Chiropractor Visit

Three weeks ago I fell on my mountain bike and injured either my shoulder or my neck. It's hard to tell exactly where the actual injury is, all I know is it gives me a stabbing pain in the upper right arm and shoulder which radiates down my arm into my first two fingers causing throbbing pain in the fingers and a pins and needles sensation at the tips of those fingers. But I figured it's an arm, who cares as long as I've got my two good running legs. Heck, the arm thing doesn't even effect my biking. The only thing concerning me is that it does effect my sleeping at night. So after another night of tossing and turning and trying to get comfortable, I broke down and called my chiropractor this morning. He was kind enough to fit me right in.

I have posted about my chiropractor before. He is a wonderful practitioner and has really helped me with many injuries over the years. But he takes "Holistic Medicine" to a whole new dimension. I have a scientific mind and can't seem to fathom a lot of the hocus pocus sort of things that he uses to help people with their various problems. I know from the testimonial of friends, he does help a lot of people with his off the wall treatments. This chiropractor, Dr. D, does have his critics. My Osteopath claims this particular chiropractor "shakes a rattle at his patients" to cure them. I haven't actually seen him do that, but he might.

I was a little early and got to read the various posters and brochures in the waiting room. This is fascinating reading material. One brochure talked about a mat you place under your food. This mat infuses your food with all sorts of energy, so when you eat the food you get super-energized. Another brochure talks about a mat you lay on. It vibrates until all your millions of cells are vibrating in perfect harmony. This is supposed to be good for you, I guess. Then there are the usual magnets, crystals, and copper rings and bracelets, (gotta get me some of those to give out as Christmas gifts). Percussion therapy sounded interesting, but I was led into the exam room before I read very much on that. Basically it seemed to involve drumming on a person. I didn't read far enough to discover what the health benefits are.

Once in the exam room I started snooping around and immediately found the "Color Therapy Eye Glasses." These brightly colored plastic eye glasses each had a description of what they would cure. Apparently, one only has to look through them and Wah-lah, instant cure. The red ones would help the lower back and any digestive disorders. The orange ones were for sexual energy and reproductive health (not sure if you are supposed to wear them during the act or not.) I was just starting to read about the yellow ones when the good doctor came into the room and politely shut the cabinet that I was looking into.

Dr. D. isn't much of a talker. "OK, sit," or "face down on the table," are about the most I ever get out of him. I'd love to have asked him about the eye glasses, but he just isn't a chatty kind of guy. He worked on my neck for about 15 minutes and then did some stuff on my shoulder. It is pretty damned amazing that the pain and the pins and needles sensation in my fingers was completely gone by the time he was done. The shoulder still hurts, but it isn't traveling down the arm any more. On the way home my neck started hurting a lot, but he warned me it might. The test will be if I get any sleep tonight or not.

So the question is, is there any merit to any of these unusual treatments and cures that Dr. D and so many others practice? I personally believe in chiropractic and acupuncture, because I can understand the scientific principles behind them. Some of the other stuff is a little hard to swallow. But the thing is, this stuff makes people feel better. It takes away that feeling of being powerless and out of control of their health. Placebo effect is a real thing. It actually causes physical changes in a person. So I say more power to good old Dr. D. and his miracle cures. It would be better if Dr. D. sent his patients home with instructions to exercise and eat better, along with their copper bracelets, magnets, or vibrating mats. It would be nice if his patients walked out the door in their orange sexual health glasses with a new feeling of accountability and responsibility for their own health. But as long as he is helping people, who am I to criticize? Also, I have to admit, he is a hell of a chiropractor! My arm is feeling great right now.