Ouch!

I am a firm believer in traditional Chinese medicine. Sadly, my insurance company is not but luckily in China (where Chinese medicine is simply called medicine) treatments are very affordable.

I broke my back a few weeks ago. A combination of a rock hard bed, neglect and ignorance and most probably the cold weather and frustration was the cause, I believe. Suddenly, one Sunday afternoon I was in severe pain and by Monday morning I couldn’t move.

After having vaguely asked around for a chiropractor for weeks I was now in desperate need of one and called the hospital which actually could accommodate me and gave me an appointment a few hours later; enough time to get dressed and beat the traffic to get to BJU. A couple of neck x-rays and some spine manipulation involving a drilling-like machine on my neck, an appointment for another visit and 3000 RMB less in my bank account later I was released with the news that the problem lies in my neck and with proper care and exercise my problems could go away forever. Boy, have I heard that before!

But! Through the grapevine I’d heard of the amazing Dr. Lan. You go to see him and he will choose how to treat you, depending on your injury or problem. It can be massage, acupuncture or even cupping.

At my first session the soft spoken Dr. Lan greeted me as I was laying down on the bed and began with gently massaging my stomach and later moving his hands, pressing hard, up and down my body; all the while grunting slightly when he reached an area that apparently was in need of treatment. He later explained that today he was to give me acupuncture and massage, when the treatment was over we would talk. Ok, no problem. Some needles in my lower right scull and the painful area in my back, some excruciating massage in my right calf and where the needles had been placed in the skull later and Dr. Lan steps into the room, places his hands firmly around my head and begins to squeeze.  He presses so hard on my face and skull that I begin to wonder how much pressure a head really can take. During this cranio sacral therapy when he is holding my head so hard, pressing my cheekbones down he were humming at first, later singing to me and my squeezed head. I don’t know if it was to cause vibrations or just to make him and maybe me feel more relaxed.

As it turns out, he later explained to me, my body is imbalanced, but with the right treatment and many visits I will never experience back pain again! Worth a try I’d say. And sure worth $20 a pop.

And at my next session, one week later, the sensitivity had moved to another area; my hips as the therapist so delicately explained. I might be blunt, but after this acupressure massage session I walked around with a sore ass for days afterwards.