Part of what I aspire to show with Mel Makes It Happen is that you can be going through hardships and still pursue happiness. You can be struggling but still find moments that bring joy into your life. The ratio of the two is going to look different for everybody but I think including habits or practices that feel authentically you help diminish the discomfort. I want to inspire you to empower yourself and take care of yourself. If that means seeking out the help of healers so that you’re more able to enjoy your life then so be it.
Part of my story has been an ongoing trial of experimentation to tend to my TMJ Disorder and various chronic pain symptoms.
I’ve talked about my wisdom teeth removal surgery and how, not long after, I developed pain in my jaw–particularly along the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). I tried cupping and acupuncture, and got it to a manageable place, but the pain still came back. So I started looking for other options. I wanted to get to the root cause of my issue and fix it so that I wouldn’t have to keep going through this cycle of pain, treatment, temporary wellness, and then the same thing all over again.
It’s worth noting that I went to a dentist who advertises himself as an expert TMJ specialist to see if there was anything he could do for me. After taking x-rays and walking me through how my pain is coming from a misaligned jaw, thankfully, he had a solution via a $9,000+ device I could wear. Me, always thinking that there are multiple ways to solve a problem, decided to seek alternatives that would help with realignment of my jaw.
That’s what led me to give chiropractic care a try since it focuses on creating balance in the spine by working with the central nervous system.
NOTE: I know everyone is curious about what symptoms are worth getting treatment for and, while I can’t speak for your specific conditions, the range is very vast. Most people seek out care because of back-related issues but you could also get treatment from anything from headaches to trouble breathing. Here are just a few symptoms I was experiencing:
- Sharp, stinging, burning pain
- Tightness and discomfort moving
- Tension in my neck, jaw, shoulders, and back
- Build-up of pressure in neck, requiring “cracking”
In January when I started seeing my chiropractors (explained below), I was in pain from my face/jaw all the way down my neck, shoulders, and back. I even started cracking my neck which is something I’ve never done (or felt like I needed to do) in my life! The pain was major. My usual yoga practice and dousing myself in CBD balms weren’t enough to get me through a day. It felt like movement did more harm than good where pain was concerned, but not moving at all would make my body stiffen up and want to hunch over, as if I could curl into myself.
The clinic I’ve been getting treatment at has two chiropractors. Each of them are amazing in different ways and I tend to rotate between them for a slight change-up in effects. I’ve got to give major thanks to my chiropractors because I felt like a broken person when I started treatment and boyyy have I come a long way! That’s why I’m sharing my experience with you all today!
Me standing next to the x-ray machine at my chiropractic treatment clinic.
First appointment
I started off by filling out a quick form for insurance (this might be different if you seek care without insurance) on where my problem areas are and what sort of pain/tightness/stinging/etc it is that I feel. I rate my pain and what helps it, if anything. My initial consultation was a quick overview of my concerns and, typically, I think most people would get an x-ray done, too. My chiropractor opted not to do x-rays because she felt she understood where my pain was coming from, based on my description. So, we got right into a spinal adjustment that first day! Afterwards, the staff hooked me up with an ice pack which really helped ease the soreness that day and the next.
What a spinal adjustment feels like
If you’ve ever cracked your own neck (which I don’t personally recommend doing) then you know that it brings a small feeling of relief to that area. Imagine that throughout your spine. You often start by laying down on an adjustment table/bed. The chiropractor will have you turn on your back, sides, and front so that they can make sure your spine is in the best position for you. To do that, they press into different spots along your spine. They may need to contort your body slightly–not in a painful way–just to loosen up certain areas so they can reach the spine.
Adjustments don’t cause pain. In fact, they really don’t feel like anything. The most unnerving part, I feel, is just hearing all of the cracking sounds that your spine makes. The first couple of adjustments this would make me laugh because it was just so funny and strange to hear. Like: wow, is this all coming from me?! The best part is once the chiropractor is done and you sit or stand up, you immediately feel the “whoosh”. With the spine in balance, it feels like your body is a free-flowing river. There’s a fresh, almost cooling sensation that trickles down from your head to toes. (If you’ve ever had reiki done on you, it reminds me of that.)
