When even gentle touch was difficult
In the original Living Through the Pain article, I wrote that by 2012 my pain had become so intense that being touched could trigger a severe pain attack. I was searching for ways to make ordinary movement and treatment possible again.
I'd moved to Kansas City in 2005 after my original injury in California in 1997. I described beginning chiropractic treatment in 2012 and slowly becoming able to tolerate adjustments that once felt frightening.
Small adjustments and hard exercises
The archived article describes chiropractic adjustments alongside gentle physical therapy, stretching and exercises intended to rebuild strength. I remember those exercises as painful, but I also felt that abandoning all movement could leave me doing less and dealing with greater difficulty later.
The source isn't a controlled experiment. It doesn't separate the effects of chiropractic care from the rehabilitation exercises, time, changes in activity or the other treatments I was trying.
More than one approach
My old website lists a number of experiences during this period: chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, cold laser sessions, Graston technique, therapeutic exercise and rehabilitation, ultrasound, electrical muscle stimulation/TENS, and nutritional counseling. Listing them means I reported trying them—not that every approach was helpful or appropriate for CRPS.
There was one very direct note beside the old Graston photograph: I described the treatment as extremely painful, particularly with CRPS. That warning belongs in the historical account too. I don't want a new website to turn every old experiment into a success story.
Returning to activities
Pages 6–10 of the old backup show climbing and Pilates photographs. The images help document a period when I was trying to move more and participate in activities that had felt out of reach. The photographs and original source are preserved privately while we consider how to use them responsibly on this site.
I also included a thank-you to the doctors and physical therapy trainers involved. The people around me, and the work we did together over time, are a crucial part of the larger story.
What this story does—and doesn't—say
At the time, I described chiropractic adjustments and other activities as important to how I was functioning. That is my lived experience. This account does not establish that spinal manipulation, Graston, acupuncture or laser treatments treat the underlying cause of CRPS, nor does it tell another person which interventions are safe for them.
People with severe sensitivity, unstable joints, recent injuries, or new neurological symptoms should discuss examination and treatment options with qualified clinicians who understand their individual circumstances. My story should never be used to justify pushing through severe pain.
This is an edited retelling based on the original site's “Chiropractic Care” section, pages 3–10 of the 48-page archive. It preserves what I reported then, without representing a clinical recommendation or a complete medical record. The original photographs and treatment source files are kept outside the public Astro website.