Friday, January 22, 2010

Crack!

In October of 2008, shortly after we moved to Arizona, I was introduced to two wonderful people. Dr's Jon & Kori Sprintz. They have their own Chiropractic practice called Health for Life Chiropractic in Mesa, Az. I was never too keen on the whole philosophy of chiropractic treatment, probably because my dad always talked bad about it. Saying that Of course the more you get your back cracked the more you have to go and the more money they make from you....

I definitely have a different view of it all now, after 15 months of treatment. I have known since I was 12 that I have minor scoliosis in my spine. I have always had back pains and it only got worse when I was pregnant with Joey. I really just learned to live with it. It wasn't anything that really could be fixed and I just thought I was supposed to be in pain all of the time because that was just part of life. After quite a few years filled with stress, getting married, moving to a different state, I thought I would have an open mind when listening to my friend Sara tell me about Jon & Kori.

My consultation appointment was a little bit emotional for me. They took X-rays of my spine and a computerized nerve scan. When Dr. Kori was showing me my X-ray it then hit me why my back hurts so much all of the time. It's crooked.  After explaining to me what chiropractic care could do for me, Paul and I decided to try it.

At first, I was going 2-3 times a week and it was painful. Dr. Jon was basically retraining my muscles and my spine to a new position. A few times, he would adjust me and by the time I got home, my bones had snapped back to where they thought they should be and it would cause my ribs to be out of alignment. That was painful. After a few weeks of that I could feel my body starting to adjust to it's new range of motion and positioning. I was working out more, stretching more and even got a few massages to help ease the muscle pain.

Now, it's been 15 months and I'm only going in for an adjustment once, sometimes twice a month. I feel great. I still get occasional back pain but not nearly as bad as it used to be. When it does start to hurt I do more of the stretching exercises that they taught me and it always helps. Not only does going in to see them make my back feel better but it also helps my mood. They are always so upbeat and happy and positive thinking. It has been an enlightening experience to learn about how my spine and nerves work and made great new friends in the process!

I went in to their office today with a smile and left with an even bigger one. I think I am even a little bit taller too!

1 comment:

stacie said...

I think my back is that way too bc I never stood up straight when I was growing up (teenager mostly) Im too scared to go in and have them tell me whats wrong but I do know if I stand up for a few hours (like at a concert) my back starts to kill, and only helps if i bend and touch my toes to stretch it out but I cant stay like that for the whole concert! I've hurt my back before at work in Cali, bending and twisting [picking up something from the floor and turning to put it in a shelf] so I know my back isnt the best..do you know how much the place you go charges to look and see if I even need to be seeing a chiropractor? I'm so anti about going and having them suck $$ from me by getting me addicted to going there but if it really turns out after awhile to only have to be going 1x month or so..I might do it.