Holding the body together
I know I made a passing reference to using headaches as my main resistance to keeping to a regular fitness program and I joked about it. The truth of the matter though, it is a reasonable excuse in my case. I have been a migraine sufferer since the age of 14 and when I was only 19 I was in a rear end car collision that resulted in my first whiplash injury. Through most of my 20’s I put up with a stiff neck and debilitating headaches that lasted for 2-3 days at a time. I’d have to lie down in a dark room in silence waiting for the pain to subside and the painkillers to have some effect. No sooner would I get over one migraine then it would start all over again!
I’ve never been a fan of the traditional medical profession ever since I went to a doctor when I was only 16 to get some help with my migraines to be given the advice that it was all in my head – there was no such thing as migraines he informed me! He was right, the pain was in my head but it was real, not imaginary and I should have expected better advice from a so called professional. So since the age of 16 I have sought non traditional help to manage my headaches – chiropractic, massage, acupuncture – you name it – I’ve tried it. There doesn’t seem to be a sure fire cure to migraine headaches and exercise has always exacerbated the problem for me. The best I could do was to preserve my body the best way I saw fit. When I was in my late 30’s I had another rear end car collision and once again I was faced with constant headaches and a neck I couldn’t fully rotate. This time there was medical evidence I had degeneration in my neck. It took nearly 3 years to gain full mobility back in my neck and to ease the headaches and I still have regular massage and chiropractic treatment to maintain the health of my neck and back.
So that being said, I was quite aware that starting a new fitness regimen may not only spark sore muscles in places I didn’t know I had, but that the running may stir up my neck and headache problems. While on my runs I was extra conscious of keeping the shoulders relaxed and my chin tucked in and to stretch after each run and so far so good. However on 6th run just as I got back home I felt a twinge in my hip and automatically recognised that my pelvis had dropped – another quirky feature my body likes to throw at me occasionally. I immediately rang my chiropractor and booked in for an adjustment and thankfully he squeezed me in. I was expecting a lecture from him when I told him I had started running but when I explained the walk/run program I was following and how I was adding a small yoga after each session he gave consent to continue. “Keep up the yoga – it’s your saving grace” he said.
So hip back in place, I’m back in action!
