No Needles, not yet anyway.

This is my neck x-ray I had taken in June. Here’s another view. I kind of look like a happy little skeleton. It doesn’t look like it, but I really was standing up straight. My neck is that messed up. It’s pushed off to the side because of my bad shoulder that has calcific tendonitis. . .

I realized I hadn’t posted any updates about my neck and spine injections, and I’m sure you are all on pins and needles (pun intended) wondering what happened.

With some elaborate planning, it was all figured out. I was going to drive to my Mom’s house with my little dog Ruby (my Mom lives in the same town as where I would get the injections, about 45 minutes away from me). Then my younger sister would pick me up and drop me off at the pain clinic where I’d get the injections. After I was done, my Mom would pick me up and drop me off at her house, where Ruby would hang out and comfort me for the 4-6 hours until I was able to drive both of us back home.

Well, I went through all of that, except, I didn’t get the injections. The doctor said that since one of the injections was diagnostic, it wouldn’t be of much use for me to get them since right at that moment, I wasn’t in much pain. It’s too bad they didn’t tell me that when I set up the appointment, and I could have saved a lot of time. I did learn more about the injections, and the trigger point injections do not take a half hour. They are quick injections. But the Facet injections were just like I had read about. And if the Facet injections helped relieve the pain, then that would indicate that a procedure (I forgot the name and don’t feel like getting up to get my info sheet) would be helpful. The procedure basically is where my nerve endings would get burnt to kill them. Then, the hope is when they grow back (hey, they can grow back?), by body will be rehabilitated enough that the pain memory would be gone, and they would grow back “normal.” That’s all great, but I still don’t like the idea of getting needles stuck in my neck and spine.

So, I went home without getting the injections. The doctor told me to come back when I was in peak pain. He also said I’m lucky because most people with MRIs and X-rays like mine have numb hands and shooting pain in their arms. So, I guess I am lucky. But I realized there have been times that I went to pick something up and couldn’t grip it. I guess that’s why.

I was relieved that I didn’t get anything stuck in my neck, but also kind of mad because I wanted to get it over with. But, I decided it was a good thing because it would give me a chance to try some alternative methods.

A lovely woman who is a physical therapist, and who has been following my art work online, saw my MRIs and e-mailed me. She practices a physical therapy method called the McKenzie method, and thought it could help me. We spoke on the phone, and she helped me find a physical therapist near me who practices this. In the meantime, I was scheduled for my first physical therapy appointment at a traditional place for the next day. I went to it, and left feeling depressed because I could tell it would go the same route as when I tried physical therapy last year. The physical therapist told me that I had weak lower trapezius muscles, which I already knew, and very tight upper trapezius muscles, which I also knew. She was going to give me exercises to strengthen the lower traps. I asked if this directly would help my disc problems in my neck and my pain. She said not really, but it would help the mechanics of my movement, which would help over all.

That’s great and all, but I know from last year when I tried, it’s not going to cut it. I need something NOW that will help my neck, and then I can do the exercises when that’s under control.

So I went home, called my orthopedist and had him fax my rehab orders to the place that practices the McKenzie method. Maybe it won’t work for me. But I have nothing to lose. I just couldn’t stomach spending hundreds of more dollars again on traditional physical therapy that wasn’t going to directly help stop the freaking pain that I have so frequently. And I’d be right back where I was, and the doctor would then say I need to have surgery. I want to try everything there is before I have surgery. The woman who told me about this method said she has helped patients who were already scheduled for surgery, and they didn’t have to have it. They quickly saw great results. Sign me up for that.

So there you have it. I have my appointment with the McKenzie therapist on Monday. If it helps, I’ll give Kim, the woman who was so kind to contact me and tell me about this method, my first born child. Well, except I’m 42 and don’t really see kids happening. So, I’ll have to birth something else to give her.