Sunday, September 20, 2009

puncture wounds...


in the last three weeks i had my first two acupuncture appointments.

my chi is still all effed up.

(note: i don't think practitioners of eastern medical philosophy refer to chi as being "all effed up" under any circumstances.)

i've been having back spasms for the last three weeks-plus. about a week in, the symptoms radiated down my left arm to include two numb fingers, a numb palm, and a toothache in my elbow. this bundle of symptoms is referred to in the literature as "cervical radiculopathy," which could not be more aptly named.

i thought the problem was chiropractic, so in the intervening 24 days i went to the chiro 6 times, had two massages, the aforementioned acupuncture sessions, several hot tubs, and countless hot pack/cold packs.

nothing.

finally, out of desperation, i gave up the non-western medicine and went to an MD. she prescribed a muscle relaxant, some heavy duty naproxin, and an MRI.

the muscle relaxant made me more stupid than usual, and the naproxin had approximately no effect.

the MRI, however, revealed cervical spondylosis. i have a degenerative osteoarthritic condition in my spine. along with bone spurs and stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal channel.

apparently all this is the result of years of wear and tear from my various efforts to stay healthy and in shape.

isn't it ironic...don'tcha think?

so, i now have an appointment with a neurosurgeon to assess the condition and get a possible recommendation for surgery.

perhaps my workouts--weightlifting, basketball, running, etcetera--were a tad...debilitating. certainly i've had my share of exercise-related trauma over the last 25 years. but still...it was all meant to build up my physio-spiritual core, not tear it down.

where's the karmic justice?

then again...perhaps it's simply a matter of neglecting my chi for too long.

i'm taking suggestions to undo the spondylosis and realign my vertebrae.

in the meantime, i will be more attentive to the all-important alignment of my chakras.

whatever else happens, i can't have my chi all effed up.

5 comments:

burg said...

holy shit dude. Hang in there.. you've had some issues. Hows the knee?

Kary said...

After listening to "Breathe in, Breathe out, move on" I wrote "NOW" across the face of my watch. :))
Keep breathing my friend. Thinking of you,

spaceneedl said...

burg, the knee is progressing. i'm taking my rehab seriously. thanks for asking.

kary...thanks. right back atcha.

Unknown said...

First the knee, now the spine/neuro whatever-it-was you said. Not to mention no posts at TF. Hmm. Something else is going on here.

Before you go all Western Medicine on us, try having your Chakra's looked at.

A few Reiki sessions can be revealing and remarkably healing.
And... way less recovery time is needed.
~bon

spaceneedl said...

bon, i'm all for the non-western medicine, but insurers are less open-minded about such things.

is reiki covered by blue cross blue shield, i wonder?

can't hurt to find out. thanks for the suggestion. and thanks for stopping by. i've missed your keyboard.