Start of P.T.

Tuesday I started my Physical Therapy.
First they did a electo-heat therapy on my neck that is supposed to confuse my brain about whether or not it is actually in pain.  They put little pads on my neck and upper back and wrapped my back and neck in heat pads and then turned on the little pads and they just felt like tingling sensations - that would make my muscles jump. And I just laid there for 20 minutes. It was almost relaxing, except for the involuntary muscles jumping.

Then I went to out to their gym and the physical therapist had me lay down on a table, which seemed like a normal table until he turned it on and it started rocking the lower half of my body.  Meanwhile he stretched and massaged and pushed all over and around my neck.

The last thing they did there was to adjust or pop my leg and hips.  My left leg is "shorter" than my right - my hip is actually up higher than it should be on that side.  So one of the assistants had me lay on my back and he literally pulled my left leg out further.  I barely felt or heard a thing.  Then he had me lay on my back and bend my legs and he pushed my knees outward to pop my hips.  Again didn't feel or hear anything at the time.  But as I was getting down off the table he told me that I may be a little sore later... and let me tell you, it hurt!!!  I was amazed!  But I actually felt like I was walking different, the pressure on my feet felt different the rest of the day!

And by the end of the day when my neck and back are usually really screaming at my - I only really had very mild pain! So definitely a start!!!

Next P.T. appointment is Friday.


After work I went back to the acupuncturist/chiropractor.  He had taken x-rays the day before and those were interesting to look at.  He had noticed the day before the my posture tended to lean to the left.  Well the x-rays showed that from the spot of my bulging disk, my spine does then lean to the left.  Also my neck instead of having a nice smooth c-curve like a normal healthy neck should, mine is a straight line.

I told him all of the events of the the morning and he decided the best course of action for me with him would be some acupuncture, which is what I had asked for, and also neck decompression.  We also talked about adjustments and he had an additional, safer option.  So we gave that a try.

Instead of actually manipulating the neck, he used a little metal device (with a rubber stopper on the end) and basically taps up the spine to still release the pressure without twisting my neck around.  From what he was seeing, he didn't think a normal adjustment would be a problem, but I still wanted to play it safe for now.

Next we did the neck decompression. So right now for me, the best feeling is literally when someone picks up my head and pulls it upward, releasing all the pressure on my neck. I guess that's where the degenerate disk disease and straight spine come into play. So they have a machine that will do that and the goal is to overtime, have the neck re-align itself.  So I lay on yet another table, but this one has big pads that sit under my jaw. And my head is on a board that moves. After I lay down he straps my head in and turns on the machines and it very lightly pulls up on my head and for I don't know how long 10,15,20 minutes it pulls, releases, pull, pulls harder, releases and just stretches out my neck.

Meanwhile, while I am laying there, he also does the acupuncture.  He puts two under my nose to help with sinuses. One between my eyebrows to help with overall mood.  And then one in my hand, one around my knee and one in the top of my head which were headache/migraine/pain related.

After the needles were removed and I was released from the machine, (I felt amazing from the neck machine!), he put me on the electro things similar to this morning only without the heat and explained that after the neck decompression it was a necessity and that some people will feel sick after the neck decompression.

I go back to see him on Thursday.