Latest injury – scoliosis
For a long time now I’ve been getting the odd headache and migraine, and more commonly just a really stiff neck, particular at the base of my skull. One of my new years resolutions was to go to the chiro and get this sorted out, which I’ve done *crosses it off the list*
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on the way you look at it) the Chiro determined I had a few discs in my spine out of alignment at the top of my neck (under the skull where the stiffness was), and also mild scoliosis. She sent me for xrays to be safe, and to determine exactly what was going on. Thankfully it turned out to be nowhere near as bad as the image on the wikipedia page for scoliosis although I was still going to need some treatment to help loosen up all the stiff muscles etc. A picture of my xray is on the left – imagine that what you’re seeing is meant to be straight, and you’ll immediately see the difference.
When she first did her examinations, the Chiro pressed lightly on a spot at the top of my neck which almost made me cry out in pain. She confirmed that was one of the troublesome bones. She has cracked the centre of my back where all the discs are tightened up, and also my neck to loosen it. She then used this cool contraption which she likened to “a small punch” to help push the discs into their correct position. Both times I’ve had this done now, I get a feeling of bulging eyes for about half an hour after treatment, its quite bizarre. After the first appointment, I stupidly cracked my neck by habit that night and immediately got a headache, so was pretty sure I’d put the disc out of alignment again. I had my last treatment almost 48 hours ago, and have been extremely focused on not cracking my neck. It’s amazing how much of a habit it’s become – I’ve stopped myself on at least 3 or 4 occasions today alone!
It looks like I’ll be visiting the Chiro twice a week for a while to sort out my issues. I’ve also started to take up yoga as a way to “strengthen my core”, and increase the flexibility in my spine. Hopefully all of this combined will prevent any more issues for the future, and at the same time increase my level of fitness. That will be really handy when combined with the fact the netball superleague season has just started, so hopefully I won’t be putting my back under too much pressure every game. Anyways, I’ll keep you posted on my progress to see how it all works out, but I can just say – THANK GOD FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.