It Wasn’t Lyme- It Was My Neck! Structural Health Lyme Tip

Structural Health- Just Another Part of the Cure!

Yesterday, I went to see my chiropractor. I do this once a week as part of my health maintenance.   I usually have lots of strange little aches and pains (that I direct him too) because running on indoor tracks (with sharp turns) this year as been kind of brutal on my skeletal and muscular systems. But seeing a chiropractor, even if you’re not an athlete is still very important. 

TRUE STORY- it wasn’t LYME, it was my NECK!…..

When I was going through my Lyme recovery, I noticed a chiropractor’s office on my way home one day and just (on a hunch) decided to go in.  I wasn’t really interested in getting X-rays because I just wanted my neck adjusted.  I was having some problems with a sniff neck (perhaps due to a car accident years earlier, which had always been a problem and was somehow exacerbated by my health condition).  The chiropractor wanted me to get X rays and I finally agreed to it.  What was interesting is that he measured the curve in my neck, no other chiropractor in the past had done this. 

At this time I had many symptoms going on because of Lyme disease and one was not getting my period. I hadn’t had a period in over a year. I wasn’t training, which is sometimes normal for female athletes to go through, what is called, amenorrhea (in which you do have a cycle, but you don’t actually bleed). It’s not really healthy and isn’t really normal.  I have later come to the conclusion that even with very low body fat, a healthy woman will still have a period (from the fact that I’m around 5% body fat these days, I train hard, and I still have a period every 30 days without PMS). * I was told once by a sports doctor that women with less than 12% body fat will not have their period.

The chiropractor brought to my attention that I had a negative 10 degree curve in my neck.  A normal neck should have a 42 degree angle…which means my neck was literally going in the wrong direction by 52 degrees!  I spent the next 3 months getting treatments and doing exercises to move my neck back in the right angle.  Within a few weeks of the treatment, I started having my period!

So what I was thought was due to Lyme diseases, was really a major miscommunication occurring through my nervous systems. My brain was literally disconnected and having troubling sending signals down through my spinal column.   

Shocking right? It shouldn’t be. Every little piece of the puzzle has to be put together so that your body can maintain homeostasis. Making sure your brain is connected with the rest of your body is essential. The brain is the command center for your body.  It contains the hypothalamus gland and pituary gland (responsible for making hormones that are are detrimental to your health). Communication from the brain to the rest of the body occurs in the spinal column. Having the correct spacing between vertebras is important and so is removing any roadblocks (usually called subluxations).

While I have long ago, fixed the curve in my neck, I ventured out to seek a chiropractor who focuses more on athletes.  Many chiropractors (like doctors) have their particular way or focus when treating someone.  I happened to see a chiropractor who measures the neck and it was instrumental in my healing (just another thing that had to be corrected, as with most people with Lyme disease). 

I now see a chiropractor (who is George Hincappie’s chiropractor, the Tour de France cyclist) who uses frequency and muscle testing to make adjustments (either with a frequency “gun” or by physical manipulation). This has been very important for me to focus on these kinds of details now; but my opinion for someone who is ill, is to focus on the neck and spine so that the proper signals can be established once again.   

Ask your chiropractor to put you on a plan to get your neck to a 42 degree angle OR go find one who can do this. Part of his/her program should include a neck traction tool and can help put the curve back into the neck.  (see picture of traction tool here- it works!)

http://cms.yext.com/cms/924711812-Return-the-Arc-of-Life-to-your-neck-curve-with-traction.jpg

Unfortunately, I don’t know too many chiropractors who use this tool and don’t know of too many who focus on putting the angle back into the neck (as their main focus). This is why it’s so important to know what’s available and to get educated on what’s out there, because by knowing these types of things will get you from point A to point B, quicker, cheaper, and with less frustration!

So they said it couldn’t be done…well, it’s been 4.5 years of no racing and no training due to Lyme Disease.  This October I started training again to make my comeback (in a major time crunch), but knowing that I’m healthier than I’ve been in my entire life, and I’m already qualified for the US Indoor Track and Field Championships (what determines who goes to World Championships)! 

I’ve been doubling (meaning racing back to back on a Friday and Saturday almost every weekend in various meets). This is a huge deal because only athletes who are very healthy can recover quick enough to race two days in a row (especially when it comes to running something as tough as the 800m). In 2004, I was unable to do this. Your ability to recover from exercise is very telling of how healthy you really are.

I leave Thursday to race in New Mexico the 800m (check your TV guide for when it airs).  I’m the long shot, the dark horse, and I’ve been called some other things that I shouldn’t mention here, but I know no matter what happens I’ve already set myself up for the rest of my career in this sport because the hardest part has already been done. (It’s the part you might be going through right now.)

I had a coach a few weeks ago tell me, “You already won.”  And I guess in a way I really have.  I agreed with him and told him that the American Records and World Records weren’t for anyone’s satisfaction but my own, so no matter what happens this weekend, this is just the beginning.

If you didn’t read it, see it here.  For those who have the suggested reputable brands I wrote about, email me anytime if you have questions OR if you have comments. I want to hear from you!

Also, all coaching is cancelled this week.  It will resume Tuesday of next week. If you want to get coached soon, email Arden.

 See Ya Later, Tick Slayer!

Perry