Chiropractic? You Can’t Be SERIOUS!
/That's what I said to my physical therapist when she suggested I see a chiropractor.
Three months earlier, in November 2003, I was stuck in traffic in my new Jeep Wrangler Sahara at the Weston Tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike when a car hit me from behind. It wasn't going very fast, and I didn't think much of it. I was surprised by the jolt but didn't feel any immediate physical effects. After taking a few breaths to realize what had happened, I stepped out of the vehicle to look at our cars and exchange insurance information with the other driver. Each bumper had a scratch, but no significant damage had occurred. Thank goodness.
After wrapping up the exchange, I returned to my Jeep and drove to work. I went about my day as usual; however, after a few hours, I noticed my neck and back muscles were starting to spasm. By the time lunch rolled around, I could barely get comfortable sitting, standing, or lying down. I was scared. I didn't understand how a seemingly minor accident was causing such a major reaction in my body.
I told my boss what was happening, and he let me off for the day. I immediately drove to my medical doctor's office to see if he could help. He prescribed ibuprofen, muscle relaxants, and a referral for physical therapy.
I immediately filled the prescriptions, went home to rest, and popped the pills. They helped take the edge off my symptoms and relaxed my spasms enough for me to lie down comfortably. I had to take the rest of the week off because of the pain and drowsy side effects of the muscle relaxants.
I returned to work the following Monday; however, I still had lingering tension, tightness, and headaches for the next few weeks. I had to take ibuprofen every day to function. Frustrated, I finally decided to see a physical therapist about my condition. I met with her, and she helped to treat the pain with soft tissue massage, craniosacral work, joint mobilization, and prescribed stretches and exercises. I saw her weekly and performed my exercises daily. My condition improved slightly. After seeing her twice a week for four weeks, she recommended that I see a gentle chiropractor she knew. She said I had some spinal misalignments in my neck and lower back that he could help with.
I looked at her and said, "Chiropractic?
You can’t be SERIOUS!”
You see, I was born and raised on the East Coast, and back in 2003 when this all took place, chiropractors were thought to be a fringe alternative form of healthcare and were much less accepted than here in the Midwest. All I knew about chiropractors was that they would crack your back and twist your neck, and I didn't want anything to do with that. Plus, I had heard that once you started going to a chiropractor, they would force you to return every week for years.
But at that point in my treatment, I still felt significant pain. I was desperate to feel better, and she said that he was a gentle chiropractor, so I scheduled an appointment with him.
Little did I know that making that appointment with Dr. Robert Gensler of Chestnut Hill Chiropractic would change my life.
I remember walking into his office, filling out paperwork, and nervously waiting to see what would happen. Dr. Bob met me in the waiting room and led me to his exam room, where he took a medical history and performed a chiropractic exam. He told me what he thought was causing pain and described his gentle style of chiropractic and how it might help my symptoms. Dr. Bob said he would begin his treatment by pressing on different bones in my spine to determine which areas needed adjustment. He then described his gentle style of chiropractic, where he would use a very low-force thumb thrust to push the vertebra back into place. I trusted him and was desperate for relief, so I agreed to undergo his chiropractic treatment.
The treatment was just as he described. As he examined my spine from my pelvis to my head, he performed a specific series of pressure tests on the joints in my spine. Then he would check my feet to see if my body reacted to those presses. He then would perform the gentle thumb-thrust adjustment to the bone that needed to move. I could feel he was doing something, but I was skeptical that it would help. After about ten minutes on the table, he said he was done with the treatment. I got up slowly and didn't feel like he had done much of anything, but I did feel very relaxed and slightly less tense in my body.
I stopped at the front desk and scheduled follow-up visits for the next few weeks. While standing at the front desk making the appointments, I noticed a feeling in my body that I will never forget. It was a strange sensation starting in my mid back, gradually flowing into my low back and both legs. The best description for what I felt was that someone had flipped a switch in my back and turned the power on in my low back and legs. It's as if my lower body was again connected to my upper body.
It was incredible.
After describing what I was feeling to the receptionist, she shared that many people experience the same thing after their first adjustment. When I was done, I slowly walked to my Jeep in the parking lot and sat there in amazement at how good I felt. My neck and back and whole body felt better after the adjustment. I put the Jeep in reverse and turned my head to the left to look over my shoulder before I backed out of my parking spot. Strangely, I noticed that when I turned my head, the click that I had heard when I turned my head in that direction every time for the last five years was gone. With one adjustment, chiropractic made that click disappear. Gone. I couldn't believe it.
Maybe there was something to this chiropractic thing.
As it turns out, there is. Over the course of my treatment with Dr. Bob, my symptoms all but disappeared. Over the last twenty years, I’ve sought chiropractic care for other musculoskeletal injuries, not because the chiropractors made me come back, but because I feel so much better when I am adjusted regularly. My experience as a patient was so profound, I became a chiropractor myself. As I reflect on my chiropractic journey, bizarrely enough, I am grateful that I was rear-ended.
I am grateful I had to go through the pain and discomfort that a car accident created.
I am grateful for healers like Dr. Bob, who have cared for me over time.
I cherish every day I get to work with patients helping them feel better than they thought possible. I am thankful I can help heal others in the way that I was healed, and do so gently, without having to twist, crack, or pop.
If this story resonates with you, I would love the chance to help you get out of pain and work with you to heal whatever physically ails you. When it comes to your musculoskeletal system, chiropractic can help with almost anything. Pain relief, physical wellness, improved posture, increased flexibility, enhanced sports, dance, yoga, or athletic performance. Whatever goals you have, I can help you achieve them.
If you are interested in making an appointment or scheduling a free phone call with Dr. Greg, please call the Green Lotus Lakeville location at 952-373-0055.
