I wonder if things are as bad as one might lead another to believe, or if I’m just a sucker. Or perhaps a little bit of both. Well, actually, that’s a given. I’m definitely a sucker.
We had a wellness fair at work not long ago, and my ‘numbers’ came back great. Well, not great, but I was pleased that they were as good as they were. At the fair were some chiropractors and other peddlers of ‘natural’ health products. I had a gait analysis, complimentary of course, in which I learned that I am a good candidate for orthotics. So I scheduled a follow up appointment, and it turns out the orthotics peddler is also the chiropractor. He suggested that it wouldn’t be best to do the follow up exam since pregnancy affects gait and all that, and I was pregnant at the time. So in the meantime, he suggested chiropractic adjustment. Yes, I’ve been to chiropractors before, I told him, in years gone by, and grown frustrated with the lack of progress. He seemed knowledgeable and sincere, so I decide to give him a try. I didn’t want x-rays of course, but after the miscarriage I went ahead and got the x-rays. Even though a part of me, the part who used to see a naturapath and learned the warnings of over radiating oneself, thought I ought not to get bombarded further. What with the yearly mammograms and the occasional dental snaps, I get plenty of radiation, thank you very much.
Fast forward to today. The infomercial. He gave us an hour long spiel on the workings of the spine and nerves and all that. It’s all very informative and good and enlightening, but also very much a sales pitch. I’m wary of the latter, and thankful for the former. Then comes the x-ray analysis. According to the measurements, my spine is all curvy here and there, and my neck is at a -22 degree angle when the optimal angle is +45, plus it leans forward two inches from where it should, which means that carrying my head that far forward exerts 20lbs of constant extra pressure in my spine, thus making it try to compensate elsewhere. Hence the frequent headaches, aching neck, sore back, etc etc etc. Okay. Fine. So I’m on the road to becoming a cripple.
This pressure on the nerves and into the region of the brain stem affects so many basic life functions, including appetite, reproduction, anger, and pleasure. So the essence of the infomercial is that proper spinal alignment will solve all the problems of one’s health. Fine.
We want to see you three times a week for the next several months, he says. My insurance covers 26 visits a year, so that will run out very shortly. Why not twice a week for a few weeks and we’ll take it from there, I say. We can work out affordable plans, he says. I make an appointment, planning to possibly go twice a week for a while, and then taper it off. I’m not going to be paying full out-of-pocket for that much adjustment. It seems to me that one has to change many things, like the whole musculature attached to the spine, in order for the spinal adjustments to stick. What’s going to keep them from trying to go back to the place where they’re used to being? It seems like they need musculature to keep them in place as well. But that’s just me.
I quit going to previous chiropractors because I decided they weren’t being very helpful. At least this guy gives me a good cracking, but even so, I can’t see going three times a week, indefinitely. I know it has taken many years of bad posture, seated at a desk, click-clacking away at a keyboard (yes, exactly what I’m doing now) to get me to this point.
I don’t want to be in full denial about my health. I do want to be healthy. But I don’t want to be bamboozled into spending thousands of unnecessary dollars. I understand that I need to exercise much much more, and that that will improve postural things, among others. What I would like to know is the unfiltered truth. Is it really as bad as they say? Won’t weight loss and exercise turn the tables and help relieve all the pressure and gradually improve the alignment naturally? It just seems like it would. Is that not common sense?
I can test this out, but it takes time to lose weight. Not to mention determination and steadfast commitment. Both of which are difficult when one also struggles with emotional issues from time to time. And it’s a classic catch 22. The sedentary overweightedness is a byproduct of a decent-paying desk job and the coping mechanisms employed to tackle stress and depression. The misalignment of the spine and accompanying nerve irritation are exacerbated by weight and inactivity, and cause stress and depression. How can one possibly win without just biting the bullet and vowing to oneself to buckle up and ignore the pain or ignore the depression or ignore the stress and just DEAL with it. It seems futile. And with a conclusion of futility, one might tend to just throw up one’s hands and give up and give in. And go have an ice cream or a cappucino or a nice warm piece of French bread.
I’m so annoyed.
But I haven’t thrown in the towel this time. Yet.
And I’m still annoyed.
