Osteopath visit

Posted in: Injury Time

This afternoon had an hour with Ratna the osteopath at the Vitality Centre up the road. I wasn't sure what to expect and it turned out rather well.

After some background history she set about with a calf massage to help wake the muscles up, and then a back massage which included some single needle acupuncture. I've never had acupuncture before - it was painless and worked fast. Within about 5-10min of massage + acupuncture my back had demonstrably released. She showed me this midway by running the side of her hand down the side of my spine on both sides: the side she'd worked on felt internally smooth whereas the other was still knotted and rippled.

There were a few spots on my back where she was doing the work - this is apparently a sign of stagnation and toxin build-up, the body trying to expel it through the skin. Curious to see if my back is still spotty in a few days...

She repeated a similar exercise with my two ankles and feet. Bizarrely, the usual discomfort I have with the partial numbness and ultra-tenderness around the surgery cut was about nil. Good hands! The acupuncture was, hmm, less unpainful on the right - definitely conscious of the needle entering the swollen tender skin. Wasn't quite as far as discomfort though, so no big deal. Afterwards I could see the tendons running alone the top of my right foot where I couldn't before due to the (now gone) swelling. Considering that was about 20mins, a dramatic reduction! I asked whether I could've had this procedure even a few days after the accident and, with surgeon approval, yes. Wonder how much of that 16days before surgery could've been eliminated? I just had no idea such a thing was possible.

She told me it was rare for someone to effectively just come in off the street and take osteopathic treatment this early after surgery, as I did. More usually she sees people months down the line disillusioned with physio or still needing help. Maybe my physio did me a favour in disillusioning me so early in the process :-)

I've been told to drink lots of fluid after the treatment (I had some of Ratna's broth) to help clear the toxins, put my feet in cold water (doing this now - too cold, ouch!), for up to five mins each, swap, repeat, and massage daily between my toes which is connected with the lymph system.

Overall, worthwhile £40. Will do business with again A+++++

Posted by Paul Makepeace at July 18, 2005 18:34 | TrackBack