And that can be summed up in one phrase….
How important it is and just how badly I needed it…..
I had never been to a chiropractor in my entire life until about seven years ago. I had gone to the doctor complaining of sciatic pain and I was referred to a chiropractor. He was great and actually the one who told me that what was wrong with me was a whole lot bigger than sciatic nerve pain. One visit and a call to my doctor led to a neurosurgeon a week later and I was having surgery for a benign spinal tumor. I didn’t return to the chiropractor after my surgery, mostly because no one had told me I needed to. I had no idea that he could have helped me to heal faster… go figure…. I had no clue what holistic care was and just how much regular visits could change my life!
One day, in talking to Dr. Jack I was complaining of residual back pain, and the weirdest leg cramps ever. Lots of people get cramps in their calves, but I was getting them in the tops of my feet, in my ankles, my thighs, and all other strange places. “You need a chiropractor,” Dr. Jack said. Now Dr. Jack, besides being the most wonderful functional nutritionist ever, is also a chiropractor! He said he could help me but his office is like thirty five minutes from my house and that was just not going to work with the schedule I keep. I fly between jobs, so he told me I should get someone closer.
If we are friends, you know how I am with strangers touching me. Not a big fan. And I was nervous about finding someone. Well, Dr. Jack took the time to research and find me a great chiropractor who is on my way to Walmart! What kind of doctor would do that for you?? It also turns out that the person he recommended, Dr. Mark Sokolowski, who is in Hamburg, conveniently on my path to Walmart, was Dr. Jack’s teacher at the chiropractic college. How cool is that?
When I walked into his office, I explained my situation and then he checked by gently putting his hands on my hip and shoulders. He remembered Dr. Jack and he got really excited about what I had accomplished so far. He explained everything to me before he touched me, and I kept thinking how well Dr. Jack knows me to find me the exact right person for me! He was gentle, kind and explained everything as he did it. I got completely relaxed with him right away. Turns out I was kind of like spiral spaghetti, hips going one way, back another and shoulders a third. Dr. Mark explained what he would do and how often I should see him to keep myself in line. He told me that between my surgery and probably sitting and walking funky to compensate for pain, well I had made a twisted mess of myself.
One treatment and I was walking straighter. One treatment and a ton of pain was gone. One treatment and I was feeling better and sleeping better! Dr. Mark gave me some exercises to do, to help my situation, and I have had only one or two of the weirdo cramps since, mostly when I have been too busy to do what I was told to do. When school started this year, I had been wearing shoes for a few weeks and then saw Dr. Mark. I had thrown all his hard work out the door and simply by adjusting and changing my foot wear, things returned to normal. My ability to do my second job, with all its lifting and moving, and my ability to exercise improved dramatically. I don’t EVER miss a visit to Dr. Mark’s office!!! EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR…..
At about the same time I started with Dr. Mark, I had ordered Dr. Jack’s book. “The Health Care Paradigm Shift, ” by Dr. Jack Saia, was a great read. In it, besides the great advice on diet and food, was a whole section about how chiropractic care can have benefits to so many areas of your body. The fact is that I had no idea just much it would change everything. I have embarrassedly read that book at least fifteen times now because I want that information in my head.
Regular chiropractic visits keep my spine in line but it does so much more. I am not sore or uncomfortable every single day. Those weird cramps are long gone. I move easier, I feel more balanced. I sleep better after treatment, and I don’t get headaches anymore. It really was interesting to me that chiropractors are interested in whole body care, not just your spine. Dr. Mark and Dr. Jack are always asking me about the rest of my life, how I sleep, what hurts, what kinds of exercise do I do. They give me advice on me as a whole person! When I had gone to the YMCA a trainer suggested an exercise, I have learned to read Dr. Mark’s face pretty well. I knew what was coming. “I don’t think that is the best idea for you. But what I would suggest is….” “How long do you wear those sneakers before you get new ones, let’s talk about that.” “Swimming? That is perfect because….” I guess when they use the term “Holistic,” chiropractors are who they are referring to! And besides all that great stuff, the most amazing thing of all happened!!!!
I had a huge area of “dead’ where my surgery was. If you touched me there I felt nothing. It was probably about ten inches by six inches of dead zone right in the middle of my back. One day, Dr. Mark was explaining to me about all my residual scar tissue and he was working hard at it all. He did his adjustments and I relaxed in his work so that I could benefit as much as possible. In his work one day, I felt something kind of give way. It didn’t hurt at all, but felt different. Dr. Mark asked me how it felt, and I just said it was fine, but I knew something was different. The next day I was at school and wondered what was poking me in the back? I went to the ladies’ room and realized that I had a tag in my shirt that was irritating me. So I left to go get scissors to cut it out.
I remember that I stopped dead in my tracks on my way back to my classroom. I could feel that??? I had this shirt forever, why hadn’t I felt it before. And that was when I realized it, the dead zone had woken up some!!! I felt back there to map it out and now the dead zone was only a few small inches in diameter. I got so excited I called Dr. Mark and left him a message on his answering machine. I am sure they wondered who the crazy lady on the answering machine was, “I have no idea what you did yesterday but guess what!!! I can FEEL it!!! I mean…..” Lol…. it’s funny now. And when I had my meeting with Dr. Jack, I said to him, “I can feel stuff on my back!!!” He went quiet and I kept chattering on about how he didn’t understand what was going on!!!! I was SOOOOOOOOO super excited!!! Of course, he knew that was a possibility, and he was so happy for me, but I had NO idea!!! I didn’t think that I could get that feeling back!!! Now, every once in awhile after Dr. Mark’s treatments, it feels sunburn in there. And then I get excited because I know that it woke up some more.
Since that time, Dr. Mark has only made things better each time. Plantar fasciitis? He can fix that!! Didn’t you think only a podiatrist could? Nope!! Turns out he can do that too with this little tool that he uses that always makes me want to giggle because it tickles some. Pain management, headaches, that is just the tip of the iceberg!! Chiropractors can fix ALL kinds of things!!! Things I had no idea could be fixed by adjusting your spine and neck.
Sometimes I over do things, and that spot where my surgery was, well, it hurts or gets achy…. I don’t worry, Dr. Mark can fix that! And, oh…. that is the most welcome feeling to just HAVE feeling in there!!! Thanks to the chiropractor!!!!