Please Help~

[Janina]

I was diagnosed with having 3 "ribs out" by a chiropractor about 1 month ago...I had dealt with the pain for about 6 weeks...thinking/hoping it would get better. I had several adjustments and felt great for the past few weeks. I woke up yesterday with the same kind of pain again...today its worse. My question is...what can I do to prevent this from happening again? Are there some sort of exercises I could do? Some kind of stretching? I don't want to have to go to the chiro. every couple weeks, Im only 32. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I know I'll probably have to go get adjusted again on Monday...but what can be done to stop this from happening? The worst part is that its not happening from some kind of activity or injury, just from sleeping wrong I guess.

Thanks
VeeJo

 

[rentjunkie]

Hi VeeJo

How often have you seen this DC? Can you trace the possible cause of the rib pain back to a particular incident or activity?

It is quite possible that you have some intercostal issues (the muscles between your ribs) that keep pulling your ribs back out.

Also, sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. If you just started treatment, you may still experience pain (and sometimes even worse). When your body is out of whack, it's sort of like being in a dysfunctional relationship--it's not healthy, and it doesn't feel good, but your body is used to it and any corrective therapy will be likely uncomfortable for a while.

At first, you may indeed need to see your chiro a few times per week before the benefits really start to show themselves. Both chiropractic and massage carry CUMULATIVE benefits, which means that they add up over time, and each treatment builds upon previous treatments. However, this is only true if you get CONSISTENT care. As a massage therapist, many people come to see me every 5 months, only when they can't take the soreness anymore, and expect that I can "fix" them in an hour. That is just not going to happen. View both chiropractic and massage as regular investments to your health and wellness.

Thus, you may be under chiropractic and massage care for the rest of your life, and yes, it could be every couple of weeks. I just turned 29, have been under chiropractic care since I was 14, and I cannot go more than 2 weeks without adjustments and massage. We have trained my body to do 2 weeks so far, but somewhere during the 3rd week I can actually feel my vertebrae slip back out of alignment. No kidding. But, that's just my body. Everyone is different. The most important thing is to live IN your body and NOT try to ignore what you feel or grin and bear it, or think "maybe it'll go away"...because it won't. You might get used to it, but it's still there, and it still affects your quality of life.

It always amazes me (and I used to be guilty of this too) how ppl take better care of their cars than they do their bodies. Our vehicles get us around for 5-15 years...our bodies get us around for 65-90 years. We change our oil and other components regularly. We spend thousands on the upkeep of our vehicles. Do our bodies deserve any less?

At any rate, I would continue with consistent chiropractic care, follow what s/he recommends, seek massage care in addition to chiropractic care to keep the surrounding muscles loose and help your adjustments last longer (and speed healing as well), and I would communicate with both your DC and MT about what you are experiencing from time to time. If your DC and MT are worth their salt at all, they will ask you how you're feeling each day and adjust their treatment plans accordingly. And above all, be patient. Pain is just your body's way of telling you that something has been wrong for *a while*. This means that it won't go away overnight. I often joke with my clients "you didn't get this way in an hour, and it'll take more than an hour to correct this". Pain is deceptive, though, because it's the FIRST thing to go away--the dysfunction that caused it may still linger and require more care to correct. This means, that contrary to our typical society, you'll need to continue with your care even after the pain has subsided. Discontinuing your care the minute you feel better is the surest way to invite the pain back into your life.

 

[Alexis]

Thank You JYoti~

Thank You so much for the reply...

To answer some of your questions. I have seen this DC for about the last 4 or 5 years. Not consitstantly tho. I had a back injury in 2001 that he treated me for, for about 2 years. Then only like you said, when I could no longer grin and bear it. I was dreading to hear what you said, but I know your right. I was just really hoping there was something I could do myself to be pro~active in all of this. I agree 100% with what you said about the care our bodies deserve. I have horses and they recieve MUCH better health care than I would ever think of giving myself LOL

Guess I'll HAVE to see my DC again and regularly. He (IMO) is a good DC, always asks how Im feeling and how I felt after the last treatment. Altho, he didn't suggest that I continue seeing him...but maybe thats because he knows I just don't go to see doctors unless I'm really HURTING.

Thank You again...I do appreciate the quick response.

 

[Julio]

Hi VeeJo

You're entirely welcome

I totally understand about only going when we're hurting...our society teaches us that we're somehow "wusses" if we don't. Bodywork practitioners have a tough time communicating the benefits of care--and the importance of regular, consistent care--to our clients and the public at large because it's hard to get taken seriously. People always figure there's an ulterior motive behind the suggestion that they come for such frequent treatment.

We're also under the (false) impression that regular care is for "old people"--that us "young pups" can just keep going and we don't need any of that yet. That's not true either. Interesting fact: the most stress your spine will probably ever be under (save for a serious accident) is being pushed through the birth canal during your delivery. Yep, that's right--our spines are messed up from the day we're born! Most of us never get treatment as kids, but we figure nothing's wrong because we don't hurt yet (kids are amazingly resilient and they also haven't yet become accustomed to listening to their bodies for pain), and then we compound the existing subtle problems with factors like desk jobs, long commutes, and lack of exercise, stretching, and water intake. (The more hydrated our muscles are the less they hurt--and most people suck even MORE water out of their bodies with their daily coffee--which does NOT count as water, no matter what anyone else tells you!)

So while regular healthcare takes both additional time and funds, it's still a good idea. And it goes much easier (and becomes cheaper, if you can believe it) if it IS regular. (It's much more expensive to buy the new car after not changing the oil on the old one, and some people do this. But you can't trade your old body in for a new one--you're stuck with it )

I always tell my clients, consistency is key. And, one of the key words of wisdom we learned to get us out of the "fix-it" mentality is, "don't work harder than your client is willing to work". In other words, bodyworkers are excellent facilitators of healing, with a lot of knowledge and a lot of training. But in the end, it comes down to the clients/patients. The ball is in their court and they ultimately have to take responsibility for themselves.

I'm glad my previous post was of help, and I'm always happy to be of MORE help, so never hesitate to ask

Hugs,
~Jyoti