When Skiing Goes "Off Piste"

I love skiing, I have travelled the slopes now for over 25 years, exploring, investigating, feeling the thrill and loving the nightlife too. There is one main rule in skiing, never look back. So what did I do? I looked back, just as I was sliding “majestically” into a parallel stop.

Two days previously there had been a storm, enough to bring down branches, it was one of these that my right ski decided to stop and have a conversation on, sending me “flip coin” style, at pace, onto my face.

After counting my teeth quite thoroughly and wondering if I had lost consciousness or not, my ski partner gently arrived beside me. Most people in concussion will deny they have a problem and they respond in the best flight and fight ways. I insisted I was fine; I had a helmet on, goggles. Although the left side of my face was the colour of the 2018 favourite Dulux shade, a deep purple with a warm tinge, I knew I was ok. Or was I.

As the months progressed I noticed some strange experiences, what I called “brain slippage”, sudden loss of balance or orientation, a serious aversion to bright lights with my right eye and unexplained weird spasms in the back of my neck whenever I was made to sit still. Dentist’s chairs being one, it’s not very useful to move here uncontrollably. Hairdressers and opticians posed the same issues.

There was no evidence to bare with the GP, in fact they confidently told me I knew more than they did, and how incredibly fascinating it all was.

All the usual approaches helped but didn’t resolve. Time to call in the experts. I felt very vulnerable and being someone who really wants to appear OK all of the time to everyone, it is difficult to let people know you are struggling.

David is somebody I trust, knowledgeable and calm and actually listens to what you are experiencing, regularly checking that the work being carried out feels safe. P-DTR is an effective and gentle neuro approach to a whole range of presentations. If it can be addressed, then it will work. It is clear, methodical and logical. My problem was very much related to my neck and cranial nerves and after spending 30 minutes assessing the issues, David carried out a few clever corrections that involved no pressure, no manipulation, no adjustment.

He just appealed to my own brain and nervous system to correct itself – where possible. It worked.

The tentative test was to shine a smart phone torch straight into my right eye. I truly expected to respond in the same way, spasms, moving my head away, walking away. Nothing happened. Result.

I am now happy in all of the scenarios that limited my life; there is nothing worse than people staring at you like you have lost a few marbles. The brain is an amazing piece of software and David knows how to work the computer.

If you’re considering visiting a therapist for help, David will save you a lot of time exploring other approaches.

Paula Esson