My Chiropractic story..
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| Pi Kappa Chi- Palmer College (USA) 1995 |
It began funnily enough in Hawaii of all places,after a Rugby 7s tournament at the end of 1992. I was over there playing for the Champion Silverdale 7s side who had previously in the year won the North Harbour title and also the prestigious Taupiri 7s. As part of the Taupiri prize package,it granted us an invite in to the Hawaii 7s International tournament.
After 2 days of 7s and when the final whistle had blown,I was relaxing under a tree with the rest of the boys having a beer. When the time came to stand up and get back to the hotel,I couldn't move. I virtually had to be carried back to the hotel,but once I got moving and with the aid of a couple of beers,it all seemed to come right! But it was not to be. I was to endure 2 more years of frustration,pain and the prognosis that I'd never play Rugby again.
To build the bigger picture I need to go back even further,to 1984. I was selected to Captain the NZ U17s side to play against Australia that year. But in a pre season game playing for the Tokoroa U21s side I fractured my patella (kneecap) which put me on crutches for 6 weeks and ruled me out of the International. They were tough times for a young fellah who only wanted to play Rugby. So there I was,hobbling around on my Right leg,building that side up steadily while my Left side wasted away. The analogy I use today is doing bicep curls on one arm only for 6 weeks. The Imbalance is noticeable.
My 'rehab' consisted of seeing a Physiotherapist a few times for some functional strengthening exercises,but as soon as I could run again I was back in to it. But the damage by now had been done,and wouldn't become evident until 8 years later. My Low back became achy,but that was just put down to poor posture and the effects of being an active teenager. Mum and Dad took me to the Medical Doctor who told me I had to lie on my stomach when watching TV ( I presume to help stabilise the core muscles??)and then he gave me some anti-inflammatories. So I duly followed the advice,but the Low Back pain persisted.
So from the age of about 17-18 I was loading up on anti-inflammatories before trainings and games just to get through,all the time masking the SYMPTOM without ever realising what the CAUSE was.
So we get to October 1992. I'm in pain,the beer isn't working and the anti-inflammatories aren't hitting the spot. And the season is now over,so resting up seems to be the best option,but I really had to train for the next year as 7s season was coming around pretty quickly. I'd made the New Zealand side in 1992 and in 1993 it was the first ever Rugby World Cup of 7s,and I wanted to be there. But I couldn't run!
So I went and saw the North Harbour Rugby physiotherapist at the time,and began an intensive course of physio,twice a week for 6 months...all paid for by ACC and the Rugby Union..thanks very much..
I became very flexible and so strong through my core abdominal muscle groups...I could pump out 200 sit ups no problem..but I still couldn't run properly. I could stride out but could not dig it in at full pace,and I'd lost all the ability to step off my left foot. My Right side was so overloaded and sore constantly.
When the time came to play the National 7s,my fitness levels were shocking,as I'd been unable to train consistently and to the high level needed. I missed out on selection for the World Cup,but made the NZ 7s 'B' team,which was Gordon Tietjens first NZ 7s side. He installed me as Captain which was a huge honor,but my performances were not up to my standards of previous years and my fitness levels were horribly exposed and my pace was seriously lacking. I became frustrated and I finally cracked when I was dropped to the bench in our last two games of the tournament in Fiji. I was in a terrible space and it was the absolute low point of my career.
I continued to see the Physio,but by now even he became frustrated,so he referred me on to another Physio who worked on me for a further 6 months,intensively. By now I was in a solid routine of stretching and strengthening but the problem persisted. At the end of a horrible '93' season,I went back to my Sports Doctor in desperation. He sent me to see a "Specialist." (Orthopaedic Surgeon)
Not once during this time had anyone ever mentioned seeing a Chiropractor.
This "Specialist" spent 10 minutes with me.He made me walk across the room,bend down and touch my toes,then proceeded to tell me something about a disc and an MRI and that I'd never play Rugby again. I was devastated. I remember sitting in my car for at least ten minutes after that appointment and crying...what do I do now? I'd tried everything hadn't I? I'd tried the drugs,been to my Dr,been to the Physio and finally the 'Specialist'..there was nothing else for me..
