Chiropractics

My chiropractor - B. M. - was doing everything he could to help me. He is by far the sweetest and most dedicated practitioner I have encountered during my TMJ journey. I owe him a lot.

B. M. proposed a twelve-treatment plan to begin with. According to my response to this treatment, he would either continue with it or refer me to a more experienced chiropractor in cranial disorders, with whom he was already discussing my difficult case. My treatments would have a short time gap between them, so that my body would be on constant "pressure" to heal. I would visit the clinic every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the following weeks.

The first thing to do was to stabilise my pelvis, increase my general core strength and release some of the tension on the right side of my body. This stage went relatively well and took only a couple of treatments. The aim was to concentrate my pain around the right TMJ, instead of having it affecting the entire right side of my head, neck, right shoulder and back. This goal was partially accomplished - I noticed a considerable reduction of the pain on my shoulder and back, but from the neck upwards it remained the same. There was this really really annoying thing on my neck posture that was making things extremely difficult for the treatment to be effective.

I have what is commonly referred as military neck or straight neck, which is the straightening of the natural neck curvature (cervical kyphosis). To complicate things even further, my C2 cervical vertebrae is very very stubborn and likes to pop out of its place - it is permanently slightly offset to the right, creating a visible and quite uncomfortable lump on the neck, just below the base of the skull. B. M. was continuously adjusting my neck to position C2 back to its proper place, but a couple of hours later I would feel the lump on the right side of my neck again. I started visiting B. M. every morning to adjust C2, and going back to the clinic in the end of the day to do the same. As you can see, it is a very very stubborn and annoying little thing...

In the meantime, I was doing the InterX therapy, which B. M. started after the first couple of treatments. Each treatment consisted on applying the InterX device or pads attached to it directly to the skin of my affected areas (areas surrounding the right TMJ, neck and right shoulder), in sessions of five to fifteen minutes. Depending on the type of treatment, B. M. would either leave the pads stationary or gently move the device in sweeping motions. The device creates a small electric current that stimulates the nerves, producing a tickling, prickling or "needling" sensation. The electric current can be adjusted according to the patient's sensitivity. Usually, the more pain the patient experiences, the more sensitive he/she is; so the intensity of the electric current needed for the treatment is much less. In other words, as pain increases, InterX's current intensity decreases.

The intensity of the electric current produced by the device is measured as percentage values, the minimum intensity being zero and the maximum one hundred. In all the InterX sessions I had, the maximum intensity I was able to cope with was eight per cent. Eight per cent, 8%. That's almost nothing! B. M. was in shock when he first used the InterX on me, as it was the lowest amount he had ever worked with - six per cent! As the InterX intensity is inversely proportional to the amount of pain, you now have an idea of the amount of pain I live with.

"I feel for you, sweetheart... I really feel for you..." Those were B. M.'s frequent words while sweeping the InterX along my TMJ.

After each chiropractic treatment I would be completely exhausted, light-headed and frequently in more pain. I would spend the rest of the day on a state of lethargy, too tired to do the simplest tasks.

Soon the treatments with B. M. would be over. I didn't have any improvements regarding my pain. It was still there, anchored to the right side of my head. My oppressing burden. And I had an urgent decision to make.

This was mid February. I spent the whole morning just to write the email - the most arduous and painful piece of text I had ever written. At lunch time, with tears in my eyes I pressed the "send" button. And the dream was over. Just like that. By the simple press of a button. I withdrew myself from the IODP Expedition 343, the two-month scientific cruise offshore Japan - my dream.

This was without question the hardest, toughest and most painful decision I ever had to make. Davide and I searched every possible option to get me onboard the cruise, but it would be impossible. The only way for me to cope with the pain was through my usual medication, which is classified as narcotics by the Japanese government. Before travelling, I would need a signed permission from the Japanese Ministry of Health allowing my entrance in the country. That would take months to get it, and the cruise was starting in April. Even if by a miracle I could get that permission, the expedition chiefs would have to approve me onboard under the influence of such strong medication. It would be too risky... So I did what was the best for all - I withdrew myself.

A couple of days later, I sent a similar email to Statoil declining the two-month internship they had offered me in one of their offices in Norway.

I can't express in words the frustration, the emptiness, the helplessness, the sense of failure and uselessness I feel since then.

This illness is controlling my life and there is nothing I can do to fight it. I have failed.

I have been haunted by this thought ever since. It consumes me, just like my pain.

B. M. referred me to his colleague G. C., who works in Bath and is more experienced in cranial disorders. My first consultation with G. C. was in early March. He spent a lot of time talking with Davide and I, checking my X-rays and MRI scan report, and doing some physical examinations. G. C. has a great knowledge on TMJ dysfunctions and explained us every detail of how this small joint can be affected by our posture. However, it became clear to us that he wasn't very hopeful that my condition would improve through chiropractics. My TMJ has a mechanical problem, as the bone structure is altered. Even if there would be a way of manipulating the lower jaw to reposition the disc back in place, that wouldn't solve the problem completely. In his opinion, surgery was my best shot.

G. C. planned three treatment sessions. If I would show improvements during these, he would prepare a long term treatment for me to continue with B. M. in Cardiff. But if after these three sessions my condition remained the same, that was it - there was nothing else he or any other chiropractor could do to help me. Unfortunately this was the case - I had no improvements despite all G. C.'s efforts. Chiropractics proved not to be effective for my case.

G. C. suggested that I should seek the opinion of one of his acquaintances (Mr. P. B.), a dentist specialised in Functional Orthopaedic Orthodontics. Maybe there was some hope before the surgery.

I followed his advice, and a week later I would have my first consultation with Mr. P. B..

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Note: I do not share the names of the practitioners I have visited, as the aim of this blog is to share my story and experiences related with my TMJ disorder, and not to advertise anyone. However, if you are interested in knowing who these practitioners are and how to contact them, please let me know. I am happy to send you a private message with their details. Thank you for your understanding :)