TGIF, right??  As we enjoy this gorgeous weather in the ATL (that's Atlanta, Georgia, to those of you who aren't familiar with that term), I am reminded of how these beautiful weekends bring out the "weekend warrior" in so many of us.

Here's what happens:  Beautiful weather + desire to get out and DO SOMETHING FUN + weakened muscles and joints + misaligned spine = RECIPE FOR INJURY AND DISASTER!!  On Monday, the "weekend warriors" frantically call my office or just hobble on in, unable to move properly or at all, hurt and a bit scared that the pain just won't ever go away, and just plain CONFUSED as to why they are hurting in the first place.

Healing takes time, although PROPER HEALING can take a MUCH SHORTER period of time.  That's why it's very important to seek help as quickly as possible after the injury happens and the pain settles in.  There are many things I can do to figure out exactly what has happened and to give the proper treatment.

Case in point:  Greg (names have been changed for confidentiality purposes) came into my office on a Monday morning, bent over at the waist and completely unable to stand up straight.  He reported his pain level at 10+ on a scale of 10.  Greg had gotten together with a few of his buddies over the weekend, and a rough game of backyard football ensued, complete with full-body tackling without pads.  Greg caught a beautiful pass and was sprinting for the goal line when a guy from the other team and almost twice his size slammed into Greg, and they both fell hard to the ground, with Greg on the bottom.  Greg's spine took a hard hit on the right side of his body, and the fall to the ground with this giant on top of him ripped the fibers of one of the discs in Greg's low back.  The jellylike substance inside the disc (called the nucleus pulposus), started to poke out of the disc (this situation is called a disc herniation).  The nucleus pulposus that was poking out of the disc began to press on the large nerve root coming off Greg's spinal cord at that level in his spine.  Coupled with swelling at the site brought on by the injury, the nerve root was almost completely compressed (or "pinched" as some folks say) and, as a result, Greg experienced extreme pain in his low back.  Greg was hurt and scared that the pain would never go away, or worse - it would increase.  After an examination and some testing, I affirmed that Greg's problem was a herniated disc, and I proceeded to treat it.  The protocol for treating a herniated disc is much different than the treatment for less painful spinal misalignments, as the swelling at the injury site must be addressed and dealt with.  My main goal on Greg's first visit was to get him out of pain.  It took the better part of an hour to get Greg on his feet and walking upright with minimal pain on that first visit, but we did it.  I saw Greg again that afternoon, repeating the treatment done that morning.  He felt much better when he left that afternoon.  Greg came in 2x a day for the next few days, feeling better after each visit.  After dealing with the swelling in the low back, I put Greg on a very light exercise regimen designed specifically to ease the pain in the low back and strengthen the low back muscles to prevent future injury.  Greg continued to see me 2x a week over the next 2 weeks, then we moved him to 1x a week for the next 6 weeks.  My purpose after getting Greg out of the worst of his pain was to properly align the bones of the low back and pelvis so that his adjustments would HOLD for longer periods of time.  2 months after Greg first came in, a re-examination was done, and both Greg and I were pleased with his exam results.  His ranges of motion were much better and freer, his pain level was at a 1 or lower on a scale of 10.  I put Greg on a maintenance schedule of 1x/month, then we adjusted that to 1x/2 months as his spine improved.  Greg is now on a maintenance schedule of 1x/6 months.  Greg is happy with his now-stronger spine and is relieved to know that his chiropractic care not only helped to get him out of pain very quickly, but also strengthened his spine and lower back muscles so that this type of injury is less likely to happen again.  Good going, Greg!!