THIS DAY IN HISTORY – Toy company Wham-O produces first Frisbees – 1957

Bittersweet memories. As a yute, most of my buddies were athletic, as I was, too. We used to have a blast playing long distance catch with a good quality, premium version of the Frisbee. Some people had a couple different throwing styles, and still others had horrible technique, and couldn’t throw one more than 10 feet, before it fell to the ground like a wounded duck.
With a good running wind up, and perfectly timed flick of the wrist, an authentic model would sail 50 or 60 yards.
Used to love running them down, with a leaping catch / snag / grab, when the thrower was off target.
Now, the painful memory. Full disclosure. It said “No Swimming”…I disobeyed, and was a moran at times back then.

We were doing this, in our 20’s, at a public park, in a large picnic area. Hot Summer day. The park was next to a lake, but it was a dedicated No Swimming Zone, for some legitimate reason. There was no beach, sandy shore, or lifeguard. Since drinking beers was involved, fun in the sun, a little buzz, and much sweating, from running around chasing Frisbee’s. The water beckoned, for a quick dip to cool off.

You know how when you run into the ocean, some dudes take a sprint, and start high stepping over the water line, as far as they can, heading deeper, until you can’t bring the legs up over the water anymore…then you dive forward?
I did that maneuver. Bad mistake. The dive forward resulted in an abrupt, violent stop. Head first, even though arms were extended forward in a typical dive form. I’d hit something. Hard. With my skull. Unusual and unexpected.
WTF did I hit? I was able to stand up, with a horrible stinger felt in my neck. Reached down in the water to feel for whatever impeded forward motion. The water was murky. Too murky to see what lurked below the surface.
Something heavy was down there. I grabbed ahold of it, and lifted it, a miracle in itself, after suffering such an injury.
The discovery? A submerged picnic table. Full size, wooden, waterlogged. I guessed that 3 or 4 guys humped one off dry land and into the lake, at the 3-4 foot depth level, so they could sit in the in cool water, BS, while seated, in a lazy man’s way of staying in for a while. They never pulled it back out. I’d hit at the table edge, or the seat edge.

By the grace of God, I am eternally grateful that I wasn’t paralyzed or became a quadraplegic from that point on.
That was 30 years ago. I still actively work, on my feet, and went on to do a variety of manual labor jobs, some of which required me to position my body into contorted positions, straining lower back, neck, and head. Young people can do that. Those career positions were probably why I see a chiropractor on a routine basis. Lower back pain. Neck pain. Ya think?

I’d always played baseball in youth, and was active in men’s softball leagues through my 20’s, 30’s, and even early 40’s. Played outfield, and had a rocket arm. Used to be able to catch a deep fly ball, then, with a running start, fire a missile of a throw all the way to home plate, accurately nailing a guy trying to tag up from third base, or rounding third from second, on a single into the outfield.

When in my early 40’s, one game I tried to throw the ball in with the expected zip I’d always had.
Now, the ball fell to the ground 10 feet in front of me, and it felt like someone was shivving me in the throwing arm rear shoulder, when I tried to rifle a long distance throw with force.
To the chiro. Original diagnosis? Your shoulder joint is out of socket. Relax. Then, he yanks down on my throwing arm, attempting to pop it back in. I saw stars when he pulled that technique. Next ball game, same problem.
Chiro? Same attempt. Still didn’t solve the problem. So, he says: Something else is wrong. Let’s take an X-ray of your neck. He puts the film up on a light screen. Has a look. Turns to me and asks: “What the hell happened to you?”
I told him the picnic table story. His response, about the people who sunk it below the water line: “Them fuckers.”
X-rays show compacted vertebrae at V3,V4, V5…mashed together, deformed, disc damage.

Epilogue:
With regular adjustments, I’ve been able to keep the pain and discomfort levels tolerable. Still play sports, at 58.
He’s a good chiropractor. Mainstream Docs pooh-pooh chiros, but this one knows his shit.

There is a procedure used on common, though extreme cases of people whose necks are out of whack.
Symptoms: Cross eyed patients, tremors, shakes, unusual gaits.
The ATLAS adjustment is where the spine meets the base of the skull. When that is severely mis-aligned, you get a variety of symptoms, as described above. One of the most common causes? Aggressive Drs. who deliver babies where delivery is difficult. Frequently, they are extracted when the Doc grabs the baby by the head, twisting, turning, and pulling.
My chiro has had infants, around 2 to 3 years old brought to him by parents, cross-eyed and always crying, in pain, having difficulty walking, etc., and other symptoms.
He does an “Atlas” adjustment, in full view of the parents, on kids. The kid lets out a wail, and the parents eyes bug out, and they freak out when they see what this guy is doing to their kid. It looks like a madman physically wrenching, strong arming their little kids’ neck and head.
But, it corrects the problems. Straight vision is restored, tremors stop, and gaits and balance are improved.
I don’t know how this Chiro does this. Courageous, with parents looking on.
And, not too many Chiro’s know the proper technique, to do this safely and effectively.

Finding a good Doctor or therapist is vital. Lots of them out there, practicing, who don’t know their craft very well at all. Keep looking, to find one who knows his or her stuff. Might take a lot of searching, but a solution is out there.

The chiro I see is also a nutritionist, opting for natural, good quality FOOD Based supplements.
He’s had many successes treating mineral and vitamin deficiencies, plus a host of other symptoms that were mis-diagnosed by mainstream medical Docs who habitually reach for the Rx pad, prescribing pharmaceuticals that cause more problems, without solving the targeted causes.

This was a bit long winded, but the words kept coming. Musta been too much coffee this a.m.
If you stayed with it ’til the end,
Thanks for reading.
Call me:
~Lucky

I’d pay to watch a frisbee football game before I ever even turn on the NFL again.