoulders and neck were the culprits of most of my discomfort. He adjusted my upper back while I was still face down on the table, and again it felt great. I think that was when he really got an idea of how tight I was up through the shoulders. He gave my husband a look of surprise apparently because I was so tight. Turned over on my back and that’s when the magic happened.
My neck is curved to my left and because of that, I get shooting aches (not really painful) down my arms every now and then. I get the same thing down my legs because of my lower back issue. Due to my cerebral palsy, it’s difficult for me to relax. Muscles and tendons were tight, and the doctor did a great job of loosening it all up. Then, kerpop! My neck got adjusted, and I just melted. All I good do was squeak out a “thank you” and then relaxed. He did the other side, and got another loud kerpop. My husband heard that one from where he was sitting. It was loud.
He also put “stims” on my upper back. It’s basically a tens unit and had me lay back down for a few minutes to let that do some work. Felt like a lot of needles massaging my shoulders and neck. After that, he brought me out for an ultra sonic treatment, which is basically heat therapy. That felt really good too.
And then it was over. He said to come in whenever I felt I needed to. Which is good. The chiropractor we saw near Seattle always told me to come in a certain amount of days in a week (at least in the beginning). So, my plan is to go once a month. In Seattle I think I went about once every three weeks. I may have to go back in sooner, at least in the beginning, but my goal is to get in there once a month. And whenever we go on vacation I’ll go in a few days before we leave.
I’m now able to sit up straight without any pain in my lower back. I can put my hair up with no pain in my neck and shoulders. I can bend over without groaning. I can stand up from the couch without groaning. I have to keep telling myself to stand up straight. That doesn’t hurt any more. I was constantly bent at the waist when I was standing.
So yes, big improvements. I do feel a bit achy in my upper back and shoulders, but heat should help that. I’m going to try to make it another week, and then go in I think. The chiropractor I saw was very nice. He is helpful and knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t try to up-sell you at all which I appreciate.
I keep laughing at myself throughout the day when I can do things that normally cause me discomfort. I can now sit cross legged without my left hip aching. My left hip has been giving me problems for a while now, and it’s fixed. It might not be for everyone, whether you have cerebral palsy or not, but for me the chiropractor is a huge deal. Yeah!
If you happen to live in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Indio areas) and you have a back issue, check out
The Spine and Sport Clinic. I saw
Dr. Patrick Van Loon. I highly recommend it and him.
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