OUCH my back!!!

I'm not a great fan of injections, so the thought of having needles pricked all over my body didn't go down too well with me. Unfortunately, with the state of my back, which left me motionless for a good 2 hours before I was wheeled into A&E, I had to give accupuncture a go......

So at the clinic, the physician first tried to determine the source of my pain. Then, satisfied that the problem was caused by strained back muscles as well as nerve supression caused by a slightly dislocated spine bone, he started inserting 4 needles onto the top of my hand. It wasn't as painful as anticipated, but I still hate needles..... And to reallign the dislocated bone, he started cracking my back and began sucking the 'bad air' from my battered body. I wasn't too convinced that the back cracking and the air sucking could work (and Sham would definitely freak out if she was there), but it did work! I felt a lot better immediately, and I walked out of the room much straighter and humanlike than when I first walked in.

I went back for another round of acupuncture a few days later cos my back was still sore. This time round, I had about 6 needles down my spine, 1 in my hip and another in my calf. This exuded a nice warm sensation on my back, and it felt really good. The needles were then pulled out, and the physician started 'scraping' the warm spot, turning it all red. The redness apparently, I was told, indicated poor blood circulation. So for that, and for my weak back muscles, I was prescribed some Traditional Chinese medicine.

Fortunate for me, this pharmacist wife of mine has no qualms about me taking safely prescribed TCM, but unfortunately, they tasted as bad as they smell.......
So for now, I'll stick to the needles and suction cups and give the TCM a miss....