Chiropractic

I am dancer and a choreographer and I am often knocked out of whack from doing some extreme movement or another. I have a lot of muscle pain and experience “Quasimoto-like” patterns in my body even though I am only 30. Depending on the injury, it's hard or even impossible to dance. I remember one important production where I was worried I couldn’t perform at all because my hamstring was so seized up.

My experience with regular medical doctors is that if you don't have an axe sticking out of your head or a failing kidney, they aren't much use. So I started exploring different kinds of therapies. I benefit a lot from Rolfing and chiropractic. Rolfing works well for the soft tissue problems, and chiropractic is great for the out-of-whack joints. These types of therapies can be expensive, but they work for me. I would never go to a regular doctor to re-establish basic body equanimity.

I am lucky to have a good friend who is an excellent Rolfer. As for chiropractic care, I've just asked around and gathered referrals from friends. I have found some chiropractors ineffective, so you really have to search for a good one. In any health situation, people have to be willing to be in charge of their own care.

My advice for people is to stop being passive. Don't be a “patient,” in a sense. Learn what is happening with your body, and become familiar with different modalities of healing. Don't stop until you find someone who helps. Don't be afraid to find a different practitioner if you've gone as far as you can with the one you're with now.