Manhattan Chiropractor

Running and a Chiropractor Visit

chiro1011 — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:02:44 +0000

Having completed several running races over an eight year span including one half marathon and a full marathon in Boston. Not to mention being over two hundred pounds, I really needed to visit a chiropractor’s office; often. Constant pounding is never good when you’re really not built for it. My running partners were really small skinny guys with huge legs. For them running was effortless. Me; I was a clamoring ground pounder. My visits to the office were once a month, and the Chiropractor I saw was a volunteer at the Boston marathon. He knew how to stretch professional runners prior to the race. Me, I did dynamic stretching, meaning I let the running do the stretching. As a result; my stiff muscles would pull tightly on my bones and the next thing I knew I would be out of alignment. This didn’t catch on till I visited my Chiropractor and complained how hard asphalt could be, and they needed to come up with softer tar. The visits were fairly rudimentary and always the same for me; since I didn’t have any accidents or serious issues. His table was perfectly adapted for this work, although looking at it you would think it came from the medieval days of torture. Being led to the room by Igor the receptionist (not really). The door would swing open and the light would come on, then the door would shut after you’ve entered. Thud, then silence. Looking around this room was this rack of pain kind of looking table, with instruments of who knows what; off to the side. Although, quite intimidating and uncomfortable looking. One could lie down on this table, and as your body rested on the funny looking contours; you could actually feel yourself snap back together. The Chiropractor would use this funny looking table as a sort of partner. By applying pressure to certain areas of the skeleton, the table seemed to push back, and then you feel a release as your body began to snap, crackle and pop. At least with me that’s what it was like. An orchestra of cracks, ohs, pops, ahs, and an incidental ouch. One technique was to lie on the side, and the Chiropractor would start arranging legs and arms, then with his body, would lean over and time the big crack with the patients breathing. As soon as one would exhale; firecracker ally. Then he’d flip the patient over to the opposite side, and do the same. You would always wonder if you could actually walk away from that procedure. All I can say is that there was a strange goodness to how you would feel after. Meaning you should feel some sort of pain after being contorted and squashed, but walking away feeling more than fine. My least favorite was the neck crack. Back on the medieval rack; one would slide up and the table would be readjusted to where you are looking at the back wall instead of the ceiling. With your head cocked back the Chiropractors fingers would begin to massage the neck muscles, and as you are beginning to relax. A massive sharp twist would send the sounds of cracks and pops through your brain. Before you could recover your head would be back in a cocked position again feeling the relaxing fingers, and before you could say anything, the neck would be wrench the other way. In your mind one would think how this can be acceptable without being in a body cast. “That’s it, you can go now” said Dr. Frankenstein. I would bounce out of the rack, and feel like new. It was a great feeling. I would recommend it to anyone.

Back Pain and My Chiropractor

chiro1011 — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:00:07 +0000

When I was nineteen years old I had a sudden experience of back pain that left me immobilized for days. I had no idea what to do. I worked in a coffee shop so standing on my feet was required but I could barely move and couldn’t imagine standing. I had no medical insurance so going to the doctor was not my first instinct. A friend recommended I see a chiropractor. I was skeptical and waited a few days, but I had to get back to work. I kept hoping the pain would just go away, but it wouldn’t. While I waited I could barely walk to the bathroom and when I did I was literally bent out of shape like a human pretzel. I finally knew I needed help and relented. I called the chiropractor and we made an appointment for the very next day. My friend picked me up in the morning, helped me to her car, and drove me to the appointment. I had no idea what to expect since I’d never been to see a chiropractor. My friend gave me an idea of what her experience was like, but when she saw the chiropractor she hadn’t been in such bad shape. I filled out the necessary paperwork about my medical history and turned it in to the nurse at the front desk. My friend delivered the paperwork to the desk for me, knowing how much pain I would suffer if I tried to walk more than necessary. I hunched over in the waiting room chair and waited desperately for my name to be called. After a ten minute wait the nurse called me to the back and showed me to an examination room. I waited another five minutes for the chiropractor to come in. He was very friendly and unexpectedly handsome. I lay down on the table in the room while we had a discussion about the back pain I was in. I’d never experienced any back problems before so I was clueless how this had all happened. He explained that he needed to adjust my back. I was a little scared but I trusted him, after all he is a professional. He gave me a back adjustment and I instantly felt better. I couldn’t believe it. I felt like he had performed a miracle healing on my back. From only minutes before being unable to stand up straight to feeling almost normal way amazing and a great relief. We discussed a treatment plan and he explained that for treatment to be effective I would need to come in for routine adjustments for a short period of time. With how amazing I felt I was more than happy to comply. The next day I felt a little worse, but with the routine treatments I was on the road to recovery. After a few more weeks of treatment I was back to my regular old self. I will never hesitate to go see a chiropractor after such a good experience.

