Runner Insight

^ Click Arrow To Listen

I was still limping from the tightness of my sciatica, but it was improving.  The doctor gave me about 4 stretches to do for my back and hip where the sciatic nerve runs through.  One of the stretches makes me laugh every time I do it.  I get down on my hands and knees letting my back sag with my tummy dropping as far down as possible.  Then I arch my back up like a Halloween cat…Making the appropriate hissing sound to go along with it, just for fun!

I continued to see Dr Krieg three times a week, and I stayed in adjustment for the most part, maybe a little off every three or four visits or so. After a couple of weeks of getting me aligned, and me continuing to apply the Bio-Freeze and do my stretches, my right leg was still really tight and I was still limping around on it.  It was a bit frustrating, but I had learned that sciatica is one of those mystery ailments that seem to be on their own time table.  But as I said, each day was better.

My right leg was now feeling like it was getting more numb than tight.  And my right foot would get very cold, while my left was nice and toasty.  I told Dr. Krieg about this.  The good news was that after a couple of weeks, the alignment was holding for the most part, with occasional minor adjustments every few days.  So when he checked my alignment and I was still looking good, he began to work on my sciatic nerve on my right leg with pressure point therapy. 

Painful doesn’t even begin to describe how it felt when he was pressing on my leg, but I knew when it was done it would feel better.  He explained that he couldn’t work on my sciatic nerve before, because it would have been way too sensitive or “hot” as he put it.  That made sense as I could hardly stand the pain as it was after a couple of weeks of healing and adjustments.  But after that session my leg did feel a lot better. 

At this point, I have been going to see Dr. Krieg for about a month.  I’m seeing him a couple of times a week now. We’re going to have my re-exam this week, and we’ll see how much better everything is. I’m sure the results will show that I’m nowhere close to an inch and a half off from my left hip to my right hip, and hopefully my weight is more balanced on my left and right side. My leg is doing much better, just a slight limp and tightness.  I did have a couple of deep tissue massages with Robin where she mainly worked on my right glut and upper back and neck where I have been getting adjusted.  That really has helped expedite the healing process in my leg, as it no longer feels numb or cold.  I may have another one soon.

I’m not back to running yet, but I’m sure as I continue to see Dr Krieg over the next several weeks, he’ll have me back in my running shoes just in time for the beautiful spring weather.

So this brings me to why I named this blog “Back to Basics.”  For years I have been ignoring my back.  I was not doing the things that I knew I should be doing to insure I would have a strong and healthy core.  I suffered for that when I ran my first marathon, and now with my lower back and the sciatica. It’s horrible to be disabled and unable to do the every day things you enjoy…like sitting and standing!  

I am now a newly-converted believer in good chiropractic care.  And not just when your back hurts, but getting a screening and making sure everything is working the way it is supposed to.  It’s all about being proactive in my health and well being.  Wellness instead of sickness!

This is a continuing process and I will be sharing my progress with you as I go along.  Oh yeah Dr. Krieg also holds wellness classes every month at his clinic that we’re planning on attending.  They sound like just what we are looking for: planning for a healthier life style.

How ‘bout it?

 -Vision Runner

Popularity: 2% [?]

^ Click Arrow To Listen

For my first adjustment, we were led into one of the adjusting rooms.  Dr. Krieg had me stand at the foot of an upright exam table that was positioned vertically.  He then lowered it as I laid on it face down so that it laid me down from my natural standing position.  As I lay face down on the table, he had me bend my knees up and back down.  Then turn my head to the right and then to the left, and back to center, looking down toward the floor.  He then asked T if she could see my legs.  She said yes, even from across the room she could see the difference in my leg lengths.  My right leg was 1½ inches shorter then my left!  When he pulled my right leg down to where it matched up with my left, boy did that feel weird and uncomfortable.

He then raised the exam table up, and we moved over to a very low adjusting table.  It was only about a foot off the ground. He positioned me on my left side with my head in a donut like pillow.  He did some adjusting of my head and then applied pressure to my head with his hand and I felt a slight drop and the table make a loud POP…But it was the table, not my neck. 

It didn’t hurt. In fact it didn’t feel like much of anything really except a firm but gentle and non-violent push to my head.  That was it.  We then were shown to the resting room where for 15 minutes I reclined and relaxed. T was having fun with all the different massage settings on her recliner.  

When we left the chiropractor’s office, I didn’t feel much different.  However later that night watching TV, I started to have some bad indigestion. I never have indigestion, but it was bad enough that I took a couple of chewable antacid tablets…although it was clear to me that the Maalox was not going to even touch it. I have never really had problems with indigestion before. It was awful. 

