How Long Will This Last?

When clients get off the table and can now turn their head both ways without pain they are very happy…and skeptical. “How long will this last?” That depends on many factors not the least of which is how much you use your new found, pain free, range of motion. In this case the person who asked the question walked in my office moving her head, neck and trunk as a single unit. You’ve seen them. They kind of move like Frankenstein’s monster. When she got off the table she tested the waters by turning her head all the way to the right, then to the left. She asked the “how long” question on her way out the door. When she turned around to hear my response she transformed back into the monster, turning her trunk, shoulders and head together. “If you keep moving like THAT, not long,” was my reply.

Another factor here is that just like elephants, (and your spouse), muscle has memory. Darn, right? Not really. A bit of muscle memory is important. Without it, for example, you’d literally have to have someone pull you out of the fetal position you slept in all night long. Your muscles remembered you’d only been like that for a few hours so you probably didn’t want to stay that way. When your muscles are injured and shortened and contracted for long periods of time they ‘remember’ to stay that way even when you try to stretch them out. The longer the time they were short, generally the longer it takes and the harder you have to work at maintaining your new range of motion. The old adage, ‘Use it or lose it’, comes to mind. I’ve often said it would be really cool if we had a re-set button. The best place I think would be your belly button. Wake up, push your belly button and feel great the rest of the day! If it were that simple I guess there would be no need for this book. Hmmm. I digress.

There are several other very important factors that will determine how long the treatment will last and how long it will be before you are completely pain free. Some of my clients leave the office and I don’t hear from them for over a year. They call out of the blue and want another appointment to fix something else that just happened or they know someone else who has the problem they used to have. Others take longer, some lots longer. Why? Because your body is different than everyone else’s body on the planet. You are unique in chemistry, personality, diet, exercise, relationships, stress level, coping mechanisms, furniture choices, sitting/standing/sleeping posture, sleep habits… and on and on. So I just love it when I’m asked, “How many visits will this take?” Of course that really translates into, “How much will this end up costing me and does insurance cover it? (Okay, I’m going to go off on a tangent here and then we’ll get back to what we were talking about.)

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Series 1 Continued:
Insurance
Bruises
Pressure and Duration of Treatment
Where to Start?
Ice or Heat?