TPM 283: The Doctor Crippled Me & This Is What It Taught Me.
I could not even lift a pencil without pain. A tough lesson but a worthwhile one.
I could not even lift a pencil without pain. I had a lot of injuries, but nothing like this.
I could not breath, go to the bathroom, or move in any way without almost passing out.
That is how I woke up the morning after.
I was 37 years old and had made my first visit to the chiropractor the afternoon before.
I had some nagging back soreness that had bothered me for months, so I followed a friends suggestion to get checked out. I had never got to a chiropractor before.
Little did I know this event would change the way I thought about my health and cared for myself.
I was always active. Played sports my whole life. A lot of hockey. Had been going to the gym for 20 years. In many ways, at 37 , I was still treating my body like I was 22.
In 12 hours from the time of the visit to the chiropractor, it felt like I went from 37 to 97 years old. An adjustment during the visit triggered a herniation of some kind. Somehow a nerve was under pressure and as a result, and any time I moved, I almost passed out.
My son was 2 years old at the time and could not understand why I could not play with him. That broke my heart. I needed help doing everything. I was scared.
That was 21 years ago. I remember it like yesterday.
After a day of this pain, (nerve pain is the worst) I had no choice but to go to the emergency room.
The MD checked me out and ran some tests. I had a herniated disk in my lower back and 2 choices.
Surgery + Physiotherapy, or
Physiotherapy + Core strengthening.
I chose the latter. Not a fan of the surgery unless no other choice. I had another choice.
Slowly, over weeks and months, I started to get back to normal. I moved with a cane during that time and had to carefully plan every movement. For 6 weeks, I had at least 4–5 times a day where I almost passed out (I am not a fan of the pain killer side effects).
In the weeks after, I had lots of time to reflect, and many of my thoughts replayed the visit to the chiro. The mistakes made were clear to me.
What led to my injury was not just the chiropractor, he may have triggered it. It was also partially self-inflicted.
Let me explain.
On the chiropractor side, there was little assessment of my movement capacity and function. I filled out a form and away we went with very hard adjustments. There is no doubt in my mind the hard adjustments herniated a disk. I also think there was weakness in my core that made me very vulnerable to injury.
The MD that treated me in emergency mentioned that my core needed to be strengthened. Even though I was active, and studied exercise science in university, I did little to strength my core in the years leading to the injury. To this day, I am grateful that I had the wisdom to be accountable for my role in the situation.
Note: At first I blamed the chiropractor. I think a better assessment could have avoided the injury. I did not go back for a few years, but then I found one who practiced and different way, and have gone to one regularly ever since. Chiropractic treatment has become a regular part of my self-care.
I had worn down my core via all the years of skating and lifting and playing sport, neglected it to the point of weakness. Coming to this conclusion, was critical in my recovery.
The recipe the physio gave me back to health included regular daily core strengthening exercises. I have modified and progressed and added some over the years, but to this day they are part of my daily routine.
I have been stronger ever since. I do get sore but usually that is connected to slacking off on my core exercises, a quick reminder to get back at it. My core strength improved my overall capacity to do stuff.
This event marked a significant lesson in caring for myself and been a part of my coaching philosophy ever since. The accountability portion, evaluating where I was falling short helped a lot.
This is something we can all do. When my son indicated he wanted to play baseball at a high level when he was 14 years old, we had some long talks of self care so he can remain available to play for as long as he wanted. He is 23 now, still playing, having just finished 4 years of college ball and (knock on wood) was available to play 99% of the time over those years. He was open to learning about self care, preparing for competition and practiced it. It is still a big part of his life 10 years later (and hopefully for a lifetime).
With all the information available online about different exercises and types of training, the 1 thing I would recommend is daily core work. I call it work, because it has a purpose. The purpose is the outcome of being able to do stuff without compromise. I always made time for that, it became my mission. Consistency has become one of my skills when it comes to this.
Nothing fancy. No big events or super athletic goals. I wanted to be pain free. Young athletes want to play. Many are unable to do so due to injury. Many injuries come from exposing the body to more for which it is ready.
This became my WHY. Pain free to be able to play with my son. My son’s WHY was to be able to play the sport he loves.
Here are some of the moves that got me stronger and pretty much pain free for the last 21 years. They are not that exciting, and any of the clients I have coached have not realized how much improvement they can create. The key is consistency. Daily. Less that 5 minutes is all it takes. Simple not easy.
None of this matters of course, if you don’t have your own WHY. Your own reason pushes you to do something because it is that important to you.
Here is the foundation. You can do other things, but this is the foundation for building your core strength*.
*if you have a history of back pain, please check with your physician or physiotherapist to get green light to move ahead with this. If you have never done planks before, please consult a certified functional strength coach for proper technique. Many have this online for now charge. Just make sure it is a credible source.
The Plank! Sometimes this is part of warm up, sometimes it’s all I can do in a day, sometimes its part of the workout.
Plank. (you can look up the how to of each). There are many variations, it can be practiced by young and old, anywhere, anytime.
Push Up Plank.
Forearm plank.
Side plank.
Forearm plank to side plank.
Forearm plank to push up plank.
Plank for short time (10 seconds all out contraction is referred to as RKC Plank).
Plank for long time (Start with 20 second intervals and move up to 1 minute holds)
Plank is not sexy. It is not fancy. But it teaches your body how to brace and builds your abdominal wall. Your abdominal wall protects your spine and lower back. Your core is your hub for movement.
Basic stuff. Not gimmicky or even newsworthy. Simple not easy.
A possible sour note to chiropractors turned into a lifestyle change that has sustained me for almost 21 years.
Everyone deserves to be able to play!