I went to my appointment with an open mind this morning. When I arrived, they were waiting for me, there were no other patients there, so I had a lot of one on one attention from this doctor. He stood me in front of a mirror and showed me how I was standing lopsided and crooked. Then he had me stand on two scales, one foot on each one, to see how my weight was distributed. I have been to chiropractors before, but have never had THAT particular little test done. The result of stepping on those scales showed that I was standing heavier on the left side by 8 pounds. Weird. (FabGrandpa and I joked that it was because I have an 8 pound knot in that arm.)
Then, he used a couple of electronic devices to measure “muscle tightness” and “energy flow” or something like that, in my spine. The results showed that I had a lot of tightness and a lot of electrical impulses on my C1 on the left side, which is what controls the left arm muscles and nerves. He also did some X-rays of my spine and neck, which we will see tomorrow.
After he determined that my body is pretty much screwed up on the left side, he did some “gentle touch adjustments” on my body. I felt almost nothing, but I started to feel better right away. I had a lot of muscle tightness that I didn’t even realize. I kept thinking about that old joke that goes “If your head hurts that much, let me stomp on your toe.” You know, my arm was hurting so much I did not even feel the pain in my neck.
We made an appointment for me to go back tomorrow, at which time he will do a “laser treatment” on my arm (I do not know what that is since I have never had one.) And if I am not considerably better in a few days, he will refer me to the DO.
After he was finished with my adjustment, he asked me about my diet, and we discussed my gluten free eating habits. He asked me if I was taking any supplements, and suggested that I take Omega 3 fatty acid supplments and a digestive enzyme. He also suggested that we do a very thorough blood, hair, urine lab workup to determine what other things, if any, are going on with me. While I am very interested in this sort of thing, I am not financially prepared to do it at this time, as it is a very expensive panel of tests, and I suggested to him that I wait for that until next winter when we come back to the Phoenix area. He thought that was a good idea.
So, there you have it. My first experience with a naturopathic chiropractor. I was impressed with the attention and time he spent with me. Time will tell if he did me any good.
Hmm – that’s very interesting to find out that your weight is distributed so unevenly. I wonder if that is a symptom or a way the body has of coping with things. I am finding out that my Nintendo Wii is teaching me better balance and posture so I am glad to be using it – see it’s a video game but it’s not just for fun – it’s for health too! And I learned that posture can affect digestion too. So I am very interested in all this naturopathy stuff as really a lot of it makes sense. I hope you will keep us posted and that you feel better. Being aware of these things will probably help you a lot too.
Wow, so very thorough. I like that. Hope the lazer treatment does some good. Isn’t it nice to have a doctor that spends the time to talk to you?
Yay for Omega 3 supplements and digestive enzymes – two things I believe everyone should be on. I love when you go to a doctor that realizes diet does play a part in your overall health. I hope you feel some relief soon.
Omega 3…very important! Good for him to get you to take them. Hope the laser thing works. Maybe it is similar to ultrasound therapy.
I use a lot of products that have the Omega 3 in it…I have been doing it for about 2 years now…you’ll be surprised how much better you feel with the Omega 3 alone….your Seester