I recently pinched a nerve in my neck. Nowadays they call it by a more technical term, Cervical Stenosis. But this very human problem has been around for ages, probably since we evolutionarily started standing upright. And quite a few people wind up in trouble with this sort of condition, especially in the later decades of life.
For my own part, I had gotten a little too frisky flexing my neck one day and within two weeks, it went from bad to worse and then into agony. I had to stop all of my work, lost all strength in my arm and then my fingers began to go all tingly and numb. The pain was intense and traveled from my hand up to my shoulder.
I did all of my usual home remedies: anti-inflammatory supplements and diet style, hot baths, homeopathics, natural herbal analgesics, massage, hot and cold therapies and I also visited a few alternative practitioners. But no matter what I did, it just kept getting worse and nothing seemed to really help.
The only thing that brought me any relief at all was sitting very still, with my arm propped up in just the right way and then after a time, the pain started to abate and it would begin to get a little more comfortable. So that's what I did. I simply sat and read some nice uplifting books.
The medical profession had quite a few options for me. They had drugs, and I tried a few, but they just made me feel pretty awful on top of being in pain. A friend of mine had gotten a cortisone shot in her neck, some years before, with her pinched nerve. She said it took about four months after that to fully resolve itself. I considered that, but the down side was that it would most likely seriously mess with my blood sugars. Another option was to do what they did to my brother and carve away some bone and put a mini railroad track in my neck, in order to separate and support my vertebra. I figured that all of those were things that I could certainly consider down the line if I needed them. But I thought I'd first try time.
It did take a couple of months for things to start to settle down. But then they did. And I remembered that that was what my mom used to say about healing from significant injuries, back on the farm, when she was a girl. Doctors were few back then and medical care was rudimentary. Mostly the farmers, themselves, were the vets, and the housewives were the healers. When someone got really banged up, they put them in bed and kept them there.
In our modern culture we try to speed the healing, and make the repairs as quick as possible, so we can get back in the game. But, I'm thinking, after this recent episode, that there is some real wisdom in simply taking the time to heal.
Now, it is true that all of that lounging around let me get drastically out of shape, even very muscularly weak. And, putting a stop to my work hit our pocket book quite a little bit as well. But our spending dropped too. There wasn't much need to go out and get anything, other than groceries. And with so much free time, I wound up having lots of laughs and plenty of chats with my friends and with my sweet husband, Frank. So, other than the pain in my arm, I was quite happy and relatively healthy.
After about eight weeks, the pain had subsided enough that I could start doing a few things around the house, but I could tell I was really out of shape and my balance wasn't great, either. I figured I needed to have some basic physical therapy. Fortunately my new niece, my nephew's betrothed, is a physical therapist and I was so relieved to be able to work with her.
We met in either of our homes, instead of going to a P.T. clinic, where the therapists always seem to be rushed these days, and often have to yell over the booming exercise music. That sort of an environment didn't seem as healing to me and I really appreciated the quiet and personal attention of one-on-one. It has been another eight weeks now, of daily exercises, starting very gently at first and checking in once a week for a few more exercises and some nice deep tissue massage and I'm so very glad to say that I'm starting to feel good as new once more.
Sometimes all it takes is a little time and the willingness to let the world go on by for awhile until we heal and are ready once more to get back in the swing of things. And blessedly, in this case, for me, that was true. But, whether it is a pinched nerve, a different injury or an illness, listening to your own inclinations and guidance from within and then taking the time to do what needs to be done to heal is always a good idea.
My wish is for us all to have the good grace to be able to take the time to go slow, do less and accomplish more. Blessings to you as we enter these longer nights and the darker half of the year.
As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life. Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and in my videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.
