Mr. Incredible's Woes

(illustration courtesy of fotosearch.com)

Poor Mr. Incredible is in pretty bad shape. He and my brother were messing around playing basketball at Miss Muffet's party on Saturday when he jumped and landed wrong. He told me later that he instantly felt the pain in his back, but he kept on with normal activity anyway.

On Sunday, Mr. Incredible's brother, sister-in-law, and nephew came to spend the night so we could all go to the beach together on Monday. Mr. Incredible drove both ways, including the trip home, which was considerably lengthened by Memorial Day traffic. By the time we got home, he could barely get out of our Suburban (oh, I have a story to tell you later about how we got that vehicle!) and hobbled into the house. I noticed that he looked like an S - his hips appeared to have been shifted over and were not in line with the rest of his back as they were supposed to be. The way he was walking reminded me of a crab. I didn't think that was a good thing.

Since he had had bouts of back pain before, he opted to wait it out to see if the pain would go away. He did go to work on Tuesday, but they sent him right back home. Only that evening when he saw his hips for himself did he agree to have me set up an appointment with a chiropractor.

Wednesday morning, he and his supervisor had to make a 2-hour trip to a meeting. The meeting itself lasted four hours, most of which time Mr. Incredible spent seated. Then he had to make the 2-hour drive back. I had been able to make a 4:00 appointment for him. He got back from the out-of-town meeting about 20 minutes before the appointment and was in terrible shape when he met with the chiropractor.

Since neither one of us had ever been to a chiropractor, we weren't quite sure what to expect. The office was spacious without being huge, and it was modestly furnished - no teak furniture there! The staff was friendly and helpful. Unlike traditional doctor visits, we only waited about 5 minutes before being called back. The nurse (?) went over a questionnaire and did a bit of assessment before returning with the chiropractor himself. The remainder of the consultation involved x-rays, range of mobility evaluation, and a little bit of therapy. We were told to return this morning to review the x-rays with the chiropractor and plot a course of treatment.

The x-rays revealed that Mr. Incredible has stage 2 spinal deterioration - some of his vertebrae are indeed out of place, his spine does not curve as it should, and some of his discs are thinner than they should be, all indications that his back problems had been occurring for some time. His treatment consists of chiropractic visits for the next 5 days, followed by three visits a week for the next 6 weeks. He had his first adjustment today. I hope he feels better soon!

I'm curious. Have you been to a chiropractor? Which do you think is better qualified to treat this type of injuries - chiropractors or doctors?