Time to Grease Up With Carcinogens!

by Will Forrester 

Well, summer is upon us, and for a lot of us that means hitting the pool or the beach whenever we get the chance! Our family has three small children, so an added bonus for us is when we take our kids swimming they SLEEP BETTER! Time outside during summer is truly one of life’s joys. 

But in recent decades we have all been inundated with news reports that our time outside comes with a price on our skin. Most of our parents didn’t grow up using sunscreen, starting getting skin cancer or pre-cancerous spots, and started taking action. My mom was diagnosed with melanoma as a young adult, so I was raised in a home that used sunscreen religiously. And none of that suntanning oil stuff. Only the best and highest SPF for us. So I’ve always been a big believer in sunscreen. 

So I was personally outraged to learn what you may have been hearing in the news... that many, many of the most popular sunscreens on the market actually cause... skin cancer. For years now, in an attempt to prevent skin cancer, I have been unknowingly rubbing carcinogens all over my body. Oh, and I’ve also found the spray sunscreens that apply so easily a great option for my kids. Turns out... they are some of the worst offenders! I have been spraying carcinogens on my own children. 

As with most issues these days, there is a wide variety of opinion on the efficacy of using sunscreen and how much time is healthy to be in the sun. We know there are numerous health benefits from sunlight exposure that can get reduced by using sunscreen. We also know we don’t want to get burned up, and if you’re a parent the last thing you want is to see your son or daughter in pain because of a bad sunburn. Before you go out again for your next family outing or time working in the yard, I would highly recommend you get out the sunscreen you’re using, read the label, and do some research online. This article has tons of great information on which sunscreens to avoid as well as other tips for managing sun exposure. With the “exposure” this issue has been getting lately in the media, I have found some natural sunscreens have been very hard to purchase because people are already tossing the more harmful stuff they have in their beach bags. 

As always, we are constantly learning from our collective mistakes as a human species. We probably still have more to learn about this issue as well, but for now, it is critical that you do your own homework and come up with a plan for staying healthy this summer, which includes getting some good sunlight on your skin! 

A few basic suggestions before your next time spent basking in the sun: 

• Read up online about the harmful effects of sunscreens

• If you’re going to use sunscreen, find a safe, natural option

• If you’re going to forgo sunscreen, consider building up your skin’s exposure over time and early in the season

• Keep in mind the general principle that our bodies are designed to be healthy and thrive without outside chemical interference. 

• Schedule a wellness visit with Dr. Ranicki to learn more about how you can maintain overall health and wellness this summer and year round! 

I want my kids to have an absolute blast at the pool all summer. I also want them to avoid chemotherapy down the road. 

Welcome to the Allergy Belt

“Are you sick?” 

“Oh, not really. It’s just these allergies.” 

Did you know that there is a simple, homeopathic method to possibly alleviate some of your allergy symptoms if you are a person who is overly bothered by the pollen? Honey. But not just any honey. It needs to be local. And it matters when it was harvested. Before going any further with this possible remedy for your symptoms, it is important that we do a little thinking about this. We are all breathing the same air around here. Some people are bothered by the pollen and some are not as much. People who are reacting to the pollen in the air do not have a honey deficit or a medicine deficit. Their body is just overreacting to pollen and treating it like it were a germ. The good news is that there are lots of treatments out there to help your body learn to recognize pollen better and not get thrown off so badly that you are wiped out with “allergies.” Chiropractic, acupuncture, probiotics, and other techniques can help your body recognize the difference between pollen and germs over the long term. 

But in the meantime, or if your reactions to pollen remain severe, you may want to try taking some local honey, since it is made with pollen, and introducing it to our bodies does help to alleviate allergies in a lot of people. The key is to be able to find out exactly when the honey was harvested. You want to take honey that was made with the same pollen you are affected by. So if you experience pollen allergy symptoms most severely in March and April, you would want to consume honey that was harvested around May of the previous year, and you would want to begin taking it before the onset of symptoms, maybe around February. So get to know your local honey seller so you can find out exactly when and where the honey was harvested. We love the folks over at Polk’s if you want to give them a try! 

And of course, if you’re not working on getting healthier in general, your body is going to have more reactions to more stressors, so it’s a good idea to begin getting chiropractic care for your general health. You’d be surprised how much less the pollen will bother you when your immune system is working optimally! Why not set up a wellness evaluation with us so we can get you on the road to optimal health this week?