In fact, if we hadn’t known that this could be a side effect of being adjusted, I would have sworn I was having a heart attack, that’s how bad it was.  Finally I had an inspired thought to lay on my trusty ottoman with the heating pad on my chest and stomach, and T and I did some Theta Healing on it.

Finally, finally, after what seemed like hours of indigestion (in actuality, it was probably about an hour or so) I got some relief from the awful heartburn!  And thankfully, it didn’t come back. 

Before bed I used some of the Bio-Freeze that we got in sample packets from the chiropractor.  It’s a natural ointmet like Icy Hot or Myo-Flex or Ben Gay, but natural, without the chemicals.  It smells like Vicks Vapo-Rub, but for only a few minutes, then the smell dissipates.  I used it on my neck and shoulders, and also applied some to my lower back and hip of my right leg.  Boy, the effect was almost immediate and lasted for hours.  I love this stuff!  Barkeep….Bio-Freeze for everyone!!  (Actually I tried to get some sample packets from the Bio-Freeze company cause I wanted to offer to send samples to you, my blog readers, if you wanted to try it, but the company only gives samples to health care professionals…and I guess being a Call System Operator at the hospital and a blind runner who blogs doesn’t really count. Oh well. “C’est la vie” say the old folks…)

The next day at the chiropractor’s office, I told Dr. Krieg of my indigestion reaction to the adjustment yesterday.  He was delighted that I had some sort of reaction because this meant that things were happening.  After all, the spine is the nervous system’s super highway.  All our nerves come from the spine, and by making a cervical adjustment to a spine that has been out of alignment for over 20 years, it would have been surprising and even a little disappointing if I didn’t have a reaction.

So once again he had me stand next to the exam table and layed me face down on it.  After he had me do all the head movements left and right, and bending of my knees, my right leg was almost even with my left this time!  Maybe a ¼ inch difference. What a dramatic change! 

Overnight!

After just one adjustment…

Come back for more on Friday….

While fixing sciatica is a process, we’ll get you caught up to current on my whole back pain/sciatica healing journey.

See you on Friday…

How ‘bout it?

-Vision Runner

Popularity: 2% [?]

^ Click Arrow To Listen

After the emergency room visit for the sneeze-induced, instant onset of excruciating back pain, my routine for the week was to take my pills and lie on the couch or curl around the ottoman.  Obviously not much walking, let alone running for me. I would take a hot bath before bed.  Fortunately, I had no problems sleeping.

After a day or so, my back was no longer hurting that badly, but my right leg was tight and I could not sit for much time at all with out it hurting.  I was limping around as if I had pulled all the muscles in my leg. But my leg only hurt when I sat for too long.  It wasn’t too painful to walk, but I could not put much weight on it, as it felt like it was all swollen and I might tear something. It wasn’t swollen. In fact, I kept checking in with people, “Does this leg look swollen?”

“Nope, it’s the same size as the other leg.”

I called in to work and told my supervisor that I could not work my shifts that week.  She told me not to worry, they would get covered. 

About two days into my work week, I called work again, to make sure my last two days were covered.  My co-worker, Chris answered the phone.  She asked how I was doing.  I told her if I wasn’t better by Monday, I was going to have to go see someone about it.  She asked me if I had a chiropractor. A chiropractor?  Heck it hadn’t even crossed my mind to see a chiropractor. 

Chris told me she had an awesome one, and she had a coupon for a free exam and x-rays, a New Year’s special.  I thought what the heck, maybe this was the way to go. We were working on manifesting a solution, with grace and ease in the highest and best. Obviously the idea of seeing a chiropractor, and this specific chiropractor were dropped into my consciousness for a reason. The Law of Attraction works.

Well, by Monday my right leg was still not doing well, and my sciatica was really giving me fits.  So I called Dr. Krieg’s Chiropractic office.  Kelly answered the phone, and I explained my situation.  She was very sympathetic and said that Yes, it was something that the doctor had been able to help others with.  In fact, he could see me that afternoon.  Wow, I was impressed.

When we got to the chiropractic office, as we were sitting there filling out paperwork, Dr. Krieg came out and introduced himself to us.  Exuberant and joyful doesn’t even begin to describe this man.  He made us feel very welcome, and I swear he had the softest hands ever!

Kelly gave us a tour of the offices and showed us the exam rooms and the adjustment rooms.  She then explained that after an adjustment, here were the relaxing rooms, where the member would lie in a very comfortable recliner for about 15 minutes while the adjustment settled.  They even had a mini-fridge available with water and juices to keep you hydrated.

