I drove out to the little small town nearby for my second Tui Na Massage appointment this morning. It was different from the first in that a) I was fine to wear soft, not-long-sleeved or -panted (is that even a word?) clothing, b) we only went over what was currently painful c) it was only one hour, and d) I did not need to rest afterwards.
We spent some time talking about the things I learned this week. The practitioner was glad to hear that I had learned about how my posture/habits/etc. affected my pain levels. She said that some people don’t take time to notice those things and those are the people that she sees repeatedly for “little issues that have become big.” I told her that I consider myself a life-long learner and that that applied not just to my mental education, but to my physical one as well. 🙂
She went to work on my right foot, which I’d stubbed a few days ago, finished up on my right hip, and re-worked my left spine in the spot that always pops out. Then she told me something that she said she’d felt to compelled to tell a lot of people lately (and may as well tell me): people really need to work on being good at being adults. I laughed, as she had just gotten off an “emergency” phone call from her son wherein she had to give him directions somewhere three different ways before he understood her. Anyhow, the gist of it was this: watch your posture, eat food that makes you feel good (not just full), and wear good shoes. I’m am totally guilty of at least two of those. *sitting up straighter & searching for better shoes & tossing out all the super-crunchy food now* Ah-hem.
At the end of the appointment, she asked me if I still thought I had RA. I told her that while she had, in fact, made me feel better than I had in years, I wasn’t willing to go quite that far. I still am having my morning stiffness (which she said “everyone has that, it’s part of being older”) and I am still low grade feverish, as I am when I am flaring or overworked. She told me that a lot of people with migraines have low grade fevers and that I had one each time I’d been to see her so far (which was true; I’ve been very migraine triggered lately). I will have to look for more information on that because I’ve never had a regular doctor make that particular connection before.
In any case, I’m back to feeling better now. I didn’t have to lie down after this appointment and I don’t have to do the warm clothes & soup thing this time either. I just went to my new favorite bookstore and am back home again. 🙂
The Thousand Teeth 