Confessions of a Chiropractic Skeptic
By Will Forrester

I’ll never forget my first appointment with Dr. Ranicki. As I’ve mentioned before, I came in with severe sciatic pain. I was hurting and I was desperate for help. And I was a chiropractic skeptic. 

I had internal defenses up a mile high in my mind. It was like I was looking for something to not go well, for someone to say something I disagreed with so that I could say, “See, this chiropractic care is nonsense. It’s a rip off.” Instead, the office was pleasantly decorated, and the staff was out of this world. The place had a very calm, soothing feel. They offered me a bottle of water, had me sit down to watch a video with some information about chiropractic, and asked me to fill out an intake questionnaire. 

As I’m watching the video, I’m still skeptical. Then at some point, they ask me what my goals are for my chiropractic care. Do I want to have Good Health, Great Health, or Optimum Health? Now my skepticism really rises up. Now I see they’re plan. They’re trying to manipulate me into signing up for some regimen that I don’t need or want. What person is going to honestly say they only want to settle for good or great health? Of course I’m going to say “optimum,” and then they’re going to sell me on some long term commitment I’ll never get out of. Right? 

But there was no manipulation. Yes, I admitted I wanted optimum health, and Dr. Ranicki explained what type of care I might need (and also what lifestyle changes I would need to consider as well). I didn’t feel pressure, but I did sense that Dr. Ranicki genuinely cared that I get the very best health and wellness care I could possibly get. 

It took some time for my mind to absorb the difference that chiropractic care could make for me. How it wasn’t just about cracking bones but about improving my central nervous system and removing subluxations. How it was designed to help with more than just leg, neck, and back pain. I didn’t become sold on the program overnight. But I’m so thankful today that my leg pain was worse than my skepticism and hesitancy. Pain can be a great motivator, and it pushed me to at least come back for a few visits and see if this deal could work. 

Why do I bring up how skeptical I was at my first visit do Ranicki Chiropractic? When I was looking for any exit I could find to get out of there? I bring it up because it’s been more than two years now, and while I’m not sure I’ve hit optimal health just yet, I think I’m pretty close. I feel so great most of the time now! This skeptic has become a regular. I still see Dr. Ranicki regularly as part of my ongoing care so that I stay healthy rather than get sick and in chronic pain again. I wouldn’t think of missing my appointment each week so that I stay healthy and feel energized and alive. 

But if you are a skeptic like I was—if you’ve clicked over to this blog and are considering your options but are just unsure—it’s okay. Be skeptical. It’s a good thing to use your mind, toweigh the facts, to consider what path is best. Just don’t be so skeptical that you don’t do your own investigation. Maybe you’ve heard this quote from Herbert Spencer, which definitely applied to me before giving chiropractic care a fair hearing: "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation."

If you’re in need of help with your back, neck, sciatic pain, whatever – why not give chiropractic care an honest evaluation? Come in for an assessment and see if Dr. Ranicki and his team can’t 
take you to better health. Maybe even optimum health.

4 Ways You Can Get Rid of Back Pain… without injections or surgery! Part 2

I hope you tried out the suggestions for helping your back pain in the previous post. Those are just two suggestions, and no, I imagine they haven’t completely taken away your pain yet, but I do hope you’ve given them both a sustained, honest effort. To get long term relief from back pain, you must, must, MUST become less sedentary and reduce chemical stress on your body. Now for two more great suggestions that will help you get rid of back pain without surgery:

3. Let pain do its job. 
One very simple way to help get rid of your back pain is to actually feel your back pain. Stop ignoring it, and for goodness’ sake stop numbing it. Pain is an important gift. Pain is not “weakness leaving the body.” Pain is your body telling you what should be obvious: Something is wrong! Stop. If it hurts to stand or sit that way, then move around. Get up. Adjust. If it hurts to walk that fast, slow down a bit, but keep walking. We live in a stressed out culture, and we also live in an attention-deficitculture. We have all been trained to multitask and run around like crazy people, trying to do too much. You may have too much on your plate and there’s nothing you can do about that for now. But if you’re going to get rid of your back pain, you are going to have to start paying attention to your pain. Notice it. Feel it. Listen to your body. 

If you’re taking a lot of pain medicine or anti-inflammatories, I am going to make a counterintuitive suggestion. Cut back or quit taking that stuff entirely. If you can’t feel the pain, that doesn’t mean that your back is fine. It just means you can’t feel it. So it means you’re probably further aggravating theproblematic areas. So then the next day you take more medicine. Instead of numbing it out, I challenge you to allow your pain to do its job for two weeks. Your body has the ability to make adjustments if you will just give it the chance. 

