On my Nerves: Coping with Nerve Damage

Have you ever had an injury that you tried to ignore? Maybe it was some pain, tingling, or just general uncomfortability in part of your body? For me the pain started in August. I started to feel some pretty serious numbness and tingling on the right side of my body. In the 30 days leading up to this,  I had been working out heavily for the first time and was 6-months postpartum. The 30 days had been committed to a movement challenge with Apple Fitness, so I was trying to be patient with the body pain and see how things progressed. I assumed that my muscles were just burnt out because this was the first time I had worked out since my baby was born. 

After about a week, I started to get very concerned. My right leg was not working well, and it was almost as if the muscles were not responding to the things my brain was telling it to do. Simply walking was difficult. I almost felt as if I was dragging my leg. As you think back to the injury that you tried to ignore, at what point did you finally have to give in and admit that you needed some professional help? For me the realization with my leg was definitely the breaking point. I was also unable to change gears on my car with the right hand, and felt an inability to safely carry my child with the right arm. It got pretty scary!

So what do I do next? My first go-to is always the acupuncturist. I started to have weekly sessions that included cupping and saw a little bit of change, but not enough. She confirmed that I was having some nerve damage most likely in the shoulder. I’m not really keen on Western medicine, so for the past seven or eight years I have definitely consulted with the Acupuncturist first for a lot of my healing. After a few weeks of meeting with the acupuncturist, things got a little better. My right arm still had serious shooting pains every night and was not able to handle a lot of weight. My leg thankfully was responding better to movement. A series of other health issues took me to the emergency room in September and I decided to have a CAT scan to make sure that I could rule out a stroke. Luckily, I found out that the injury was not that severe.

So, as I start to plan the healing journey, of course I will continue with the holistic elements. The Laya Center is my next stop. I researched hot and cold affects on my injury. Cryotherapy can assist with nerve damage by numbing the pain. This helps treat pinched nerves, chronic pain and acute injuries.

Heat therapy-specifically infrared-can be helpful as well because it increases circulation as well as blood flow to particular areas. So if I were going to curate a healing session for myself, it would probably be a massage, including cryotherapy and an infrared session (they call it The Ultimate Contrast, and rightfully so!) as well. That way we heat, cool and increase flow and movement all in one session.

As we move into the new year, I am still dealing with the aftershocks of the nerve damage. The scariest parts have been simple things like reaching into my purse and not being able to identify the objects I’m touching because my fingers don’t have the feeling. Or combing out my afro, but the hand does not have enough strength to hold the brush and comb through the coils. The older I get, it is a lot harder to deal with the things happening in my body. I may never use the term getting on my nerves again because this has been such a traumatic experience. Words are powerful, and I want to be intentional with my thoughts and the words that come out of my mouth!

So to wrap up this adventure, in mid-December I made an appointment to see a general practitioner. Appointments were booked all the way to late March. In such a scary situation, without having an alternative perspective to medicine I would be in shambles. I am grateful for an Eastern perspective on medicine, and places like the Laya Center that are able to give me some options for healing not based on what a Western doctor would recommend. Kansas City has quite a little gem in this space! I’m encouraged by alternative Afrivedic Health options in our humble Midwest city. Don’t ignore your pain. And don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to the ways you choose to heal. 

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