We then were led to the exam room.

T asked me if I was okay, saying that I looked a little scared. Maybe it was the deer-in-the-headlights look on my face…I don’t know what gave it away. Yes, I was scared.  This was my back we were talking about, and the idea of it being adjusted, was a little freaky to me.

After just a bit, Dr Krieg came in.  He was very sympathetic as he listened to me explain my problem.  He had some kind of instrument that he ran up my spine.  This measured the nerves and muscles.  The different colors…which I couldn’t see…represented where the muscle and nerves were in stress.  Of course my L5 in the lower spine was red, meaning very stressed.  Also some spots on my upper spine were, too.

He had me get on a scale and took my weight. Then I got on a dual scale.  This measured my weight on each side, left and right.  The crazy thing was that I was 13 ½ pounds heavier on my right side! He said a 2 to 3 pound variation was normal. 

I had a knee injury in high school over 20 years ago: a torn ACL in my left leg.  He said that made sense, and that my body had been compensating all these years for my weaker left knee. Even after my knee was stronger, my right side was still compensating for it. 

He then showed how my hip and also my shoulders were off, left to right, by an inch and a half.  He asked me to shut my eyes and turn my head right and then left, up and down and come back to center….well, where I thought center was. 

When I opened my eyes I was looking to the right. It was very dramatic and quite the eye-opener when Dr. Krieg took my chin and placed it where center should be aligned. Imagine my surprise at being so far askew!

He took about 6 or 7 x-rays of my spine and neck.  With that, the exam was over, and Dr. Krieg said he would study my films that night, and he would be able to tell me if and how he could help me the next day. 

Quite impressed with the entire process, I was looking forward to hearing what the doctor would find on my x-rays.  I was, however, a bit disappointed that my sciatica was still very much with me.

The next afternoon we arrived at the chiropractor’s office.  We were impressed with how different it was from other doctors’ offices.  It felt more like a receiving room and less like a waiting room.  I guess this was due to the fact that our waiting time was pretty much non-existent.  Shortly after we arrived, Kelly showed us to Dr. Krieg’s office.  Within a few minutes the doctor came in.  He had my x-rays and said he would go over them with us in a bit, but first he wanted us to watch a short video about upper cervical chiropractic care.  I mostly just listened as I could not see the small screen.  But that was okay, as most of it was telling us about the options we had.  1^st one was to do nothing. 2^nd one was treat the condition with drugs. 3^rd was to treat it with surgery and physical therapy, or the 4^th was the upper cervical adjustment. 

Well I knew I didn’t want to use any of the other methods if I didn’t have too.  So this chiropractic thing was sounding better and better all the time.  Dr. Krieg came back in and put the x-rays up on the light box.  He first began by saying that he was very happy that we came to him first.  A lot of people go to other MD’s and after considerable time and expense and usually a significant intake of pharmaceuticals, when they got no relief, they will then seek chiropractic help.  He was very excited about my x-rays as he said there was nothing major on them that he could not help me with.  No ruptured disks or fused vertebrae, etc.  I didn’t have any arthritis.  All good signs that he could help me. 

I got up close to the light box, and Dr. Krieg pointed out that my neck should have a natural curve to it, like a slight C.  Mine was very straight.  I attributed that to 13 years of office work, plus the fact that I am constantly straining my neck to look at the computer monitor.  Right now at work the monitor is not positioned correctly, and I have to really strain and stretch my neck forward to see it…even with the monstrously large font.  But there is nothing that can be done as the monitor is on an arm that does not move up or down, just forward a bit.

He showed me the tail bone area had some sort of injury to it, but there was no scar tissue forming, so that was good.

With that, he wanted to make sure I knew that this was something he could help me to correct.  He explained that he did not heal people, that the body did that, he just helped to get it started.

So then the big question came up …How much was this going to cost me?  For that, Mandi came in a few minutes later with a treatment plan that the doctor recommended.  He had me set up for 28 visits.  Three times a week for the first month or so, then 2 times and then once a week.  But how much was this going to cost me?  And was my insurance going to cover it?  Mandi went through all the different payment plans with us. Seems that they were a preferred provider for my insurance, so that gave me a discount, and if I paid in advance I would get a 1 hour massage and 15% off any items they sold.  Plus access to dietitians and trainers for free.

What kind of place was this? We were being treated like they really wanted our business and they truly cared! 

After considering all the options, I chose to pay the full amount in advance…hey, the discount and that hour massage was the kicker! 

Come back Wednesday for Part 3,

See Ya Then,

How ‘bout it? 

-Vision Runner

Popularity: 2% [?]