4. Get an evaluation from a chiropractor. 
While all of the above is very good and necessary, if you have serious back problems, your back may be in a position where it will not be able to simple correct itself. Months or years to too much sitting, slouching, bad sleep habits, carrying too much weight, and add to that a few tweaks here and there take their toll. But there really is great, wonderful news. For decades now chiropractors have been offering a method of bringing the spine into alignment which is documented to bring significant and often total relief to back pain of all kinds. 

Sadly, many people believe that traiditional medicine is the only route to getting help for back pain. So they follow the trajectory of taking medicine, then steroid injections, and then they begin having surgeries. Many people who take steroid injections or have had costly and sometimes ineffective surgeries are shocked when the learn that the problematic sites in their back could have been relieved by regular chiropractic care. 

If you are facing taking injections or are considering back surgery, do your own homework for sure, but please stop by Ranicki Chiropractic and Wellness Center, or if you’re not in our area, give us a call and we’ll gladly help you find a quality chiropractor or tell you what to look for. I know you are tired of the pain. It really is possible to get healing and relief for the pain, to feel yourself again, and to work and play the way you want to. Before you go under the knife, why not give us a call or stop by and make an appointment for an evaluation.

4 Ways You Can Get Rid of Back Pain… Without injections or surgery!

Most people at some point battle back pain at some point, whether it’s for a short period of time or something chronic. Back pain makes people miserable. It makes work less fun, and even worse, it can make play less fun! 

Maybe you’ve tried taking pain killers or anti-inflammatories with little to no results, and you’re wondering if getting an injection will help. Maybe it’s even so bad you’re actually considering surgery. I get it. We just want the pain to go away. 

The problem, which I’ve written about before, is that medicine and injections only serve to numb pain 
from problematic sites in the back. The really, really great news is that there are simple, (relatively) easy ways to actually get rid of your back pain… without medicine. Without injections. Without surgery. 

1. Stand more, sit less. 
If you’re battling back pain, I dare you to try this for one week. Just quit sitting so much. Being sedentary puts enormous amounts of stress on your back which you were not designed to bear. Thousands of years ago our ancestors would have rarely sat the way we do. They would have walked most of the time, and they likely squatted when they ate their meals. Now, I am not suggesting you necessarily take up squatting at your next dinner function! But think about it: How much of your day do you spend sitting? Most people sit after waking up, enjoying their breakfast or coffee. Then they get in their car and sit while they head to work or school. Then they sit behind a desk or in front of a screen all day. Then they sit in their car on the way home. Then they come home and do what? Sit. 

If a good portion of your day is done sitting, take a minute to think about how you might be able to change those patterns. Could you walk during your lunch break instead of sitting the whole hour? Could you get a cordless phone for work and walk while you talk, if your work allows that? If not, could you take more frequent “standing breaks” right at your desk? Our bodies were not meant to be sedentary. We were made to move! If you’ll resolve to become a person who stands and moves and walks more, you’ll be amazed at how your back will begin to say, “Thank you!” 

2. Stop drinking soda. 

What does soda have to do with back pain? Do those fuzzy bubbles get lodged in there somehow? Well, no, not really. It’s not the bubbles that are the problem. It’s the chemicals. Back pain happens 
because there is stress on your back. But there are all sorts of stressors that affect our body. One way to give your body a chance to heal and repair itself so you’ll feel less back pain is by removing unneeded stress from your life. Have you ever had just a bad, emotionally stressful day? Ever felt back pain because of it? Because stress is stress. Mental and emotional stress can cause physical stress on the system. 

When you eat or drink stuff that let’s be honest more than likely came from a chemical lab than from the good earth, you are putting stuff in your body that your body was not designed to process. So when you consume lots of chemicals, that is a form of stress on your body which your body then has to deal with. If you’re hurting bad enough to read this far, wouldn’t it be worth it to give your body a break? Maybe you can’t just make the stress from your family or your job go away overnight, but you know what you can do? You can start drinking more water and less stuff with chemicals in it. We live in one of the most stressed out cultures in human history.


If you’re going to get better, you have got to be your body’s best friend and start removing chemical stressors from your system. A wonderful side benefit to cutting out soda or other artificial food and drink is that you will likely lose some weight which will also help your back pain tremendously! I was going to make this post FIVE things you can do to help back pain and make one of them “Lose Weight,” but none of us wants to be told to lose weight, right? So forget about losing weight for now. Just cut out the soda and see what happens. 

