Friday, September 14, 2012

Musculoskeletal Madness

Jalen came off the bus looking like he had dislocated his shoulder.  He said he was not in pain, but said that something happened when he reached down for his scissors while sitting at his desk at school.  These are the type of issues that always happen after 4pm on a Friday.  Fortunately I caught the Pediatricians office before the phones rolled over and was told to take him to Orth On Call.  Who knew this place existed? I wish I had thought of this.  Well I'm not an Orthopedist, so no gain on this one, but its great to have a Urgent Care Facility specifically for joint and bone injuries in the area. Especially after hours and for those weekends that specialize in rolled ankles, fractured wrists and broken bones.  We walked in and sure enough there were several other little ones and their families dealing with sporting event mishaps and 'out of control' play injuries.

When it was time for x-rays, Jalen's medical setting anxiety tried to rear it's head.  We had a huddle, I gave him the breakdown (oomph-a-breakdown), yelled 'break' and he went in there and got those three x-rays done. *high five son*  I'm realizing we have to navigate one medical situation at a time until Jalen really realizes, even if someone has to do things he may not like or that temporarily cause him discomfort, overall it's to help him.  After a few x-rays and an hour or so of waiting, we were happy to know it was not dislocated.  Apparently when Jalen reached for his scissors, it triggered the muscles in his neck and shoulder to seize up.  He had a sizable group of nodules on the left side of his neck, making it very difficult to turn his head to any degree on that side.  I had a similar episode many years ago while  simply reaching for a phone that triggered almost paralyzing pain, so I could immediately identify with the situation.  That was the beginning of my love, love relationship with Chiropractors.

It was very disturbing to see Jalen's shoulder (visually it looked like a see-saw, up on one side and down on the other), but he found that holding his shoulder low, alleviated the strain and discomfort in his neck. The diagnosis was Cervical Strain/Torticollis. We were told to give him ibuprofen, apply moist heat and rest the area as best we could.  He has a follow-up appointment with a Pediatric Orthepedist this week because alleviating the problem may require physical therapy. I'm a proponent of applying all techniques and methods that can get you back on track quickly. I've had a number of sports injuries and sports-related surgeries, requiring on-going physical therapy and debilitating sedatives.  I find it interesting that most medical practices don't endorse or suggest Chiropractic care as an option.  Fortunately I know first hand the benefits of both, so I chose to have Jalen assessed and adjusted by a Chiropractor the next day.  Within minutes he had a greater range of motion and we were able to tackle those knots in his neck.  We continued the regimen of heat and rest and Jalen is feeling considerabely better.  We'll monitor his progress and prayerfully have success within the next few days through home remedies and rest. 

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad he is better! He is such a brave little man!
    Tamica

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