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Old 11-20-2017, 11:55 AM
Mark in Idaho Mark in Idaho is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Somewhere near here
Posts: 11,418
15 yr Member
Mark in Idaho Mark in Idaho is offline
Legendary
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Somewhere near here
Posts: 11,418
15 yr Member
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In the US, osteopaths often work side by side with medical doctors and chiropractors are recognized enough that they are paid by insurance for manipulations. There is a wide range of treatments and skills sets offered by either. It is not possible to set any kind of timeline either for treatments or recovery. You could add physical therapists or physiotherapists to the same group. I had a very inconsistent experience with osteopaths.

In my experience, the healing did not progress until I understood how to help my body heal. If the chiro or PT reduced the cause of the neck spasms, it was my responsibility to try to avoid triggering the return of those neck spasms. As time went by, I was able to increase the time between treatments.

I had to learn the best position for sleeping. I had to learn that when I went out to clean up the yard after my dogs, I needed to turn my head at the shoulders, not the neck as I scanned for targets. If I did need to turn my head, I learned to do it slower.

It took 2 years before my neck was stable enough to not need an occasional treatment. During this time, I learned how to sleep without waking up with a stiff neck. I found that sleeping in a reclining chair was often the best. I wish I had the option to get a hospital style adjustable bed.

A challenged I had was that at the same time as I was needing to help my neck heal, I started with progressive lenses for presbyopia. The need to lift my head to find the right part of the lens created a whole new challenge.

The challenge I see in your case is you need to define your recovery. There is no way to know how long a recovery will take or how complete that recovery will be. Anybody who tries to put a timeline to your recovery is either just selling hope or is clueless to the realities because they may over-value their own treatment skills.

Learning to accept the here and now is important as the anxiety over symptoms and recovery are often a big part of a prolonged recovery.

Here on NT, there have been a wide range of recovery times. A common denominator has often been quite simple. When the anxiety to recover is defeated and the healing process is allowed to set its own pace with the ups and down of symptoms, over time, those symptoms start to reduce. Those who feel they need a doctor or chiro or PT to treat them every time they notice an increase in symptoms tend to take the longest to heal.

Letting go of the day to day assessment of symptoms or healing timeline can be extremely helpful. The ah ha moments where one realizes, 'I have not had xyz symptom since I don't know when.' become more common place. Research supports this as it shows this acceptance of symptoms without anxiety about a recovery timeline improves outcome.

I hope you can sort through your days and find the behaviors and movements that are harmful and those that are helpful so you can help yourself heal.

My best to you.
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Mark in Idaho

"Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10
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"Thanks for this!" says:
Lebber (11-24-2017)