Adjustment appointments are often around 5-15 minutes, so relatively quick! Post-care treatment after the initial appointments involves a cold compress the same day or as needed. It definitely depends on the severity of your issue but I felt a little sore post-adjustment during my first month and a half of treatment. It’s nothing outrageous or complicated that some dedicated ice pack time can’t help with.
Hopefully you can zoom in to read. This poster lists the array of symptoms correlating with different parts of the spine.
First month
I was on a twice-a-week adjustment schedule to tend to the layers of my pain. For me, I felt relief on outer layers: spots in pain as a result of other spots in pain. So, the outer layers, like my lower, mid, and upper back, were the first to feel relief. My shoulders, neck, and jaw weren’t neglected but the relief was just much less noticeable in these primary pain spots. The twice-weekly adjustments served to help reinforce the ideal alignment of my spine and, thus, give me faster healing results. On a personal note, I also started to consider the role that stress plays in my life and how I can reduce that so that I can lower/eliminate the tension in my body.
Months 2-4
As all of this beautiful healing is happening in my body, I started to wonder how I can maintain it–especially since I began going only once a week for adjustments (around the 4 week point). When I asked my chiropractor about exercise, I was told that it is okay and is encouraged because any movement done with a realigned spine helps to get your body used to that placement. I’m an avid exerciser and wanted to continue with the high intensity exercises I used to do before my pain was a problem. Silly me even started rebounding (jumping on a mini trampoline) at this time and that wrecked me!! It just caused my neck and shoulders to build up tension and sharp pains shot out to the surrounding areas on my body.
All of this to say, I was putting too much of a strain on my muscles as evidenced by the pain starting up again severely. As the outer layers ceased to be a problem, we could pinpoint specifically where my body still held pain. Much of my upper body was in knots and that delayed healing. I ended up getting a few therapeutic massages at the same chiropractic clinic to work out those kinks and that helped. As the knots diminished, there was less resistance in my body to chiropractic adjustments–i.e. I could get deeper and closer to the root of pain!
Months 4-6
Sometime around month 3 or 4 I end up getting x-rays done. These give a glimpse at characteristics of my spine, like a slightly forward angled neck area and a deeply curved lower back. My chiropractor, however, says the goal isn’t to achieve “the perfect spine” but to get it aligned in a way that best works with my body. A very holistic approach, which I love! So, given that frame of mind, I may have a tendency to develop pain/tension in my neck a bit more because of the angle it’s in. This knowledge isn’t to say chiropractic care isn’t going to help but it’s information I can use to be more cautious about the way I stand, sit, or carry myself to benefit my spine as best I can.
Given everything, I can see my posture is so much better. The pain I had in January that was crippling and made my body feel like it was hunching over is gone! Adjustment appointments are less “crack”-filled because my ways of moving on the day-to-day are generally the same and seem to keep my spine in position. However, the spine is still subject to disruption. I say that from experience after I had an incident where I was sleeping on an air mattress for 3 nights (instead of my comfortable mattress) and my back needed extra attention that following week at my appointment.
Where I’m at now
I’m now doing adjustments once every two weeks. The only places that pain remains is in my jaw and neck. It hardly impedes my daily life now but it is a process of maintenance. I take into consideration how I’m moving, sleeping, sitting, etc and try to support my spine with the best possible position. I still have a tendency to create stress in my body, which is what I’ve been trying to work on now. I know that the more I can reduce stress in my life, the more my body will slide into healing.
Cheers to at last getting some answers via x-rays!
I also have my own additional self-care that I’ve been doing for my TMJ Disorder specifically. Chiropractic care helps from the alignment aspect of the spine and the pressure it can cause on the central nervous system (if misaligned) but I feel it’s up to me now to take advantage of this cleaner slate, if you will. It’s a chance for me to commit to my own physical therapy type of exercises specific for my jaw pain in combination with implementing changes to relieve stress! How I’ve been taking notice of stressors and trying to eliminate those in my life can be a whole post on its own. Maybe that one’s next? We’ll see!
I hope you all enjoyed this post. If you’ve ever been curious about going to the chiropractor, perhaps this gives you insight into the slow but sustainable process that chiropractic care is. You don’t need to be in massive pain to go but even occasional back pain is worth getting checked out. You’ll likely feel the benefits soon off, too. I’ve had such a good experience and plan to keep up with my adjustments as long as possible.
Have your been to a chiropractor before? Let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions not addressed in this post and I’ll do my best to try to answer them.