Just this past Tuesday, I had an MRI to assess the ligament and cartilage of my left knee. I had no significant pain, just simply less flexibility and a tad bit of stiffness in the morning in area of my knee about the size of a quarter. I had also noticed that over the last 6 months that playing basketball made my knee swell a bit for a day or two. That being said, I had worked vigorously to keep my lifestyle and habits in the best condition to allow optimal healing, such as more frequent adjustments with Dr. Arthur, anti-inflammatory diet (basically limited breads and pasta and adding a ton of fruits and vegetables), increased yoga and other flexibility training. While I had helped my initial problem significantly, I still thought I should be better, so I decided to refer myself for an MRI to be sure there wasn’t something more significant that I was missing. Well, sure enough, I had a major tear in the meniscus of my left knee. The exam also showed that my body was already going through degerative changes in my femur ( a leg bone) that would have gotten much worse had I not decided to pursue my injury. I will eventually have a very minor (in and out) repair of the menisci (small cartilage cushion) in the next month or two, and I’ll be back on the basketball court in no time.

Why DO I TELL you MY Story?

1) Just like the spine and nerve system, other parts of your body will break down and cause degenerative changes before pain ever develops. If you are reading this, you may want to ask yourself, why you haven’t made your spouse and kids come in to get checked for subluxations and nerve pressure? If you are waiting for pain, it’ll most likely be after the problem had been present for years! Remember my example with my knee. I had almost no pain, just a little loss of range of motion. If I hadn’t decided to get checked proactively, I may have damaged my knee to the point I would have maybe given up my 1st love (BASKETBALL).

2) Many of you know how natural and organic I live my life, but I thought it would be helpful to let you know that I too get injured, sick, and make mistakes, and yes, I do consult traditional doctors from time to time. There is a need for both. You get to decide in what balance you will use the advice from different points of view. Know this though, I will continue to live my life to its fullest, and allow optimal healing from my upcoming surgery of the knee, and not just depend on the surgery itself. The surgery will put the cushion back together in my knee, but my body will be what actually heals the tissue. The surgery is simply an intervention used to allow the body to continue to self heal. To make a point more clear, I usually state that if they repaired the torn meniscus of a dead person, I can assure you the tissue won’t heal. Your body has a vital force running through it at all times, and that force is what heals. That is also the only reason we come to work every day; our job is to remove the interference to the nervous system through chiropractic adjustments, so your body can adapt better that when you walked in our door.

Much Respect,
Dr. M