Alternatives

While attending the Dragon Boat festival with my girlfriend (which was a very crappy weather day, I must add), we stumbled upon a vendor's booth where a local chiropractor's clinic was offering free neck assessments.

We went in and had our necks scanned, where it revealed that mine was okay, but my girlfriend had significant subluxation in her upper vertebrae. This may be due to a car accident, but was also something that caused her significant stiffness in her neck from early childhood, and possibly resulting in recurring headaches even today.

Me, I'm already aware of lower back pain and stiffness, which I've almost learned to live with, although I am constantly reminded of it when I am seated for a very long period of time. I've largely attributed this to my time in the film industry where I was holding a boom microphone and standing at awkward positions for long periods of time.

I remember I had a first AD saying, "Don't be lazy." I guess he's never had to do that for long periods of time before.

Anywho, we went in for a full spinal assessment afterwards (free with the donation of a non-perishable food item), where they revealed a lot more stuff, which happens to be pretty pricey and takes a lot of treatments to repair.

While my girlfriend isn't a particular believer in chiropractic treatments, I've benefited from them in the past. Most recently, I was taking a martial arts class and I executed a move that left me with a pinched nerve in my lower back. Usually, I wait a few days for the pain to disappear, but when it wasn't happening, I made a trip to the local chiropractor, and I was able to attend class the next day.

Interestingly enough, the reassessment revealed significant subluxation in my upper vertebrae, as in right around the brain stem. I'm not sure if this is due to the spinal scan that was used, or if it was because the initial form to fill out indicated that I'm taking ritalin for ADHD. The chiropractor then went on to explain certain theories in ADHD, one being that brain scans reveal the brain of an ADHD patient indicates blockage of neural impulses, making it more "sleepy" and making the afflicted patient more prone to falling asleep, then having to fidget in order to stay awake.

This sounds all good in theory, and I'd be more than willing to get treatment to get my lower back in full working order, but my girlfriend points out after the fact that the doctor's signs went all "dollar-signey" upon reading that I take ritalin, and I could supposedly benefit from from chiropractic treatment. I also recall that my initial scan was completely different.

I've had a lot of resistance to taking ritalin due to the social stigma associated with taking psychoactive meds, as well as a general distrust of the medical industry as a whole. The focus on treatment rather than care, dollar signs and short-term treatment rather than overall wellness, and just general douche-baggery in the pharmaceutical industry, whether it be disposing of expired medications on third world nations under the pretense of providing medical aid or the lack of informed consent on testing potentially deadly medications are valid reasons for distrust.

And then there's my tendency to distrust healthcare practitioners as well. Unnecessary surgeries, acceptance of pharmaceutical bribery, lack of accountability, and conflicting advice (or, the tendency to just tell you the same thing over and over again) are all things I've heard and experienced. Over the past year, I've made repeated visits to my GP for injuries sustained in my martial arts class, none of which could be fixed by anything else apart from time and rest -- I wonder why I even bother.

So, holistic healers such as naturopaths, massage therapists, and chiropractors will have a more "trustworthy" reputation, especially since they promote themselves as finding treatments for root causes of disease, rather than curing symptoms. However, even they are not immune from scrutiny or distrust. I still recall taking chiropractic treatment through my former academic institution (free for students). When he performed a neck adjustment, I felt a jolt fire through my left arm. When I brought this up, he immediately dismissed it like it was nothing, and made a quip about "just testing the connection."

So, that leaves me with the dilemma, should I stay (on ritalin) or should I go (to the chiropractor)?

There are risks involved either way. As much as the ritalin helps me focus on tasks and prevents me from falling asleep right after lunch, it's a chemical that I probably would be better off without, at least on an overall health-and-well-being standpoint. I don't "need" it to live, although I do "need" it to keep my life in order, get me to work on time, and keep me from saying really inappropriate things to my supervisors. On the other hand, I really do not want to be on ritalin for the rest of my life. I actually feel pretty crappy after taking it sometimes, like one does after they drank a lot of coffee and are crashing.

And then there's the risks and benefits of chiropractic treatment. Statistically, one is more likely to die or become disabled as a result of a car accident rather than chiropractic treatment. But on the other hand, how often do I end up in a chiropractor's chair as opposed to behind the wheel of a car?

Given my income level last year, I'm supposedly allotted a certain number of treatments in a given year, split between chiropractic and physiotherapy. I've already used up three sessions at physio and one at chiro, which leaves me with a few, so I might actually do it. That, and my group medical account allows for a maximum of $300 in spending. But, that doesn't leave very much.