ManagerLeague : Online football manager : A pain in the BACK!

A pain in the BACK! (15/03/2007 15:10)

About 2 years ago, I had my first experience of so-called back-problems. Actually, it felt more of a neck-problem at the time, but that's not unusual.
This was the time where I learnt the meaning of a new word, "Chiropractic".

This is not a story about boring difficult words, but something you should read to learn and to consider a few things. There is serious point to this story, so read it all!

So, here goes:

About 2 years ago, I woke up feeling rather stiff, My neck was stiff, my back was a bit sore, but I thought nothing of it, being used to stiff shoulders from sitting at a computer all day long for years. I was sure this was nothing more.
The next day, it didn't get better, quite the opposite, but I still shrugged it off and took some painkillers, and went to work.
On the third day, that was suddenly not an option. The pain in my neck was so sharp, intense and unlike anything I had ever encountered before.
My neck was 100% stuck with no movement possible in any direction.
WTF was going on here? I was 90% paralyzed, as whenever the sharp pain hit me, my muscles seemed to go all jelly on me.
Time to call a doctor!

Fast forwarding a bit here, the doctor said he couldnt help me except with painkillers, but he (actually) recommended I go see a Chiropractic.
I was deperate, to put it mildly, and called the first one I found; A rather known Chiropractic downtown, supposedly both good and expensive.
Went down there, got an emergency appointment, spent 2 hours in the waiting-room, and got my first "neck-crack", paid some 130 Euros for his hard and challenging 2 minutes, and was told to rest my neck on a bag of ice and come back the day after.

My neck still hurt like a ***** but at least now my wallet was sharing the pain. I found great comfort in that fact, at the time anyway.
The same procedure was repeated the next day, and the day after, and I could gradually move again, a little better each day.
Pretty soon, I was going there 3-4 times per week, at the cost of just under 50 Euros per session.
I did have to take up a small loan to be able to pay the guy, but hey, I was willing to stretch a bit to avoid experiencing that pain again.
Did I mention the fact that the grey-haired sixty-something "cracker-dude" bought a new good damn villa in the most expensive place in Oslo at the same time? :) We're talking millions of Euros :)

A session, is defined as having an appointment at 13.00, spending 45-75 minutes in the waiting room, being "cracked" for 2 minutes, and then sent home.

It didn't take long before I found myself unable to pay for this, so I had to cut back and stop going for a while, now and then.
And over the course of 18 months, I spent some 6.000 Euros on this.
A lot of money. But I was better, much better, so I was fairly pleased, but dead broke.

Then, a few months ago, I started feeling that stiffness returning....
"Oh crap, not again, not after all this!"
Then, by chance, I met a friend who told me to try see a different Chiropractic. The one I had previously used was apparently known to "keep his patients close to well, but not quite" to make as much money from them as he could.
"Really??" At this point it dawned on me that I really should have suspected this a long time ago.

My friend then recommends a certain Armando Soto, supposedly a very good, service-minded, light-hearted Mexican-American with offices not too far away from where I live.
I made an appointment, and went.

Seriously, this was something entirely different.
Don't get me wrong, the "task" was still the same, but everything was done differently.
First of all, Armando is such a nice guy. Everyone who works there seem to be nice people too, and they are always smiling, chatting and certainly seems to be enjoying themselves.
Second, as a patient, it is important to feel "taken care of". And this is something my new chiropractic knows as well as his ABC.
I mentioned how "sessions" worked a bit further up at the old scoundrels place, and I was in for a bit of a change.

Previous sessions:

60 minutes in the waiting-room
2 minutes with the cracking "fraudmeister"

Sessions with my new Chiropractor:

0-2 minutes waiting (I have never waited more than 2 minutes there, not once!)
10 minutes of massage
10 minutes of electrical muscle stimulation
10 minutes under a heated "cover"
10 minutes of being "cracked"
10 minutes of conversation, both professional and a pinch of nonsense (we have been through both religious topics, string-theory, black holes, artificial intelligence and a few topics I have promised never to mention again)
And some times, 10 minutes of acupuncture (sort of, anyway, he sticks needles into the hard balls of muscle when they are really bad)

It should also be said here, that these two "crackers" use completely different techniques. Where my former used "raw power", the new dude uses technique. It is very easy to guess which one I prefer :)

With my new Chiropractor, I pay about 35 Euros per session, rather than the previous 50.
And here is most wonderful thing of all:
I no longer have to go there 3-4 times per week.
In fact, I no longer have to go there even once per week.

I'm down to once every two weeks.

And it took just 2 months to get down to this frequency.

Yes, of course I'm bloody happy about how things turned out.

So, what can you learn from this story?

When introduced to something entirely new, make sure you do a little research, so you don't end up like me, being sucked dry for 18 months before seeking an alternative.
Expect more from a Chiropractor than just getting cracked. There is more to solving these problems than just that.
If you live in Norway, fairly close to Oslo, the only Chiropractor you will ever need is at Linderud Senter, with the name Armando Soto, who can be reached at the number 23 24 50 60.
If you live in or near Oslo, and use a downtown Chirofrauder who has grey / white hair and you think you pay too much for too little, well, you probably do.

He has changed my life in a very positive way in just a few months, and you all owe him a favor for fixing me up so I could keep working on ManagerLeague!
What would be insanely cool would be if some of you actually would send him a card and say "Thank you for fixing Spinner!", that would raise a few questions in their office until I would tell him about this blog :) But most importantly, it would mean I get to say "thank you" in a way he will remember for life.

If you would really be so kind, send it to
Intercare Kiropraktor
Linderud Senter
Erich Mogensønsvei 38
0594 Oslo
Norway

Laters!

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