Ready to Run
by Will Forrester

My wife Kelly and I recently decided it was time for us to “get moving,” meaning exercise! Since coming 
to Dr. Ranicki for care, we have both experienced enormous health improvements, some of which we hoped for, and some we didn’t even anticipate. But since beginning a Couch Potato to 5K regimen, we have discovered another tremendous benefit that my wife has received from chiropractic. But first, a bit of our history. I like to run occasionally. By no means am I an avid runner, but if I’ve had a stressful day or a rough week, I like to go for a run to clear my head. I have dreams of finishing 10Ks and maybe even running a marathon, but I’ve never gotten into a good habit of running.


Kelly on the other hand… let’s just say she is a great swimmer! For some reason, all of her life, running has been something she just couldn’t do. Like, not even running ten or fifteen yards. She would experience terrible pain in her lower back and would immediately start walking. So people who ran with her would always assume she was just really, really out of shape. But the truth was she was in pain.So she rarely makes attempts to run at all. But deep down she has longed to strap on a pair of good running shoes and head out the door for a run the way she sees so many of her friends do. 

Since having our last child, we have wanted to do something for exercise as a family, so pushing the jogging strollers together and going for a run became an easy, attractive option. Kelly was determined to give it a go, and we even got her a pair of good shoes to begin the adventure. The last time we had run together was about seven years ago, and we had not attempted to run at all since. 

So a few weeks ago was the big day. We got the kids loaded in the strollers. We downloaded the Couch Potato to 5K app so we would know how long to run and how long to walk. The first week’s exercise looked this this: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Kelly had not run for sixty seconds straight. Ever. In her life. And guess what? She did it. She was able to run and walk the entire program. All of week 1. Oh and all of week 2. Without a hitch. 

What changed that made her able to run again? 

We credit chiropractic care. When Kelly began seeing Dr. Ranicki, she discovered she had some severe problems in her lower spine. It was even causing her some pain when she was sitting, occasionally. Through regular chiropractic care, Kelly has experienced enormous reductions in upper and lower back pain. Our whole family feels healthier as we are all receiving care. But little did we know that Dr. Ranicki had given Kelly the opportunity to become a runner, if she wants to. For the first time in her life. What about you? Do you have problems with certain exercise programs? Have you considered chiropractic care to help you perform better as an athlete or just be able to exercise regularly with less risk of injury? Give us a call to schedule a wellness assessment. We believe and know that chiropractic can and will help.

Chiropractic After Back Surgery? 
by Will Forrester 

“How long will the surgery last?” 
“It should take about an hour.” 

Sometimes I wish that they wouldn’t give time estimates on surgeries, because the longer the wait, the more I seem to worry. The surgery took over three hours, and then there was a lot of recovery time before my friend could get back to see her husband. She was a nervous wreck before finally getting a report that her husband’s serious back surgery had gone well. 

Her husband was the friend of mine I wrote about previous who was battling severe lower back pain and sciatica (KNOCK ON WOOD ARTICLE). His pain had finally progressed to the point that he felt surgery was needed. He was not interested in chiropractic care and remains generally opposed to seeing one because of personal bias he has. And that’s sad to me, because before the surgery I have no doubt he could have gotten significant relief if not total recovery from the struggles he was having. Yes, he had accumulated a lot of back problems through years of overuse, abuse, poor diet, bad posture, et cetera, but it’s never too late to begin to bring healing and make lifestyle changes. What’s also sad to me is that even after his back surgery, chiropractic care could help him in tremendously important ways. 

Why You Should Get Chiropractic Care AFTER Neck or Back Surgery


Some people wrongly believe that chiropractic care is only for those who forgo other types of back treatments that are out there. This just isn’t true. Chiropractic care is important for one’s overall health regardless of what previous medical issues or treatments you have received. 

Depending on the type of surgery you may have had, your results may be more limited, but in no way should you think that you should therefore forgo all chiropractic care. Here’s why:

1. Your Back is Probably More Fragile Than Before
If you have gone under the knife, you have had damage done to your muscles that support the back 
and neck. This will take time to heal. And your neck or back will now be adjusting to whatever surgical changes were made. It will be more prone to shifting around, not less. Chiropractic care is essential to help the body stay in an aligned state. 

