Degenerative joint disease

....sounds so dramatic, doesn't it? Well, in a way, I guess it is. But you and I know this disease as "arthritis." And as it turns out, I've got it in my neck. oy.

I have had sore necks, shoulder pain, and lower back pain for as long as I can remember. I think that it either just never registered, or I thought it was normal, or I assumed it was because I had slept wrong or had bad posture. At the behest of my massage therapist and doctor, I went to the chiropractor for the first time last week and was informed that I have a "military neck" (which basically means that my neck stands straight up instead of curving like everyone else's). Because of this condition, a couple of vertebrae have calcified and "degenerative joint disease" (a.k.a. arthritis) has formed. Sucks.

Of course, the first thing I assumed was that I was going to be in a wheelchair, paralyzed, for the rest of my life. Somehow I went right from "arthritis" to a Christopher-Reeve-like existence. (Perhaps I, too, have a slight penchant for the dramatic?? Hmmm???)

The chiro assured me that it won't affect my spine or anything like that, but it will become increasingly painful if not addressed. There's no cure for arthritis, just treatment. So essentially, I'll need to go to the chiropractor often for the next, well, forever I guess.

According to the doctor, I have the neck of a 70 year old. Damn.

So there you have it. Fucking neck arthritis at 28 years old.

The lesson to learn here is that pain is not normal. When I feel pain, I need to get to the doctor. Period. (Not that this could have been avoided, but I could have at least been treating it much, much earlier.)