# Slipped Veterbrae and Martial arts?



## oaktree (May 5, 2012)

I have some neck pain so I went to the doctor to see whats going on. 

After feeling around my neck he thinks I may have a slipped Veterbrae and need X-rays.
 He suggested that I might want to try a Chiropractor after I get my X-rays and in the mean time to try not to put to much strain on it, maintain good posture and don't do anything to extreme. 

My question here is does anyone here have/had a slipped Veterbrae or went to a Chiro before? I have flash backs of the movie Jacob's ladder were the doctor grabs his head and twists the hell out of it. I would be interested also how if having such injuries has effected your martial art and in particular more of the extreme ends that placed emphasis on that area like trying to perform a throw or break falling.


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## K-man (May 5, 2012)

I've had problems with displaced vertebrae most of my life. When I was big into gymnastics, my back was under enormous strain and my coach regularly performed the manipulation required to straighten things out.  Ever since then my back slips in and out from time to time. Most times I can self-manipulate especially with the lower back. It's much more difficult if it is in the upper region between the shoulder blades. The neck is easy to manipulate but get an experienced person to do it.

A good chiropractor will be able to sort it out but make sure that the one you choose is involved in sports injuries.  Check with one of your local sports teams to see who they use. I have had one bad experience with an inexperienced chiro and my lower back has never been totally right since.

As to ongoing effects.  Once manipulated, you are able to do every move freely.  I don't try to protect mine in any way, other than normal common sense. Rolling and break falls are fine. Of course, keeping good muscle tone helps keep everything in place anyway so make sure you exercise your core muscles.

Good luck.     :asian:


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## Flying Crane (May 5, 2012)

some chiropractors are quacks and will try to sell you all kinds of dietary supplements and will tell you they can cure cancer with their manipulations.  Run away from those.

Other chiropractors are worth their weight in gold for the work they do, and they recognize what is appropriate and what is not, for the kinds of treatments they can give.  I see a chiropractor every couple of months, to make sure everything is good and little things don't turn into big things.  If you are a new patient and/or coming in with an injury, he will probably want to x-ray you first to see what is going on.  He may decide that it is something that he should not be treating, and will refer you back to another doctor.  But if he feels it is appropriate for you to treat, he can do various adjustments for the neck and back.  It may take a number of treatments to correct the problem and get the body to hold the corrections.  Often the relief of the pain can be immediate.

I highly recommend a good chiropractor for certain kinds of injuries.  Just be realistic and understand that some kinds of injuries, or injuries that are very severe, may not be appropriate for a chiropractor to treat.  For those you may need surgery or some other treatment to correct it.


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## oaktree (May 5, 2012)

Thanks for the replies. My doctor did say it could be slip out of place but first get the X-ray and we will go from there.


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## Xue Sheng (May 5, 2012)

I went to thesame Chiro for slipped disks twice, but it was in my lower back.
The first time he made it better
the second time he made it worse.

But then I went to 3 orthopedic doctors/surgeons about my back too

MD 1 diagnosed me wrong and gave me exercises that made it worse
MD 2 diagnoses me wrong and told me to stop the exercises
MD 3 was awesome and got it right.


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