2. Your Immune System Is Down
Surgery places massive stress on the body. Your body is a remarkable organism which works to heal itself, and the trauma of surgery kicks the immune system into high gear. Therefore you are prone to more illness and infection as you recover. Did you know that chiropractic adjustments give your immune system a boost? How cool is that? If you have had surgery of any kind, particularly back surgery, you owe it to your body to “get its back” and get adjustments so your immune system can be improved as you heal and recover. 

3. Now Is the Time for New Habits
Surgery is a time when many people make major life changes. Many people finally start eating right 
and exercising after they have open heart surgery. It’s a wake up call, and it should be. If you’ve had to 
have major back surgery, you need to know that many, many people wind up going back under the knife within a few years. This is so unfortunate, because surgery and more surgery is not inevitable, even if you have had back problems your whole life. If you had to have back surgery, why not make this the moment in your life when you make some lifestyle changes so that you keep your back in good shape… for life. 

A FINAL CAUTION: If you have had neck or back surgery and are seeking chiropractic care, it is CRITICAL that you find a chiropractor who does thorough evaluations and x-rays so that you can receive precise adjustments that keep you aligned and don’t harm any work that has been done. You wouldn’t go to a surgeon who didn’t look at x-rays, would you? The same is true for getting chiropractic care. Stop by Ranicki Chiropractic and Wellness Center for a thorough health evaluation.

Five Reasons to Try Chiropractic in 2014

by Will Forrester

A few years ago my family and I stumbled onto chiropractic care, and we’ve never felt better. If you’re looking to get healthier, feel better, or just want some relief from a problematic area, here’s five reasons to try chiropractic care in 2014: 

1. Neck and Back Pain Slows You Down and Makes You Miserable. If you’re reading this blog then chances are you’ve got some neck or back pain. That’s what drives most people to investigate chiropractic care in the first place. And that’s a good thing—because it works. It’s a New Year. Would you like to finally get some real, tangible relief in that neck or that back that is giving you trouble? Regardless of how bad of shape you think you may be in, chiropractic care can certainly improve if not significantly improve your functioning. Imagine getting to go for a whole day, or a whole week without back or neck pain? That’s a New Year’s Resolution we can help you actually reach. 

2. You’ll Have WAY Fewer Headaches. Maybe you’re not thinking about headaches now, or maybe you’ve got a splitting migraine as you read this. Either way, most people have occasional headaches or even chronic problems. Did you know most headaches are tension and stress related, many times due to neck tension. Guess what? You get some good chiropractic care, and studies show you will have fewer and less severe headaches. Some of our patients literally don’t get headaches anymore. 

3. Your Nervous System Affects EVERYTHING. Chiropractic is actually about aligning the spine, in other words, the central nervous system. Yes, we help align bones as well, but the magic is that your nervous system carries all that information back and forth so your body can repair and heal itself. When you’re out of alignment, it’s like a computer that has all sorts of bugs and maybe even had coffee spilled on the keyboard a time or two. It just doesn’t run as fast as it should and gets locked up sometimes. At Ranicki Chiropracitic, we want your nervous system to function as smoothly as a brand new Mac laptop (or PC if that’s your preference)! When your body is communicating well, all your internal organs will work more smoothly. We have lost count of the number of patients who initially came in for help with a back or neck problem, but after receiving care found that their acid reflux or asthma or kidney or hormonal problems or depression also significantly improved. 

4. You’ll Have More Energy. And when your bodily systems are all working together more smoothly, you know what happens? YOU FEEL AWESOME! Have we discovered the fountain of youth? Well, not exactly, but the truth is that most Americans are way more tired and worn down physically than they should be at their age. Chiropractic care will serve as a boost to your energy level as you put into practice other healthy life habits. What if 2014 was the year that you actually felt like getting out of bed, going after life with gusto because you knew you had the energy to tackle whatever was before you? 

5. The Adjustments Really Do Feel Great. Why should you give chiropractic a try this year? If you really need another reason, here’s one more. The adjustments really do feel great! Now if you’re in severe pain starting out, you might not get that “ahhh” feeling initially. But give us a few weeks, and you’ll see why more and more Americans love their chiropractor. They know how to help relieve tension and stress in a way that’s going to help you for years to come. 

6. The Atmosphere at Ranicki Chiropractic Is Peaceful and Positive. Okay, I know we said 5 Reasons, but I can’t resist giving you one more reason. If you haven’t stopped by Ranicki Chiropractic and Wellness Center, you owe it to yourself this year to at least come by and meet Dr. Ranicki and the incredible wellness team. They are super friendly, always positive and helpful, and the atmosphere they have created is a breath of fresh air. It’s one of the highlights of my week to get to lie on the adjustment table, hear the aquarium water bubbling, listen to gentle meditative music that calms my spirit, and then get to chat with the amazing staff. They never fail to offer a smile, an encouraging word, and positive advice for how to get and remain healthy. If you want to have an awesome 2014, get into an environment like Ranicki Chiropractic where you’re going to be motivated to be your best self. And get some people on your team like Dr. Ranicki who will make you want to stay on the path to true health and wellness.

