Just over 8 months ago now, we brought our little boy Lee into the world and as special as that is, it was definitely a tough situation. Long story short I ended up getting an epidural and with a difficult placement was poked about 7 times. I also ended up receiving the dreaded spinal headache which is one of the risk factors of an epidural that happens when the Dural sheath is punctured. When the Dural sheath is punctured CSF or cerebral spinal fluid, leaks out of the hole creating a deficit in volume which decreases the pressure. Imagine your brain in a cup floating in liquid and then put a hole in the side of the cup allowing fluid to leak and now your brain begins to sink.  To fix that we had to go back into the ER where they had to place another epidural to put in a blood patch (a band aid for the hole to stop the leaking), this took them another 4 attempts, another 4 stabs to my spine. This was by far the worst pain I have ever experienced. No joke, I walked into the ER looking about as rough as it gets with no care because I was seriously in that much pain. After feeling better and actually being able to function, I experienced this tight rubber band from the base of my skull to my legs, creating a sensation of collapse with too much forward flexion, too much was as little as looking down. For anyone that has breastfed or held a baby, imagine holding that baby without being able to look down at them because it caused too much pain. Dr. Demel and I ultimately realized there were some residuals of tethering from the fascial system and the meninges that were damaged with the multiple pokes.

There is a point to this story, I promise. Here it is:

With the multiple punctures to the fascial system, it had gotten bound and tugged and didn't really heal well unsupported and on it’s own. With continued chiropractic care including both adjustments and soft tissue care including cupping, I was finally able to feel normal again. Here is how each of those pieces were able to help. Adjustments: to clear any segmental dysfunction occurring and help improve the function of the soft tissue that was already incredibly damaged. Soft tissue care/ cupping: to help release adhesions that had occurred with the binding of the fascial system in the lumbar area around all of the poke sites.

For more information on cupping and fascia please refer to my previous blog: Soft Tissue Care- Part II

Unfortunately, it took me experiencing this first hand to realize how many of my patients have experienced or are experiencing something similar and have been overlooked. Think MS or cancer patients or anyone that gets multiple spinal pokes for assessments or procedures. As awful as this pain was, it has brought a greater understanding and thought to treating patients that may be experiencing something similar. 

So, if this sounds like something you can relate to we can and would love to help you!