Psy·cho·so·mat·ic

A fusion of "art and science" was part of the description I read in a mission statement which was on the front page of a brochure I was handed at a chiropractic clinic last week.

To backtrack to events leading up to this, around this past October 4th I experienced some lower back pain which had no obvious explanation. I didn't think anything of it because the pain seemed to dissipate as the day went on. No biggie, plus, I've never had back problems. I'm in good physical shape and people generally say I look 5-10 years younger than what I am.

Okay, the next morning I found myself crawling, literally, crawling to the bathroom. The pain from the previous day had moved from my lower back to my left glute', and from there down into my left leg. Yes, I speak of sciatic pain, and if you've had chronic or acute sciatica, then you know of the pain of which I speak. Lie down too long? Pain. Sit down too long? Pain. Stand up too long?...more of the same.....pain. The most annoying, dull/stabbing, tingling, burning pain ever.

Thinking that this, too, would subside with time, I rode it out for the first few days. Nothing. At the advice of a few people, and also after minimal research of my symptoms on the internet, I made an appointment with, you guessed it, a chiropractor.

Arg.

I finally made it to this "chiropractic" place. Waiting to be seen I was handed a brochure that described the "art" and "science" behind what they do. When I saw the "doctor", we spoke briefly about my symptoms(about 4-5 minutes), and he suggested an MRI.

Okay, so 106 dollars later, I was hobbling out the door off to the imaging place that did MRIs, because luckily, they had an opening because of a cancellation. I was to get the results of that scan the very next day.

So, the next day the chiropractor dude called and said to come on in. When I got there he basically told me that he'd never seen a spine on a guy my age look so good. So, the results were bitter/sweet, because, while I had no sign of any trauma that would be causing such excruciating pain(in his professional opinion, anyway), it meant something else was causing the pain.

Welp, this sucked royally because I was now having chills and sweats along with the numbing leg pain. Okay, well, let's just say that according to a few credible medical sources, sciatic pain and unexplained fever, together, were "red flag" symptoms.

Upon learning this I marched straight down to the walk-in clinic and got a CBC(complete blood count).

The clinic called me the next day and said everything was normal, but if the elevated temperature got worse(higher), go directly to the ER.

Well, sh*t. "You seem to be okay, but if things worsen, go to the ER!"

After another day or so, my leg showed no improvement, but my feverish symptoms were getting worse. Sweats, chills, and overall not well-being. Of course, I was ruminating on things and catastrophizing in my waking moments.

Final I thought, 'Screw this, I'm not waiting'. So, I made an appointment with my PCP(Primary care physician)...i.e..a real MD, but unfortunately, the soonest I could get in was a Tuesday, and this was Thursday.

Four more days of uncertainty and biting the bullet.

Tuesday I was seen around 9:45AM. I had my MRI and CBC results with me, and after the doctor asked me a few questions, I handed him the results. He said the blood test looked good, and saw no sign of infection. He then looked at the MRI and was silent for about a minute(seemed like 10 years). He calmly said, "I see right away what's causing your leg pain." "Really?", I said. "Yeah", he said.... "It's right here....you've got a bulge on L5 and small bone spur going on."

So, my first encounter with a non-medical doctor, back manipulator, or whatever the hell they actually are, and he misreads my MRI, or at best, overlooks the things upon which I'm supposed to believe that he's an expert..e.g....spines, bones, vertebral columns, yadda, yadda.

Lesson learned, but most interestingly, once I got the "all clear" from a professional that I trusted, my fever and chills vanished by the time I drove home. Literally, gone. Proof positive that the mind can trick the body. Stress and anxiety can clearly manifest as physical symptoms, and in some cases, can be the cause of physical symptoms that would not even normally be present. Of course, the opposite is possible, too, which is the mind tricking itself into believing a physical ailment has been alleviated, when no medicine whatsoever has been administered, AKA, placebo effect. This, of course, depends on the aliment.