Clearly the title of this post describes the chiropractor. I apologize for stating the obvious.
This week God showed up in the details of my life. He showed up in such a way, it reminded me of Psalm 37: 4 "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart" (NIV).
On Tuesday my school district hosted a wellness fair for employees. I only went to earn points for a free entrance for the Coronado Bay bridge run in May of next year. For once there was a short line to get a back screening. Tension in the back showed up on a computer screen while the metal electrodes slide along my back. The goal is to see the color white. Mild is green. Blue and red are moderate. Black is high. The guy before was older and it seemed like his job was physically active. He had red and blue. Surely my back would be green or white. When I turned to see my results, it was 95% black. I was shocked, but then it started to make sense. My neck has been bothering me for a while. The end of last week I was trying to crack my lower back, because it did not feel quite right. My shoulders are always tense. I figured I just needed to get a massage for some relief. Or perhaps stretch more. (I still think both of those things are good ideas but not the solution).
I agreed to purchase their coupon and go get my back examined by an actual chiropractor. The guy at the booth was just drumming up business. I was concerned it would turn out to be shady but the next day the receptionist for the chiropractor called to confirm my appointment.
The exam consisted of X-rays, more electrode type scans to measure tension and the temperature of my nerves. Turns out by measuring temperature you can see whether they are straight or not. There was a hands on portion of the exam and another scan that measured inflammation (maybe?). During that portion, the chiropractor hit a sore spot in my lower back. It hurt when he touched it. He was not putting a lot of pressure on it, either. Clearly, something was not right.
I learned a new word. Subluxation. I like to think of it as misaligned. It's not a complete dislocation but that shit ain't right, either. It was used in context of the vertebrae that protect the spinal cord.
Friday, I returned for my results.
The spine has natural curves. One of those curves is in the neck. The vertebrae in my neck are straight. Straight! The bottom part of my spine (sacrum) is also in the wrong spot, which has made my pelvic bones uneven. I also have a few vertebrae that are subluxated. The curve along the bottom of my spine is normal but as it gets into my thoracic vertebrae and neck it's misshapen. One of my lower vertebrae may even be fractured. He talked about surgery but ONLY if it starts to affect the function of inner organs. So no need for surgery. I may have been born with the vertebrae that way; there is a genetic component. The chiropractor said he will not touch that vertebrae when he adjusts my spine.
Hence, crackety crackety wiggity wiggity. That is what it's like to have the spine adjusted. Perhaps wiggity wiggity should be first. I had to lie down on my side. He bent my leg so my knee was perpendicular to my body. He stretched one of my arms and put it by my side. He then used his body as a brace to prevent me from moving and crackety crackety. A quick jerking motion and releases tension, hence the noise. He started with my neck. He was rocking it back and forth. All was calm and peaceful and then crackety crackety. I was a little tense as he went to the other side, because it's just weird. Not painful but unusual. I convinced myself to relax so the crackety crackety didn't become snappity snappity.
You may be wondering how God showed up in all of this. Well, when I was little I remember seeing the elderly in church. They were hunched over. Their back had become rounded instead of straight. I always thought, I don't want to look like that when I'm older. The concern never went away, but it lived in the back of my mind.
Now God is providing a way for me to correct my spine. He knows the desire of my heart.
I will confess I feel really fancy about going to a chiropractor. It feels like a luxury, but then I remind myself it's corrective and preventative care. In 2 weeks, I will have exercises to do to get my curve back. So Stella got her groove back, and I'm working on getting my curve back. I mean, really, I'll never lose my groove. After all, God knows the desires of my heart.
