As a solo practitioner I have been guilty of not having much treatment myself over the years. I rely on Pilates exercises, running and stretches. However, recently I had an issue with my lower back and right glute that I couldn’t seem to shift myself. I thought it was likely caused or aggravated by my second pregnancy/labour as I developed coccyx pain afterwards.
I asked around and was given a recommendation from a friend to see a chiropractor in Horsforth. When I told my patients about this so many people asked if I told him I was also a Chiropractor and of course I did (how weird and sneaky it would be not to!). He was lovely and had a different assessment and treatment style to me, as we all do to some extent I suppose. I found this very interesting and tried to just be a good patient. He told me to stop running for a while, which I expected but still found it hard. I was also given some strengthening exercises (I had at this point stopped doing my Pilates because nothing was helping and I was honestly just fed up!). After the first session I felt pretty good for a few hours but it still ached that evening and I couldn’t say it had improved at all really. The same went for the second and third sessions, and at this point I have to admit I was doubting whether it was working. His treatment style is gentler than mine and I couldn’t help but think he wasn’t doing enough muscle release and that’s why it hadn’t improved yet. It wasn’t until the fourth or fifth week that I really noticed any improvement at all, but I stuck it out and kept going.
I have had a total of 10 sessions so far, the first 7 were weekly then we started to go longer between the treatments. I have returned to running (slowly) and am now back to my usual distance and frequency.
The reason I’m writing this post is because I found it so eye opening to be on the receiving end of treatment. I can totally understand why some people give up after the first few sessions, especially if they’re seeing no improvement yet. The experience has also given me a little more empathy for my patients. I find some of the lumbar spine manipulation really uncomfortable and struggle to relax sometimes!
I hope that anyone reading this who is thinking about having chiropractic treatment can get a better perspective of what to expect from it. Progress often doesn’t happen overnight, especially when it’s a chronic condition. Also different treatment styles don’t necessarily mean different results! Trust your practitioner and their experience. We are all just trying to fix you in the way we know works best 🙌🏻
To read more about different chiropractic techniques click here