I had the whole of 1994 away from Rugby. I couldn't even face going to the Rugby club. I was done. I trained as a Prison Officer and prepared for life after Rugby. Until I met an old mate who said I should go and see a Chiropractor. A What?? "Aren't they something to do with feet?" I asked,as I had no clue. But I was prepared to try anything!!
My first visit was a huge eye opener. As soon as the Chiropractor saw me he said "Have a look at your feet,your right one is flared right out",and sure enough when I looked down there was my right foot at a completely different angle from my left. Weird,no one had ever mentioned that before. Next I jumped on some dual scales to measure my body balance,and to my horror I was 20kgs (44 pounds) heavier on my right side than my left. Then he took X-Rays. No one had ever mentioned X-Rays before,and once I saw those I could see clearly that my Right Pelvis was way higher than my Left. You didn't need to be a trained Radiologist to see that!
I had so many questions. How could this be?Is this whats 'causing' my 'symptoms'? Is this fixable? Why hadn't anyone else picked this up? And did this start from way back in 1984 when i'd been on crutches for 6 weeks and failed to rehab correctly?
When I had my first Chiropractic adjustment it sounded like a sledgehammer hitting concrete..I can't describe it any other way. The 'Clunk' of my Pelvis being re-aligned sounded terrible but felt magical. It was like this huge surge of energy going through my body. When I'd finished my first session I felt like sprinting.I didn't want that feeling to fade away.
Within six sessions I was back to running and within 2 months I was back playing again for the 1995 season. I was back! Not the player of old but at least I was back on the footy field again. The strangest thing was though,that when I saw my old Physiotherapist again,he warned me off Chiropractors! What the...? What is this big issue between health professions and thinking that I'm better than you and My Dad is bigger that your Dad? It is pathetic. Here I was,struggling to even get out of bed,being told I'd never play Rugby and all the time following all the recommended therapies given to me by the 'Experts' only to be told that once I was healthy to avoid what got me healthy in the first place!
I continued with my Chiropractic sessions and continued to improve rapidly,and once the realignment process was nearly complete then,and only THEN did I retrain my muscle groups to adapt to the alignment by introducing the flexibility and core exercises that had been given to me previously. This became what I term now, "pouring the concrete on" to maintain the good structural Chiropractic work.
While at the Chiropractors one day in early 1995, I met an old Rugby mate who was studying Chiropractic at Palmer College of Chiropractic in the USA. (Our paths were meant to cross that day,and I thank the Universe every day for allowing that to happen.)
He ran the Palmer College rugby programme over there and asked if I'd be interested in taking up a Rugby Scholarship to study Chiropractic. I didn't need to be asked twice. With my Rugby background,I was offered a Full Rugby Scholarship and in June 1995,my wife and I sold everything we had,and headed off in to the unknown with only the future and our dreams ahead of us. The rest is history
Chiropractic has been amazing to me. Not only did it give me my life back,but it has enabled me to give life back to others. My story is not one in a million. I see patients like myself every week in my clinic. They are at their wits end having been through the 'system' and are sick and tired of being on drugs to treat a symptom.
Today, I promote a total Health and Wellness approach. Of course,when Patients initially come to see me they come in as a results of a SYMPTOM whether it be Back pain or Neck pain or whatever. I will always do a full Case History to try and determine a root cause,perform the necessary Muscular and Neurological tests and in most cases I'll take a full set of Chiropractic X-Rays. These X-Rays are invaluable because not only can we rule out any pathological cause,but I can look for any changes in the health of the spine and get a truly accurate idea on the alignment process so that I can be very SPECIFIC on the adjustment. You see,it is actually quite easy to move bone and it seems as though many other professions are picking this up...but you have to move the RIGHT bone in the RIGHT direction. This is why I call it a Chiropractic "adjustment" and not manipulation.
Health and Wellness is a lifestyle choice,and not everyone is in to it. Many patients are indoctrinated in to the Medical model and only want relief for their symptom..which is fine...but I always advocate prevention as better than a cure,and I'd rather be the Ambulance standing at the top of the cliff and not waiting at the bottom. I just wish that I'd been introduced to Chiropractic care as a baby..what if?
And at the end of the day,we all only live once Make sure that you are as happy and as healthy as you can be.
Cheers,Dr Geoff (Chiropractor)
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