My mother, having survived cancer at the young age of 31, had delved into the world of alternative medicine when the conventional did not help. Consequently, my two siblings and I were raised amidst the homeopathic/acupuncture/fascia -release/chiropractic world. Thus, normalcy included these coined "alternative" branches of medicine.
I grew up watching the chiropractor seemingly jerk my mother's neck in awkward positions, and covered my hands over my ears so as to not hear the loud cracking that accompanied an adjustment. However, when I was in my early twenties, the pain in my upper neck became unbearable and "conventional" medicine was not the cure. After enduring test after test, MRI after EKG, Probe after Needle, Blood after Blood- the only conclusion I was told was that I was a scientific anomaly, and would just have to live with the excruciating pain. You see, I would get a splitting pain up the back of my neck, and it would travel down into (yes, i know) my tongue, which would then seize up and spasm within my mouth. I was unable to talk, to eat, or do anything until it had passed. My tongue was atrophying, and all the doctors said they couldn't help me; "It's a brain lesion...No, it's M.S....No, it's Cerebral Palsy...No, it's a brain tumor....No...."

And then I visited my chiropractor. Who, after a series of painless tests and X-rays, determined that my C-1 and C-2 vertebrae were compressed upon the 12th cranial nerve. That nerve is attached to the left side of your tongue- so the compression caused the neck pain, and the spasming tongue. His solution? Gentle massage and regular adjustments to keep an adequate amount of space between my top cervical vertebrae. The outcome? Immediate and lasting relief, the atrophy ceased, and the pain disappeared. I have been going to the chiropractor for fifteen years, and don't plan on stopping.

Now, in no way am I bashing conventional medicine- for I firmly believe that all branches of medicine have their place, and their purpose- and most serve it well. But when your physical well-being is not satiated by the "conventional," do not hesitate to try the "alternative."

Learn more about this author, Monica Bohrer.
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