Okay so I know I’m behind on writing about things… I’ll blame it on the little alien in my belly who keeps doing cartwheels in there. It’s very distracting!

First I’ll write about the chiropractic appointment, then I’ll write about this week’s birth class.

So I got there, checked in, paid my copay. The receptionist took me to a small TV viewing room to get me to sign some papers and fill out a sheet of basically “where it hurts”. I also had to watch a 5-minute video about chiropractic care… which actually was pretty interesting.

After I was done all that the doctor came in. It’s not the same doctor that Den sees – Den sees the husband, and I saw the wife. They’ve both been doing chiro for 30 years, they said, which is pretty cool. She was very nice, very friendly… she chatted about her own pregnancy 30 years ago, and her daughter’s, and the many pregnant women who come in to see them. She’s maybe a little quirky, but quirky in the same way that I am, so it was good. :)

The first thing she did is take a thorough history from me. Any back/hip pain and injuries I’ve ever had… any other medical conditions (like the depression)… and so on. After that she had me stand up, then had me bend to the right and left, lean forward, move my head to the right and left and up and down… to check that I didn’t have anything seriously wrong, and to observe. She also checked my reflexes and sensation to make sure I had no numbness in my legs or anything.

She also checked my shoes (no heels, she said that was good!) and asked how much weight I’ve gained so far in pregnancy. She said I look fantastic and I’m carrying pregnancy very well. :)

She did observe that my spine is curved a little to the left. This throws my body off a tiny bit, and is likely the cause of my current hip pain. She said it’s probably been there all along, but the extra strain on my body from the pregnancy is causing some issues.

She said normally they do an x-ray on your first visit so they can get a clear look at your spine, but they don’t x-ray pregnant women… so my protocol is a little different because there may be something more at play that they won’t be able to see until they can x-ray me, right now they’re just going on observation and touch. But it’s certainly enough to do something to help me through my pregnancy. After the baby arrives I can decide if I want to continue returning for care or not. (At this point I think I will!)

She then had me lay on my back on a table. First thing she did was check for hip pain… lifted my legs up one by one, then got me to cross my foot on my opposite leg and let my muscles relax. She noticed that my hips are quite tight – she said the range of motion really ought to be a lot more than what I have (another issue I’ve had all my life… do not even talk to me about the horror that was stretching in gymnastics!), but there was no pain. So she said the issue probably doesn’t originate in my hip, which she said is good!

Next she put me on my stomach on the table (that had a springloaded panel for my protruding belly) so she could check my spine. She pressed gently in a few spots in my very lower back. “This?” “Fine.” “This?” “Fine.” “This?” “Ow.” “Ah ha, there it is.” So quickly as that she found exactly which vertibra is causing my issues. She said that some nerves from the lower spine go down the butt and back of the leg, but some go over the hip and down the front of the leg. Bingo, that’s the one. I could feel it too, which she’d put even a little pressure on it it popped. Not like a loud crack, just a little pop that actually felt good. I was surprized. She was pleased that it was so eager to get back into proper alignment. “Oh! Did you feel that?” she said. “It’s just begging to go back!”

She also felt my upper back, between my shoulder blades, and said I am very tight through there. Oh yeah. I can feel it. She rubbed it a little bit to try to get it all to relax, but dang, it’s so tight it hurts. That’s probably a side-effect of sitting at my computer desk… I have a horrible tendency to slouch forward and I get really bad pain between my shoulderblades just from everything tensing up back there. (One of the many reasons I much prefer to be in bed, propped up with pillows… everything is supported!)

There were a few more little things she did… tapped on my lower back at specific points with a little rubber mallet, and pressed with her fingers. She also had me on my side and gave me a little stretch. Then she had me lay on my back with little wedges under different points of my hip… high on my left, low under my buttocks on my right.

It was all much more gentle than I ever really pictured. And Ms. C, you’re right, it felt so good! I was laying there thinking, “Damn, everyone should do this!” In a way I think it was better than a professional massage, because I really felt something shift inside. Plus it was so precise… I think I liked that part of it. She was very detailed, very precise in what she did. It was obvious she had a thorough understanding of everything and every touch was calculated to do something beneficial.

I think I was most pleased just by the attention and time I got. I’ve been to a lot of doctors who don’t even bother to take a full history on the first visit, who just write a prescription based on what you say in 30 secnds. (I’ve had that happen at least twice, and I was SERIOUSLY bothered both times.) I also hate going to a doctor’s visit just to be shuffled in and shuffled out like you are wasting someone’s precious time. This chiro appointment never felt rushed at all. She listened to everything I had to say, asked a lot of questions, encouraged feedback, and really took her time. I wish all doctors could be like that.

Some of the questions she asked were about family history… if my parents have any back problems (Dad does, he throws his back out about once a year – Mom doesn’t)… if depression runs in my family (yep, dad’s… though I only found that out this past year!). She said, “So physically do you take after your dad’s side then?” I laughed. Yes. Both my brother and I do… we got the tall lanky genes (I’m not lanky anymore, but I sure was!), complete with back issues and depression. We even got dad’s blue eyes. There’s no doubt which side of the family we take after more! Mom’s side is much much shorter, and the health issues they deal with seem to thus far be Diabetes and Huntington’s. The depression doesn’t seem so bad now, does it. lol

The best part is that our insurance does cover chiropractic care… up to 20 visits in a calendar year. I’d love to go back once a month or so in general, but my focus right now is my pregnancy, and preventing this pain from getting worse. I do NOT want another repeat of that episode I had. So I have another appointment for next Wednesday and I’ll see how frequently she wants to see me. Den pointed out to me that I do not have 20 weeks left in this pregnancy, so even if she wants to see me once a week I still won’t use up all my visits. (The thought left me a little stunned. I have how many weeks left? 11 until my due date? Ackack.)

My back was a little sore when I drove to work after my appointment, but the rest of the day has been great. I’m looking forward to next week!