Late in the fall of 2017, my husband began having pain in his neck and right arm. He described it as having a constant charley horse down his arm.
When the pain wasn’t getting better and it started going across his chest, there was no doubt that he needed to be seen. When he didn’t argue with me about heading to see a doctor, I knew how severe the pain was.
We headed to the urgent care where they told him that it looked like he was suffering from a ruptured disc. They gave him something for the pain and told him to follow up with his primary care provider.
What followed next took me by surprise. After three messages that were left and still no call from his primary care provider, watching my husband either suffer through pain or not be able to move from the pain medications, it became evident that if I didn’t hear from them over the phone, I was going to show up and demand to have him be seen.
Thankfully and after my determination to get in touch with them, an appointment was set up.
The ruptured disc was confirmed, he was referred to see a orthopedic, and he was referred to see a physical therapist immediately.
The physical therapist office was able to see him that same day (thank God) and it started what I believe was a wake up call.
A wake up call to know the amazing healing God gave our bodies.
First, I actually wondered why the doctor recommended physical therapy when John could barely use his right arm. I was concerned that physical therapy may make the pain worse.
What was explained to John made so much sense. They immediately told him that no matter how much it hurt, he needed to use his arm (At this point, his arm was literally locked into a continual charley horse that wouldn’t let up). They told him that if he didn’t use it, he could potentially lose it.
They also told him to think of it like this, “Motion is lotion”. If you look at someone after an injury, it is always recommended that they start moving. If not, the motion will become more difficult. By moving, the motion becomes lotion for your body.
They then told him, “It’s pretty amazing what the body can do to heal itself, but you have to work with it”.
John went to physical therapy three times a week, but they told him that he had to do exercises each day.
He did.
It was several days later that he saw the orthopedic doctor thanks to the physical therapist. The doctor immediately shared how happy he was that John was already in physical therapy. Again, he told him that he had to use the arm even when it hurt. Although they did give him pain medication to help, John hated taking it. Not only did it make him want to sleep the day away, but it made it harder to do the physical therapy he knew he needed to do.
The orthopedic doctor told John that the healing process for a ruptured disc takes months to heal. To say he was discouraged was an understatement.
John asked if he would need surgery and the doctor told him that only time will tell.
You see, if a ruptured disc leaves symptoms that don’t go away after three to four months, surgery may be needed. This is because the symptoms could potentially become permanent without it.
He also told him that many people don’t need surgery, but it truly depends on the person.
It depends if they do physical therapy and do it regularly. It depends on their ability to know that their body can heal itself and it depends on their support system.
Sadly, there are some that cannot get to a physical therapist office because their symptoms make it impossible to drive or they don’t have a ride to get them there.
Even more sad is that we all want an instant fix. To be honest, watching my husband suffer was painful for me and I wanted it over with as quickly as possible, but that’s another lesson I’ll share in a few days.
All of this woke me up to the realization that pills aren’t always the only answer and that God provided us with amazing miraculous bodies – more on this in a few days as well.
It woke me up to see that there are natural remedies that can help us when we need it the most.
Lastly and like the physical therapist and orthopedic doctor stated – “Motion is lotion. Apply it generously for the best results.”
Terri Trepanier is the owner/broker of Balanced Care. Her specialty is providing information and education on how health and Medicare insurance works and helps her clients navigate through it all. She is licensed in both Maine and NH and is contracted with every insurance company that offers health and Medicare products in both states. Her other passion is offering healthy solutions for clients that believe in healing from the inside out. Because of personal circumstances, Terri has seen the value of taking care of yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually and wants others to share in that experience.
