After returning on October 17, my first Phoenix osteopathic treatment’s initial assessment of range of motion testing was usual – NO range of motion.   To my relief, the treatment reinstated range of motion and cranial rhythm with the appliance  in place. Over the next two days, I was abruptly awakened from deep sleep with intense, sharp pain in the throat, taking away my breath and leaving me shaking. My left leg had intense cramping.  The cold laser with violet light shimmered away some of the pain.  Breathing with Jin Shin gentle touch helped me find sleep.

My second osteopathic visit after the two wakeup calls again exhibited no range of motion, my norm 99% of the time.

A psoas release of my left leg with unbelievable range of motion was achieved. T1-L1 release was intense – with breathing increasing after each diaphragmatic crura release. The next day,  extreme symptoms had me calling for a ‘can you work me in’ appointment. This was the 9th day since the appliance was seated and I was unable to cope with the changes.

Typically, my body enters a ‘plateau’ on the 9th-10th day after major change/injury – which the  dental appliance provoked with shift in jaw position. This innocent ‘dental appliance’ radically affects the rest of my body as it attempts to accommodate to the structural ‘changes’. My L5-S1 spinal fusion creates less adaptability to postural ‘insults’ like dental splints.

And late on that Friday afternoon, my body was able to find a plateau, deeply resting during treatment and sleeping well.  However, Saturday morning was another story.

It appears that the deeper the rest and stillness, the stronger the exacerbation. My body gains the strength and momentum to instigate change – healing.

My PT takes over since my osteopath was not in the office. He has studied for twenty-five years with my osteopath. and his sensitivity and awareness is magical. I am fortunate to have two palpatory artists in my life.

Pleasant surprise – full range of motion (ROM) with level hips before starting the treatment.   And, I had walked a mile one hour before treatment. I was incredulous…as was my PT.  This was NOT my norm. Such unanticipated news. Feeling  wonderful after this treatment and sleeping well was a relief. The next day was extremely difficult with pain and drowning fluid constantly in my awareness even when teaching piano students, my saving distractions! 

It is becoming apparent that the appliance is not alleviating the alleged ‘sphenopalatine ganglion’ canine tooth trigger. In spite of my occlusion (and jaw) shifting, my body is better; but not my orofacial symptoms  which continue to be extremely active.  My molars on the right side began pounding on the appliance, which then tightens up my head and exacerbates the left sided pain.

Change and shifting occlusion, with no local dentist who will adjust the appliance!  Fortunately my California osteopath notified me that day that she was able to work me into her November schedule …as could the dentist.  My body would have to deal with the ‘right sided shift’ and reactive response for two more weeks – not six!

Wednesday evening, I was rudely awakened yet again. I found a certain angle over my right ear. with the pulsating violet light probe  The vibration into the left side of my face and ear was astounding, so on target for changing symptoms.  Upon waking in the morning, my fingers found the top of this ear and I started gently massaging – and there was a sudden and strong shift in the fluid and sensation.

What did I do? Did the laser and my finger exploration create more upset? Or was this good ?

My second PT appointment was that morning – only a few hours later. My body once again presented a pleasant surprise in spite of this radical ‘whatever’ that happened with the laser and my fingers not to mention my occlusion.  He discovered full range of motion – but with uneven hips!   

This stark evidence that my body exhibited more vitality and resiliency in the face of whamming teeth, uneven hips and exacerbation in symptoms was a first in my many years of osteopathic history.  

The extreme exacerbation the next day was equally as drastic as this unbelievable finding the day before. I hang onto this positive when the facial pain rebounds.

My body can overcome…my body is overcoming…. these years of traumatic chronic 
pain and dysfunction.

I continue on my roller-coaster ride of transformative change as I walk in my osteopath’s office. No range of motion. And my head becomes his intense focus. Two hours later, the right side of my teeth are not ‘whamming’ on the dental appliance and I can feel the left teeth lightly touching. By evening, there is a dramatic positive difference in the mysterious ‘fluid’ and I go to the place of wellness.

