Recovering, or why I love my body workers

Early November, I suddenly found myself experiencing a sharp pain between my shoulder blade and spinal cord. You'd think it was a dance injury, but I honestly believe it was from me stupidly not holding a phone with my hands and instead squishing it between my shoulder and ear. Of course. 

I decided to try a massage therapist my teacher recommended to me. (Thanks Karla!). He thought it best to try his chiropractor. But before I could schedule an appointment, the wind literally knocked me off of my bike in December. The next day my ribcage felt bruised, but manageable. Seven days later, while reaching up to adjust my rearview mirror, I felt/heard a POP in my ribcage and suddenly found it difficult to take in a breath. Explaining why I couldn't make it to dance class that night was interesting- "Well, I was reaching for my rearview mirror, and now I can't breathe, sorry I can't make it to class!" You can't make this up. Seriously, HOW?

When I finally got in to the chiropractor mid-December, she had a lot of work to do! But, one month, one more massage, and three adjustments later I am FINALLY feeling back to normal-ish. This all brings me to my point...

1. I love my chiropractor. I know some people don't believe in/trust them but I've been getting adjusted since I was small. I know what I feel like if I don't get adjusted, and I know what I feel like when I do get adjusted. I most definitely prefer the later.

2. A good massage therapist who really gets dancers is a precious gift. They can give you tools to take into your daily life that help you learn from pain and injury and become stronger and better.

3. A good chiropractor + a good massage therapist = a happy body. I am starting to see how my body workers tag-team issues throughout my body, and where one worker may fall short, the other can pick up the slack. Trying out different modalities has been helpful in finding ways to address different issues in my body, and to manage pain, discomfort, or immobility. 

So, have you thanked your bodyworker later? Or, do you need to find one to get started on your own recovery? I encourage you to talk to your friends to get recommendations. Word of mouth has always been the best way for me to find great people to work with me. I am grateful for the work they've done the past two months, and am happy to have them as a resource moving forward in my dance career. I hope you find a bodyworker who helps you to recover, or simply learn more about yourself!