Rebooting My Main "Frame"

Last Monday I woke up with a sharp pain in my neck that extended from the base of my skull, down under my left shoulderblade. I couldn't turn my head to the left. I couldn't ride in the car without screaming each time we hit a bump or pothole...it was ugly. Steve suggested I go see the chiropractor who has been helping him with his sciatic pain over the past couple months.

Long story short - I am very wary of having anyone mess with my neck. I actually worked for a for a company that sold malpractice insurance to chiropractors for four years and have heard every horror story in the book! I have always said that I believe in the fundamentals of chiropractic, but had never been to one, and if I DID go to one, I wouldn't let them touch my neck.

...and then I woke up with debilitating pain in my neck...

So I let two days pass by until I was in brutal pain on Wednesday and caved. Steve set up the appointment for me. Thankfully, the Dr. is a very nice man who completely understood my hesitation. He was very thorough and took x-rays first. When he showed me the x-rays, I kind of freaked out. The 2-3 vertebrae just below my skull, are sort of compacted onto one another. Even I could see it with my untrained eye! He asked if I'd been in any accidents, fallen, or bumped my head in such a way that I would have sustained this sort of "whiplash" style injury. He said it looked like it could have been like this for 10 years or longer!!! Well then, let's see, as a teen I was a competitive skater and fell many times, banging my head on the ground. In college, I flew over the handlebars of my mountain bike and landed on my face. In '96 and '03 I was involved in minor car accidents...

Then he asked if I ever get headaches...oh boy. DO I EVER! Needless to say, after a twist to my neck (that sounded like someone stepped on a bag of doritos!) I was sent on my merry way with instructions to ice it well.

Three appointments later...I am happy to report full range of motion in my neck. No pain in my shoulder, and significantly fewer tension headaches. NICE!

In other news... I mentioned a few posts back that I thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel as far as my big work project was concerned...I guess I was jumping the gun. It's still very much on my plate, and growing into a bigger monster every day. I am asking the universe to help me complete this project before the end of March so I do not go insane. Wish me (and the universe!) luck on that.