My First Massage

by Will Forrester 

I think I was on a romantic weekend getaway when I had my first massage – one of those couples massages where you’re in the same room. I was crazy nervous, not used to being mostly unclothed in front of strangers, and also sharing this experience with my new bride. At first I was chatting away nervously with the massage therapists, peppering them with lots of questions, till finally my lovely wife gave me a kind look as if to say, “It’s time to relax and be quiet now.” 

Before the massage therapist got to work, she asked if there was anything in particular I had been struggling with. I said no, I was doing pretty well, not too much tension or anything. It was only a few minutes into the massage when both my therapist and I realized that I was at best fooling myself and at worst lying! I was UNBELIEVABLY tense! I can’t remember the exact conversation, but she began to ask me if I had been experiencing a lot of stress lately. I honestly didn’t know what to say. I thought I had been doing pretty well with life, but even I could tell that my muscles were in rough shape. I needed a lot of work. 

The therapist also helped me notice some PAIN in my hip. I had a tremendous knot, and when she hit it, I flinched a bit at first. “Oh yeah, I guess I have had some pain in my hip from time to time. I guess I didn’t think about that.” 

Quite honestly I don’t remember much else about my first experience with a professional massage therapist, other than I felt like I could melt into a puddle of relaxation afterwards, and that I was completely out of touch with how stressed I was and how it was affecting my body. 

When somebody asks YOU how you are doing, what do you usually think about when answering that question? If you’re like I was, you think about how you’re thinking mentally and feeling emotionally. But how are you doing physically? How much stress and tension are you carrying in your muscles? The truth is, how you are doing physically, emotionally, and mentally really can’t be separated. If you’re mentally and emotionally stressed, you’re going to feel it physically. And if you get some relief physically, it’s going to help you out mentally and emotionally as well. 

Now is a perfect time to do yourself or your friends and family a favor. There is a new massage therapist right here in Pooler at Dr. Ranicki’s Creating Wellness Center. The holidays can sometimes be hectic and even stressful, so why not give yourself an early present and relieve some tension? Or you can knock one of those gifts you need to buy off the list. Come on…who doesn’t want a massage gift certificate?

Back Pain RELIEF
by Will Forrester 

Years ago I used to experience some pretty terrible back pain. Right in the middle of my lower back, particularly on stressful days at work, by the end of the day I would be looking for opportunities to get alone and try to stretch it out, put some heat on it, something. And I was used to it. I always told myself it was because I was really stressed and out of shape. Of course, when I would try to get in shape, the throbbing would get even worse… for a while. If I stuck with the exercise regimen, I would notice it would improve slightly. Which would only confirm would I (wrongly) believed, that I just needed more exercise – even though exercise wasn’t completely eradicating the problem. Oh, and I also took Advil and Aleve and other meds like that. I guess I figured this was just what people who worked out did. 

This went on for a few years, and interestingly, my back pain improved a bit on its own. I didn’t notice it so much anymore – only when I exercised, which was less regularly, so I didn’t have to deal with the pain. Not good. Finally my back problems shifted I supposed and I began experiencing sciatica. 

Which finally drove me to investigating chiropractic care for the first time. As I’ve written previously, my sciatica improved in short order. In the process of getting treatment, I began to actually experience back pain from time to time again – my back problem had become so severe that I was actually numb—this was why my pain had seemingly gotten better! In fact, I was in danger of having very severe back problems which would only get progressively worse. 

And today, my back pain is no longer an issue. I can exercise all I want. I never--NEVER—have to (or want to) take any pain killers or anti-inflammatories any longer. I don’t need them. 

If you are in the Pooler area, I would highly recommend making an appointment to see Dr. Ranicki for an evaluation. How I wish I could have gotten help for my back pain years ago, rather than allowing the places where my spine was misaligned to continue untreated for so long! But even if you, like me, have endured back pain for a long, long time, it’s never too late to begin to bring some actual relief to the sites where the pain is coming from! It’s so much better than just popping a pill to tell your brain to pretend the throbbing or ache it is feeling isn’t there.