Upon waking, breathing brings the sharpness painfully into my awareness. There is no sinus perforation – 6 months and finally the original dental radiologist from 2004  again reads the recent film and confirms the fistulae is no longer visible. The shift in occlusion has done nothing to alleviate the supposed sphenopalatine ganglion nerve irritation. 

I return to my boring monologue of 28 years: 
 there is a sliver of bone – a bone splinter – embedded in the tissue of my throat… a ‘side-effect’ from the orthodontic procedure that collapsed my palate in June, 1996. 

The PT finds range of motion yet again! The session ends as I’m drifting off to sleep. I know that my body has encountered deep relaxation as the ‘strain’ pattern he palpates is released – and the splinter remains.  “It” shifts and moves as my head turns or I bend over or when I deep breathe. 

November 11 and 13 – three dental visits and two osteopathic appointments.

Coming Soon!

Once I arrived home, my initial reaction to these three whirlwind days was – my throat is very different.   Was this result of appliance adjustments, osteopathic treatment, infusions and injections?

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On Tuesday, December 5, the pressure at my L5-S1 spinal fusion disappeared after treatment.  And what will this pelvic shift precipitate in my jaw and neck?  This remains to be seen over the next 3-4 weeks. 

I vividly remember being on a respirator after the fusion running a fever of 105. I couldn’t breathe. After recovering from this unexpected turn of events, my 10-day hospital stay saw me dismissed with a walker…I couldn’t stand up straight. The doctors were shocked at my slow recovery – I was only 28 years old.  At home, I couldn’t spit toothpaste into the sink without making a mess because bending was impossible. And I had an 18 month old toddler. 

My mother helped me with my daughter; my son was 3 1/2 years older and attended preschool. Obviously, I couldn’t return to my church organist position – a big loss. It was only within the last ten years that I donated my stacks of organ music to a church with a massive pipe organ.

Life radically changed – especially after hearing the devastating prognosis from the orthopedic surgeon – “degenerative disc disease with your back undergoing multiple fusions – and by the time you’re 50, your entire spine will be fused.” My husband was there; we never discussed this prognosis.

I was scared.  My complete dependence on him was frightening. My fear flowed into his future and employability. I was already a liability at his small law firm regarding health insurance.

Five years later, my physical therapist referred me to a cranial osteopath. The first question this ‘different’ doctor asked was shocking?  “Why did they fuse your back one inch too anterior?” That would certainly explain the walker and why I couldn’t lean over to spit toothpaste into a sink. This clarified why I couldn’t lie down with my my legs flat his treatment table.  When I asked what he could do, he simply stated: “I can help your body function better around the fusion.” Forty five years later, no more fusions.  It took five years for the legs to begin to touch the table.  

And now – this remaining sensation is gone?  This is unbelievable.  Bone remodels every 7 years; and the musculoskeletal pressure that molds bone has definitely been progressively changed over these years of treatment.  All of these memories come flooding back as I no longer feel the pressure sensation in my back. 

Returned to California with my dentist and orofacial osteopath. 

Confirmation of major change as the osteopath evaluated me after a month…all has shifted downward – 100% different location than 4 weeks ago.

In the evening, the right molar that had fractured popped out the filling replacement! This tooth was irritating me… surface was rough, the in between space was weird….and I had already made an appointment with my Phoenix dentist when I returned.  

The next morning, the. dentist greeted me and asked what was new… I pulled out the filling in a little box. His eyebrows shot up as he listened to my story about the spinal fusion pressure disappearing and reactive mid-back….and my shifting body and jaw-changing bite presented us with this evidence of how great this change is. Most surprising was the caution he gave me: “There is major structural change  happening…be careful on not overdoing.” This warning from the dentist rather than the osteopath was a reassuring confirmation that he is in tune with osteopathic structural change and results. He pointed out that the appliance was providing stability for the low back!