This series of articles are dedicated to documenting chiropractic care. In the following articles I will document my experience with Dr. David Mruz of Eastside Chiropractic PA in Taylors, South Carolina. My goal for this series is to give a first hand account of someone who has never been to a Chiropractor and who (to be completely honest) never thought he needed to go to one. I want to share how the process works and hopefully explain the benefits of Chiropractic care.
First: A little about me.
I am thirty-one years old, in good health, non-smoker, I don’t drink, and have never used any sort of illegal drugs. I do however need to confess a health addiction to coffee. In the past I have also been a big fan of food. Until recently I’ve always been on the heavier side of “overweight”. During the last three years I’ve started watching what, and how much, I eat, and started exercising regularly. During the past three years I’ve lost, and managed to keep off, about 50lbs so that now my BMI is safely in the “Normal weight” range. Currently my main workout includes jogging about three times a week and leading a Step Aerobic workout group twice a week.
That being said, I figured I was in pretty good shape and that I didn’t really need to go to a chiropractor. Although I’m not sick, injured, or in too much pain, after speaking with my wife and Dr. Mruz I was convinced that even with my life of consistent exercise I may not be as healthily as I thought and could benefit from chiropractic care.
I did have to admit that I have runners knee (in both knees), my back hurts from time to time, and because of a work injury and a furniture moving mishap last summer, both my shoulders hurt. All this to say, I figured I really didn’t have anything to lose by trying it. If I could get passed my male ego, I might actually benefit from regular Chiropractic care.
So here goes…
For these posts I will be visiting Dr. David Mruz of Eastside Chiropractic PA. They can be reached at 3014 Wade Hampton Blvd. Taylors, SC 29687. The main tool that Dr. Mruz will be using to work with me is the ProAdjuster. Please visit their websites for more information.
My First Visit
The goal for my first visit was for Dr. Mruz to evaluate my current situation. After filling out the standard insurance and medical forms for my file (You can see the forms that Eastside Chiropractic PA uses here.) I met with Dr. Mruz in one of the examination rooms where we spent about 15 or 20 minutes, during which time he got to know me and evaluated my situation.
He went through a standard questionnaire that covers any health or pain issues that an individual might have.
These are the main body areas that he asked about.
- Cervical
- Spine, Ribs, Pelvis
- Upper Extremity
- Lower Extremity
The main types of pain that he asked about where:
- New
- Recurring
- Exacerbation
- Chronic
He asked what circumstances might be causing my pain. For me it was my runner’s knees, frequent backaches, and constant tension in my shoulders.
He then inquired about the quality of the pain. His list included, Burning, Diffuse, Dull/Aching, Localized, Sharp, Shooting, Stabbing, Throbbing, Tightness, Tingling, Radiating, or other. Mine was mainly Dull/Aching pain.
He then asked how severe the pain was when I was resting. On a zero-to-ten scale, zero being nothing, and ten being hooked up to a morphine drip in the hospital, mine was a 0-1 resting pain.
We then covered how long the pain lasted, if there was a certain time of the day when the pain would be worse, and if being hot or cold affected it. For me my pain was mostly in the evenings or when I had been stressed. Temperature didn’t seem to effect me.
The intriguing part
The most intriguing part for me was when he covered headaches. Now to be honest, I always figured that headaches where just a normal part of life. I always thought that besides ibuprofen there wasn’t really much you could do about them. I told Dr. Mruz that at most I would have one or two headaches a week and that normally if I got some food or took some ibuprofen they would go away. I was wrong. Apparently getting that many headaches isn’t normal and that I shouldn’t really have that many. To my relief Dr. Mruz said that most headache situations are easily fixed.
The last part of the visit involved taking x-rays and digital photographs. The x-rays were of my neck and the digital photographs were of my front and side posture. Dr. Mruz uses the x-rays to determine the overall health of my spine. He said that it’s possible to be thirty-one years old on the outside but have a much older appearing spine. I’ll be sure to post the pictures of the x-rays when I get them. The digital photographs where taken to help determine the condition of my posture and how my body alignment was doing. Again I’ll post those pictures as I can.
Dr. Mruz also uses these x-rays and digital photographs as before and after reference pictures. We’ll be able to track my progress over the next several weeks and document how I’m doing.
All this took about an hour. The next appointment will be an evaluation of the digital photographs and the x-rays to determine what may need to be done and what the best course of action will be.
My Second Visit
During this visit Dr. Mruz showed me the x-rays of my neck. He said that overall my neck looked OK. However, there are some signs that the bones in my neck are beginning to straighten and there are two sets of vertebra that are beginning to slip. He said that if left untreated they will cause problems, but since we found them early enough we should have no trouble reversing the problem.
The first adjustment Dr. Mruz did was with the ProAdjuster. While I sat on the special ProAdjuster chair he began using the tool to adjust my back. The ProAdjuster is really nice because you don’t have the stereotypical loud cracking noises that people often associate with a trip to the chiropractor – for the most part the ProAdjuster is painless. The tool lets the computer read muscle and bone and then vibrates the end of the tool accordingly. It’s kind of hard to explain, but all you feel are short burst of vibrations. So to be honest, while I was sitting there being worked on, I wasn’t really sure that the machine was doing anything. After he was finished the results were dramatic. The range in motion of my neck was noticeably better and my back and shoulders felt looser and more relaxed.
After he used the ProAdjuster he did a short session of manual manipulation of my spine. This did involve the usual cracking noise but it didn’t hurt (or even feel weird), and afterward my back felt much better.
The last thing I had to do was lay on this special table that had two rollers under the surface. I laid with my back on the table for five or ten minutes as the rollers went up and down my spine. It was very relaxing and after the session I felt great.
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Dr. David H. Mruz Eastside Chiropractic PA 3014 Wade Hampton Blvd. Taylors, SC 29687 E-mail Dr. Mruz ChiropractorGreenville.com |
