Wall-to-wall sunshine, fantastic wines and lovely people… yes, we decided to take the plunge with a continental holiday this summer.
And it turns out that two weeks in Croatia was just what the chiropractic doctor ordered. Our first visit to Dubrovnik was fantastic – it’s little more than two hours away and we will certainly be going back.
As always, I knew I could rely on my team at Cleve Chiropractic to keep things ticking over at the clinic in my absence. In particular, a big thank you to my colleague Catherine Quinn for stepping in and writing last month’s blog while I was away. We are so lucky to have you with us on the chiropractic team – no wonder the patients are always so pleased to see you. And it’s no surprise that you have your own fan club on the Emersons Green mums Facebook page!
Since I arrived back, I have started treating a high-level tennis table player, who came to me with an especially painful problem. After a particularly vigorous match, he experienced a searing, right-sided low back pain – like somebody was stabbing a knife into it. He was sure that he must have trapped a nerve.
I have to admit that, with the way he walked into the treatment room when I first saw him, I wasn’t sure either. However, after some detailed neuro examinations, it was clear that the nerve was in fact as free as a bird and not the cause of this severe pain.
So we took a look at the exact spot where the problem was most acute. There was a lot of pushing and prodding and he even practised his table tennis backhand, including a lot of top spin, towards my head!
I said: “I think we found the problem… it’s your right sacroiliac joint… it’s where your spine joins to your pelvis.” He replied: “Is that why it feels like the entrance to hell?”
Yes, it was clearly pretty painful but, on closer examination, it became evident that the right side wasn’t jammed up at all. But when I felt the left joint, it was stuck like a stone wall. This problem isn’t at all common though I had seen it before.
There was only one thing left to do. With a bit of gentle persuasion, I encouraged this now fully engaged table tennis player onto his side and treated the SI joint with an almighty crack. Thankfully, the effect was immediate, which is always good to see.
He got off the treatment bed and looked like he was going to hug me but was likely put off by my full apron, gloves and mask combo! I did stop myself from dancing too, but it was so good to see his relief. Sometimes scary is simple.
The moral of this story is to always look a little deeper for an underlying cause of the problem. Things are not always as they seem but, as health professionals, we never like to be beaten. Most importantly, the patient’s comfort, safety and well-being is at the heart of everything we do.
On a lighter note, I have just bought a table tennis table so, after the serious stuff was finished, I was able to get the inside track on this exciting sport. I guess that’s my indoor winter sorted…
Photo by Dennis Cortés on Unsplash
