My Trip to the Chiropractor

On Friday I finally gave in and went to the chiropractor.  As I mentioned in my post-baby body post, my hip has been extremely painful, and I decided it was time.  I was finally willing to pay the money, spend the time, and acknowledge the injury in the hopes of getting some relief.

My hips have been through the ringer.  My freshman year of college, way back in 1999, was the first time they experienced trauma.  My friend Laura and I were at a party, where a drunken guy walked up behind us and picked us each up in one of his arms.  This isn't as impressive as it sounds, as at the time I was all of 110, and was MUCH larger than Laura.  Anyway, he drunkenly stumbled around, and eventually landed...hard...and I was on the bottom of the heap.  All 3 of us had landed on my left hip.  I obviously didn't want to acknowledge that I had been injured by a drunk guy at a party, so I just limped around for a couple weeks and didn't seek treatment.

The summer of 2001, I was working for Enterprise Rental Cars, and managed to total one of their vehicles, as I drove 2 other employees back to our office.  I was in a left turn lane and had a green light, but not the green arrow.  My view was obstructed by a car in the turning lane in the other direction, so as I edged out, trying to see, a van slammed into the side of our little Saturn, lifting it up on end, turning it 180 degrees, and, miraculously, not flipping it.  While my lower back was so injured that I spent much of that summer laying flat on my back whenever I wasn't working, I felt so guilty that, again, I never sought medical attention.  

So, 12 years after the initial injury, and adding the birth of my son into the mix, the pain is finally bad enough that I needed to get it looked at.  I could handle never riding roller coasters, and frequently using heating pads, but now?  Whenever I turn out my right leg, pain shoots down through the entire leg.  And trying to sit Indian style is just laughable.  I can't.  Consequently, running also hasn't been on the top of my list.

When I met the doctor, he ran through a battery of tests, checking to see if things were parallel, my range of motion, and my strength in different areas.  It almost seemed like magic.  As soon as he would press a pressure point, and try and get me to activate muscles surrounding my right hip, it would just collapse, and had absolutely no strength what-so-ever.  He certainly was convinced that something was amiss, but will not treat it until he sees an x-ray of my hip and lower back.  I will be getting that done this week, then returning again on Friday of this week.  Hopefully then we can get the ball rolling.

Oddly enough, he also jumped on the fact that I have been excessively dizzy since delivery.  As in, I have blacked out multiple times.  But proceeded to ask questions like, 

"Are you tired?"  

"Why, yes, I have a 4 month old." 

 

"Do you have trouble sleeping?"  

"Why, yes, I have a 4 month old."  

His line of questioning wasn't working so well.  Anyway, he seems to feel that I might need some sort of supplement.  Eh, wouldn't be shocked.  Kiddos will take a lot out of you.  Anyway, one problem at a time.  Here's to hoping I'll soon be healed!