Acupuncture? Why not!
At the recommendation of a couple friends, I tried acupuncture as a way to treat the various ailments I’m always whining about. My treatment was on Sunday, which was a day after my 12.75 mile long run last week. I was definitely ready to get some relief. I didn’t really expect to be “healed”, but I figured at the very least it would be a relaxing experience and a definite stress reliever. In that regard, I was not disappointed. Needless to say, it didn’t hurt a bit!
It was an enjoyable and relaxing hour and I left the session feeling better, both in my foot and hip. The foot pain wasn’t gone, but it was less acute than before. And the hip felt MUCH better. As of today, though, the foot is back to normal (bad). To be fair, the acupuncturist did tell me that I’d probably need several treatments. I’d heard this from others as well, so it wasn’t a surprise. Unfortunately, I’ll need to start a fundraiser for my fundraiser called: “Sponsor Mark’s Acupuncture So He Can Run the Marathon that You Already Sponsored”.
Beyond the needling, there was a second piece of my treatment that was even stranger. After explaining that I had some knots in my back, it was recommended that I get a Cupping treatment. Basically, it involves applying suction cups to locations on your back where there is “stagnation”, e.g. knots. Considering that I just voluntarily had someone stick needles all over my body, this seemed pretty tame. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Those suction cups hurt! And to top it off, it looks like I have crop circles all over my back! So much for going to the beach this week…
