"According to the General Chiropractic Council, chiropractic is "a health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health".
Chiropractors (practitioners of chiropractic) use their hands to treat disorders of the bones, muscles and joints. Treatments that involve use of the hands in this way are called "manual therapies".
Chiropractors use a range of techniques, with an emphasis on manipulation of the spine. They may also offer advice on diet, exercise and lifestyle, and rehabilitation programmes that involve exercises to do in your own time. Some chiropractors may also offer other treatments, such as acupuncture.
Chiropractic is part of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). This means that chiropractic is different in important ways from treatments that are part of conventional western medicine.
Some uses of chiropractic treatments are based on ideas and an evidence base that are not recognised by the majority of independent scientists."*
* http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chiropractic/pages/introduction.aspx
I wore a splint for over three months – sadly with no results. I am so tired of this! The pain didn’t get any better while wearing it, but the headache was always at a stable 2/10, which I cannot complain about. The dentist suggested seeing a colleague chiropractor. I have been seeing him now for a few weeks, although with no concrete results.
The chiropractor gave me various exercises to carry out at home, which I did religiously. During our sessions, which last a fleeting 15 minutes, he has carried out various neck exercises. My neck is certainly more flexible, which the chiropractor seems pleased with, although it hasn’t made any difference to my headache, which needless to say hasn’t pleased me too much.
I now have another two sessions left. I don’t want to be pessimistic, but given that it has made absolutely no difference to my head pain, I am not expecting any miracle cures over the next week.
In the last few weeks, however, just as I was about to take out the splint, the headache got substantially worse – to about a 6/10 last week which had not happened in a long time. One really forgets about how bad it can be. I thought my head was about to burst. I could feel the blood trying to push through my veins and pump away all over the right hand side of my head, thumping away. When my headache is bad, I can move my head about and feel the pain reverberating elsewhere in my head – like a loose tool in a box, it’s as if the pain were jumping about, digging into my skull.
Today it seems to have calmed down, at about a 3/10. Why? I just wish I knew.
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