Vitalistic chiropractor

I hadn’t been to a vitalistic chiropractor before so after I hurt my back doing some seemingly innocuous activity around the home off I went. It had been worsening daily as I left it alone, thinking it would get better on its own.

It was very sore and I could feel my whole body tensing up, and I had heard good things about this work, so decided to try it out.

It was my first visit so the chiropractor had me fill out a form with my history as it pertained to my body’s ailments.

Then we spoke for a few minutes about what had triggered this, and then it was up on the table, where he poked and prodded a little, checking the position of hips and pelvis and checking each leg’s length in a couple of positions.

If there is some twisting or imbalance in the spine it will be reflected in one of the legs appearing longer than the other, and it was this he was testing.

He then placed a couple of foam wedges under the pelvis on each side, seemingly very asymmetrically (though I could understand that was just my perception as my pelvis was twisted), and told me to relax, and then left the room.

After some time he returned, came and made some minor adjustment, and then left again. This coming and going was a little surprising, but I could feel the subtle shifts that took place while he was out of the room.

The wedges got a bit more comfortable, a bit more right, as time went on. The practitioner returned and started using a ‘clicker’, a mechanical device that he uses to tap individual vertebrae, as he later explained, not so much to twist them but to give a little shock that creates a little release.

The vitalistic chiropractor did this initially on my lower spine, then later on my neck. He then did some quite strong bodywork for a minute or so, first on my lower back then again on my neck which he said had ‘gone out’ in compensation, which seemed to have relieved the tightness.

He then rolled me over, did a little work on my psoas (one of the core muscles controlling the lumbar spine), and that was it.

I had thought I would need a few sessions, but he thought that I was done, and that after a few days it would settle down, as it has. Four days after the session it is much better. I always get nervous about anything to do with my spine, as manipulation can be intense, but the chiropractor was really good.

Written by Mark O’Brien for the “Session of the Month’, Here & Now magazine 1999-2005

2014. Over the years I have used this wedge treatment on myself to great affect. recommended to get professional help first, but after than experiment.

Had a similar experience with a vitalistic chiropractor? Leave your comment below.

View all people that practice:

Chiropractic