During my college years, I hurt my back while moving cases of goods around at the grocery store where I worked. It wasn’t horrible, but the pain was nagging at me daily. My boss suggested that, in addition to lifting more with my legs, I should see a chiropractor.
Um, no, I told him. No way was I going to see a back-cracker. The idea of the sound was enough to keep me away. However, the pain lingered, and I finally relented and made an appointment.
I became a believer. Sure, the sounds my body made while being adjusted bothered me at first. But the results of my appointments were amazing! And not only was I seen by a chiropractor, but I also underwent muscle stimulation as part of the healing process.
Sometimes, we’re hesitant to try new things, especially if they are the type of item we have to experience to believe. When going to Valleyfair as a kid, there were plenty of rides that looked intimidating, but once I took the plunge, I was glad I did.
I went many years without any back problems when I emerged from college. But when they flared up again, I had no doubt of what I would do. I’ve written in this space before about the great job Dr. Lori Cole does when I need some help. (I would say she’d bend over backward to help, but that type of activity would likely be frowned upon by the chiropractic community!)
Some people get regular treatments from a chiropractor, and it helps them maintain and regulate any problems. Others, like me, go on an as-needed basis. But when something pops up, it sure becomes a priority.
As I had written about previously, seeing a chiropractor allowed me to smell again for the first time in months post-Covid. But I was still quite smell-deficient. I tried everything I could find online and from any suggestions people might give. After all, the sense of smell is directly related to the sense of taste, and I do enjoy tasting my food.
A friend suggested I try acupuncture to help my sense of smell. My first image was a bunch of needles sticking in my nose, and I reacted much the same as I did when first presented with the possibility of chiropractic care. Did I really want to go through having needles stuck into me? Wouldn’t that hurt? Would the pain be worth getting my sense of smell back?
But then I remembered how well it had worked to go to a chiropractor. And I took the dive, scheduling an appointment in December to see Tobi Utz of Acupuncture Essentials in Albert Lea.
And it was amazing!
First myth dispelled: It doesn’t hurt. What I feel when she inserts most of the needles is less than what I feel when I get a shot. There are a couple spots that are pretty sensitive, but it’s not much, and any pain is gone quickly.
Acupuncture can be more of a process. When I have a tweak in my back, I go see Dr. Cole, and I’m usually feeling better immediately, or in a few hours at most. When I first went in college, though, it took a few sessions to get me straightened out. (And they actually did that quite literally, eliminating some scoliosis I had as a youth.)
It’s not like my sense of smell returned immediately. Tobi explained how the various needles were affecting different areas of concern. After all, as long as I was there and paying for the time, I figured she might also help with some knee pain and my ever-lingering plantar fasciitis.
After four sessions, I went to a gathering and had a beer. Since having Covid, I had not been able to taste beer at all. Suddenly, I could! I had been noticing some smells I had not in some time, and the acupuncture had clearly helped me get to a point where some taste was also getting better.
Before trying acupuncture, I figured my smell was around 15-20%. Now I’m around 40%. It’s still not great, and the smells that are returning are largely things I don’t really want to smell, but I’m now a believer!
But wait, there’s more! I had a bout of vertigo in March, on a day when I had an acupuncture appointment. I told Tobi about it, and she added some needles. The lingering fuzziness I had from that morning was gone. She also noticed when I was coughing a lot and asked about allergies. It was about when I have to start taking a pill again due to emerging pollen. She stuck me some more, and I still haven’t had to take an allergy pill, at least a month beyond when I normally start.
The lesson I’ve learned is to be open to new ways of healing. Going to see a doctor at the clinic is prohibitively expensive, though at times necessary. Chiropractic care and acupuncture are more affordable and sometimes better. If all else fails, I encourage you to think about one or both of those options to help you live your best life!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is orgulous, which means proud and upstanding, as in, “Chiropractors and acupuncturists are orgulous members of the medical community.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!