My NUMBER ONE Frugal Tip of the Year

Ever since a small fender bender that occurred a few weeks before I was married, I have had some neck troubles. The first chiro I went to attempted to put me back into place with a little air thing the size of a ballpoint pen and it did absolutely nothing and was the biggest joke ever. Thankfully, I found a great chiro who was a Christian and very experienced in his field and he set me up on a rigorous plan and really knew how to adjust me properly. It was pricey, but we were both working and newly married so we made it work. I went in a few times a week for a few weeks and then a couple of times a week for a couple weeks and then once a week for a while. That got me in great shape again and the pain and "out of whack" feeling was gone.

On and off since then I have needed to see the chiro now and then, because of feeling "out of whack" after childbirth or having slept wrong on a bad pillow or having had a rough all-nighter car trip home from a MN vacation. I think it is good to get adjusted and can be a great component of healthy living. The adjustment I got at the end of my pregnancy with Justus was what helped him turn out of the breech position.

But after I had had 6 adjustments this fall after Justus' birth I began to get worried. Why wasn't I "staying in place?" Why was the neck pain returning and the adjustment not seeming to last even though I tried to be so careful and ice it and rest and not do strenuous things? I hated having to find a sitter AGAIN for my toddlers and having to lug the newborn baby in to the appt. with me and pray that he wouldn't cry while I laid on the water table to get loosened up. More than anything I hated the expense and having to tell my hubby that I needed ANOTHER adjustment. It's not that he was angry about it, but I hate being a burden and knew we really needed to save and not be spending on the chiro so much and I didn't see an end in sight.

So, I chatted casually with a physical therapist from our church and she mentioned that sometimes chiro adjustments can stretch muscles that are lax from pregnancy hormones. My neck probably wasn't staying in place because the muscles were still lax and being roughly stretched again and again. I asked her about pilates and stretching exercises and she recommended them. I then went to my chiro and asked him for some spine-strengthening exercises and asked him about pilates too since my mom was doing it and thought I should start too. He showed me how to do two excellent exercises for the spine and neck and had me practice them in front of him. I think he understood that it was getting financially hard, and physically hard for me to keep coming in.

I went home and religiously did my exercises. I also found this $10 book on amazon.com and bought it! It has been hands down the BEST, MONEY-SAVING investment for me regarding my spinal health. The exercises in it have saved me SO MUCH MONEY that I would have had to pay out in chiro fees when my neck starts to feel stiff, painful, or out of whack. The author also has a book out called How to Treat Your Own Back. I haven't read it, but it's something to think about if you suffer from back pain.

I'm not saying that I'll never go to the chiro again because as I said before it is really helpful to get adjusted as regularly as you can for overall well-being and good health. But, for those of us on a tight budget, treating your neck or back with strengthening exercise and good posture can save hundreds of dollars and help us to feel our best and leave pain and suffering behind. I have learned the importance of posture and have learned that holding my neck stiff and still when it's in pain actually makes it worse. I would have never guessed that flexing it back in the ways described in the book is actually good for your neck. I've been sleeping on a memory-foam contoured pillow for a few years and have noticed that some nights I need the fat side and other nights the skinny side. And it helps if I get a new pillow every 4-6 months since they don't work as well after that. If I get lazy about doing my neck exercises and skip a few weeks here or there and am either over-tired or under a lot of stress, my neck starts getting stiff and painful. But, immediately after following the instructions in the book and doing the exercises precisely as they are laid out, I feel AMAZINGLY better and after only one or two neck exercise sessions I'm as good as new!

If you want to strengthen your spine:

The two exercises that my chiro recommended are:

1. Get on your hands and knees with your hands directly below your shoulders. Arch your back up as far as you can, pulling your head down as far as you can to your chest and then slowly lower your back into an inverted arch and slowly bring your head up and back as far as you can. My pilates video has a similar exercise called "Down Stretch, Down Dog." Be sure you are not pushing the moves through with your hips. Let your spine do the moving, down into an arch like a cat arching his back, with head tucked in, and then push your belly as far as you can down towards the floor and push your head back as though you were trying to touch the back of your head to your back. Do this slowly and with control and repeat about 20 times. Do this exercise a few times a day if you have bad neck pain.

2. Get on your hands and knees and slowly lift your left arm and right leg till they are both extended. Stretch them and hold for a few seconds. Gently lower them. Again, slowly lift the left arm and right leg and hold again. Do this 5 times and then switch to lifting the right arm and left leg. Do this arm and leg 5 times. Go back and forth like this until you have done this exercise 20 times. Do this exercise a few times a day if you have a bad back or neck or once a day to maintain good spinal health.

I hope this post helps someone in pain and blesses someone out there with neck troubles. I know what it is to suffer with it and feel hopeless and discouraged and wonder if you'll ever feel good or whole or normal again.

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