Monday, December 12, 2005

Accupuncture - a first for me

So, I had my second physio appointment today. During the session, Tim (a.k.a. The Physiotherapist) said, "You're afraid of needles, right?"

I replied, "I never actually told you that..."

He said, "Yeah... but you are."

(Intuitive fellow!)

I said, "Well, kinda... but it doesn't matter. I just deal with it. Why?"

"You could use some accupuncture on this leg. It's pretty tight." He replied.

I found myself saying, "OK, yeah... sure... I'd trust you to do that."

Now, tell me... How can you trust a man, whom you've met only once before, to jab small pieces of metal into your body? (Multiple small pieces of metal!) Especially when those small pieces of metal are probably in your list of "Top 3 things I hate / fear most in the whole entire world"?

I can't even watch needles on TV.

And here I was... telling Tim he could do accupuncture on me.

Was I out of my mind?

I said, "I've never done this before, so you're gonna have to walk me through it."

He replied, "OK, no problem. You're not going to faint on me, are you?"

"Oh, no. Takes a lot more than that to get me to pass out."

And a few moments later the first needle went in my leg...

One thing I can say for sure: That is a hell of a way to learn body awareness! I think I was more aware of my body today than I have been, oh... possibly ever!

And I'm still alive to blog about it.

PS: Still barred from running and all lower body exercies (cardio, weights, etc.) until further notice... Apparently, my right knee is messed up but good.

10 comments:

Mz.Elle said...

Good for you!
I think you're pretty brave:)

I've been really curious lately about Accupuncture and want to try it out.Of course it's voodoo in this town,lol,and I'll have to go to the big city but I am so going to now after reading about your experience!Glad you lived to tell your tale;)

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear that you're banned from running. I know how you feel. Good luck with a speedy recovery.

D said...

Hey! Thanks for visiting me today. Sorry that you cannot run....I definitely can relate!

I don't know much about acupuncture - what exactly is the purpose? You'll have to let us know whether it was worth it or not.....

psbowe said...

I just want to say how much I feel for you, so sorry you can't run. Wishing you a speedy heal.

M A F said...

Sarah,

I love acupuncture! It helped me with problems with scatica that haven't returned. It is great stuff if you don't mind a few hundred needle pricks. And then on top of the needles add cupping and you have some wonderful therapy!

Oh yeah, I forgot the feeling of having electricity flowing through the needles and into your muscles.

I hope that you can get comfortable with the needles because the therapy is wonderful.

Acupuncture is a great way to fly!

Madcap said...

Sarah, I've been thinking about trying acupuncture, and you're not helping! Does it really hurt, say as much as getting blood drawn?

oldhall said...

The complexities of the body human...

Such an interesting design, obvious yet subtle, logical and inexplicable. I mean, who'da thunk, stick me with sharp things, it usually hurts, but it might help.

I'm still amazed that:

you can light a plant on fire, suck on the other end, and derive enjoyment... furthermore, who thought of doing such a thing in the first place?

zouzou said...

yay! I'm glad you tried it out. I've had great success with it as you know and am planning to use it as the major tool for relief from any discomfort during birthing.

Sarah Elaine said...

Just a quick reply - Thanks to all for the feedback. Let me be clear:

The needles did NOT hurt going in!

I understand that there are different techniques and what was used on me was specifically to get a particular muscle (the IT band) to relax. This involved moving the needle. (I'm sure that's not the technical term.) That caused some... awareness, shall we say... But not near as bad as what was in my knees.

And today my leg feels much better.

So, MCM, just go for it! Hell, woman, if I can do it, you can certainly do it!

Kimberly Rae said...

Yikes acupunture.. You are one brave lady! But if it helps bring you some relief than its all worth it.

I mean after all that first mile any of us did was painful in its own right, yet there are folks that run marathons, 50 mile and 100 mile runs.