My First Chiropractic Visit

chiro1011 — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:59:16 +0000

I have to admit I was initially skeptical about going to a chiropractor. I'd heard some mixed reports about them, and to be honest, I'm a little reluctant about going to see any kind of doctor. But one day, I developed a noticeable kink in my here-to-fore trouble-free spine, (my well-deserved reward for sitting countless hours slumped in front of a computer screen). The pain set in and never let up, making me limp around like Quasimodo, and making standing up or even turning over in bed a slow, carefully thought-out process with lots of sudden gasps and gritted teeth. One day I finally admitted to myself that it was not going to get better on its own. So I grabbed a phone book, flipped it open to the chiropractors and found one nearby with a big friendly ad. Luckily, they were able to see me on the same day, and I headed to their office just as fast as I could hobble. It was an amazing experience. It seemed like they could tell exactly what was wrong by the way I walked in the door. A few quick questions and a light touch here and there confirmed it. I was expecting to be immediately grabbed and twisted like a Rubik's Cube, but got a pleasant surprise. First came several relaxing minutes of tingly electric stimulation, a nice big heat pad, and a quick vibrating back massage that turned me into jelly. I was already feeling better than I had in months when the chiropractor came back in, carefully placed his hands on my back, and as I let out a long deep breath, gently but firmly pressed down, until whatever had been out of place slid back where it belongs with a satisfying little crunch. When I finally sat up again, I felt four inches taller, and was able to move without pain for the first time in weeks. Feeling as good as I did, was suspicious of why they wanted to schedule another appointment, but a day or two later that became clear when my spine slipped back into pain mode. It seems it had gotten used to being there, and the muscles that were supposed to be supporting it in the healthy position were stretched out and weakened. They fixed me up again and I started doing some stretching and strengthening exercises they provided, and paying more attention to how I sat in chairs. It took a few more visits before things finally got back to normal and stayed that way, but it was just enough time for me to realized the dreaded visit to the chiropractor had become the highlight of my day. It was definitely the most immediate and complete and pleasurable relief I've ever gotten for a health complaint. For the most part, treating your back right and getting a good balance of rest and exercise for it is the best thing you can do. But when you need one, nothing beats a chiropractor!

I Haven’t Been to a Chiropractor (Yet)

chiro1011 — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:11:59 +0000

I have never been to a Chiropractor, but have often wanted to. I have played sports my whole life, including in college, and now that I no longer play college sports, i have several back pains. I think most of these come from years of playing baseball and football, and that my back is probably out of whack. I often wake up in the morning in extreme pain and get shooting pains down the left side of my body (starting from my hip and shooting down to my feet). I can feel these pains while i sit, drive, or walk long distances. I have talked to my girlfriend about going to a chiropractor, but she is very against it. One, it is very expensive. But more than that, her family is against it. Her father is a doctor (MD) and says that Chiropractors are just med school drop outs. He says that i should go to a physical therapist rather than a chiropractor. I do not know enough about the differences to make that decision, but i hold her fathers opinion in high regard, and i feel that that is the main reason why i have never been to a chiropractors office. If i was given the opportunity, and the price was right, I would try it out. Also, if i felt that progress was being made and that my back was getting better, i would continue to go and receive treatments; however, i have never been able to find the right circumstances. At this time, i am currently going to a pt provided by my girl friends dad, but have not had much success in terms of my back pains going away. I do work out daily and possibly this is one of the biggest reasons for the pain. Possible i just need to rest? Another factor may be that my bed is in horrible condition. None the less, i feel that a chiropractic visit would do no harm; I'm just not totally convinced that it would do any good either. All and all, I respect chiropractors and what they do. They have plenty of schooling and should understand the human body and what makes it work (and not work). I do not personally know any chiropractors, but would not hesitate to visit one if the opportunity presented itself to me, the price was right, and i could see significant contributions to my reliving my back pains. I also know several people that would also be willing if it was not so expensive and difficult to meet with one.

What is Chiropractic Care Exactly?

chiro1011 — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:10:38 +0000

Chiropractic is a treatment program that strives to alleviate pain and to improve overall health through corrections made to the musculoskeletal system, focusing primarily on the lower back, upper back, and neck. A standard trip to the chiropractor consists of many things. First off you will be examined by the chiropractor. A few common procedures for this involve the patient sitting up on an examining table, the chiropractor will then check for proper alignment. To do this he will see if the shoulders appear to be level, unlevel shoulders are a sign of tension in the muscles. He will also have the patient lay flat on the table, he will then check to see if one of the patients feet extends out further than the other, this being a sign that the hip is out of alignment. These are only two examples of the examination process; there are many additional things the chiropractor can do to effectively judge what will need to be done. Following the examination, the chiropractor will then proceed to make the adjustments needed in order to correct the issues that he discovered upon examination. Just like the examination process, there are numerous ways to make these corrections. The most common practice is that of adjusting the neck. To do this the chiropractor will first attempt to relax the patient, and then he will do a short, controlled tilt to either side. This slight over extension can stimulate nerves and release tension, resulting in a return to more normal motions and alleviated pain. Another common treatment is when the chiropractor has the patient lay on his or her side, with the bottom leg fully extended and the top leg slightly bent, resting on top of the other leg. The chiropractor will then push the upper shoulder of the patient back and down towards the bed, while holding the upper knee in place. This movement helps to adjust the spine back into proper alignment. Chiropractic is used to treat people who have been involved in any sort of accident that has resulted in pain to the neck or spine, such as whiplash sustained in a car accident. Chiropractics are also believed to aid in the relief of such things as neck stiffness, headaches and migraines, and ear infections. As a practice, chiropractic has been around for many years. It is recorded as beginning with a Daniel David Palmer adjusting the spine of a construction worker, who, following the adjustment claimed to experience near full recovery from his pains and even improved hearing. Even having such a long history, chiropractic is a practice than is not well respected in the medical field. Many claim that there is a lack of evidence supporting the healing claims of the techniques used in this field. Despite this negative outlook from the medical community, chiropractic is a practice growing in popularity, with many people reporting improved health. Many say that it is preferred over the surgeries that would be needed to treat their pains due to it being minimally invasive, fast and much more affordable.